New registration numbers for vehicles post bifurcation of Telangana

HYDERABAD: Come June, new vehicles will be given a different set of numbers, unlike the current set of alphanumeric numbers. In Telangana, the new registration number will not just be transition from AP to TG, but even district codes are likely to change along with the state code.

Transport department officials said after the formation of a new state, the Union ministry of road transport would issue a notification sanctioning a state code (example: AP, TN, MH). After that, the state government has to work out district codes by amending the Motor Vehicle Rules. As of now, there are 38 codes in 23 districts with Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Krishna, Ranga Reddy and a few other districts getting multiple codes.

"As district codes are given in alphabetical order both in Telangana and the residuary AP, a revised district code has to be worked out. It all depends on the policy of the new governments. As there is talk that in Telangana that reorgainsation of existing 10 districts may take place, these decisions will have a direct impact," a senior transport department official told TOI.

In the registration number, the first two alphabets stand for the state code, then two numerals denote the district code followed by the unique vehicle number. All these issues require detailed discussion involving police as security would be given top priority in the backdrop of misuse of number plates in the past leading to major crimes.

The official said the existing district codes after bifurcation of the state would become meaningless. For instance, the Nizamabad district code is 25, Nalgonda 24, Medak 23 and Mahbubnagar 22. These codes would become irrelevant after the split. Also, the most sought after '9' of Khairatabad might also become history in the changed scenario.

To begin with, the revised registration numbers could be given to newly-registered vehicles, whereas for the nearly one crore old vehicles, it could be done at the time of affixing the high security registration plate (HSRP). The HSRP has to be affixed before December, 2015.

However, there is a hitch. The HSRP plates affixed on vehicles in the last five months cannot be replaced. "Many issues may crop up once the new code comes into force, and the nitty-gritty of these can be resolved by the new governments in the two states and their police" the officials added.

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Techie kids aged 12 and 14 develop apps

Shravan & Sanjay Kumaran of Go Dimensions

Shravan Kumaran and his younger sibling Sanjay Kumaran are perhaps India's youngest entrepreneurs. Shravan, 14, is the president and Sanjay, 12, is the CEO of Go Dimensions, an app development unit that they founded two years ago from the bedroom in their Chennai home.

Neat formal suits and shoes!

They make an adorable pair in their neat formal suits and shoes. And when they start talking, they have crowds hanging onto every word, often having them in splits with their experiences.

'You should have a strong idea'

On September 28, they stood before the 5,500 attendees at an SAP event in Bangalore, and talked about how to ideate and draw up a business plan.

"You should have a strong idea, self-confidence , a good business plan and know about sources of funding," said Sanjay with the confidence that you normally see in much older people. And he then went on to ask: "Have you heard of dad funding?" The crowd roared. 

Catch me Cop

In the past two years, the two have developed eleven apps that are available on the Apple App Store and Google's Android Play Store. The apps have received over 35,000 downloads.

Their first — Catch me Cop on the Apple App Store — was released last year. It was a game where a con escapes prison and a hunt is launched. There are chases through a desert, beach and a maze.

Routine

"Abdul Kalam once came to our school and he loved playing Catch me Cop," recalled Sanjay. Shravan is in Class 9 and Sanjay in Class 7 at the Vael's Billabong International High School in Chennai.

Today, a room in their home is a digital lounge filled with Apple Macs, iPads and Samsung Galaxy Notes. The 'after homework hours' are spent on coding and debugging test apps, while nibbling on cheese fritters and lasagna. Recently, they launched an action game called Extreme Impossible 5.

Alphabet Board

"We developed over 150 test apps before releasing the first app: Catch Me Cop... Another app, Alphabet Board, got a rating of 5 on the app store," said Shravan, who Steve Jobs for inspiring him.

Boys credit their father

"Some of the teachers told them they would be more productive at home than school," said their mother and former journalist Jyothi Lakshmi. But they are clear they will attend classes regularly, and also pursue their love for cricket and the keyboard. 

The boys credit their father Kumaran Surendran, director with American security software company Symantec, for encouraging them to learn programming. They learnt the programming language QBasic when Shravan was in his fifth grade and Sanjay in his third grade.

Plans and hopes

The two have made presentations at TEDx and IIMBangalore. They hope to get at least 50% of smartphone users in India to use their apps.

Trivia on Child Prodigies

Shravan Kumaran, 14, and younger brother Sanjay, 12, founded an app development unit, Go Dimensions
Their first app was a game, called 'Catch me Cop' where a con escapes prison and a wide hunt is launched for him.

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Pranab Mukherjee files nomination for President polls, seeks blessings - heavenly & political

New Delhi: Dressed in his trademark bandhgala, a smiling Pranab Mukherjee, the UPA's candidate, filed his nomination papers for the post of the 13th President of India today. Seated next to Mr Mukherjee as he signed his nomination papers

were Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi. UPA allies, friends like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav and senior Congressmen made up the rest of the party.
Mrs Gandhi signed the register, Mr Mukherjee many papers, which were then scrutinised by the returning officer. There are 480 important signatures on his four sets of nomination papers. Notably, Janata Dal(United) chief Sharad Yadav is the first signatory on one set; Mr Yadav's party is an important part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He was however not present at Mr Mukherjee's nomination photo-op.

After staking claim, Mr Mukherjee sought blessings - heavenly and political. "I only wish at this time that we have the blessings of god and cooperation of all at this juncture," he said.
Mr Mukherjee is supported by parties like the BSP and calculations at present give him a comfortable advantage with about 56 per cent votes in the electoral college. Missing today was key UPA ally Mamata Banerjee, but others like the DMK's TR Baalu and Farooq Abdullah of the National Congress were there. So was Ram Vilas Paswan. Among the 480 MPs and MLAs that have proposed and seconded his nomination are Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, union ministers, chief ministers and Congress Legislature Party leaders. Even the Shiv Sena is supporting his candidacy.
Mr Mukherjee has wider support than mere political alignments would allow as he is expected to be a political president. His candidacy came not without drama - some brinkmanship from Mamata Banerjee which included heart-in-the-mouth moments as Mulayam Singh Yadav seemed to waver. His own party seemed undecided for long whether it could spare a man who wore many hats. In the end, however, Mr Mukherjee did not see a repeat of 2007 - when the Congress had said it could not spare him for Rashtrapati Bhavan - and was declared the UPA's candidate.

He has split not just the NDA, but has neatly sliced through the Left too - the CPM and Forward Bloc is supporting him, the CPI and RSP say they cannot and are abstaining. The UPA's one loss - Mamata Banerjee, who, however, has still not said an emphatic yes to Mr Mukherjee's challenger Purno Sangma either. Trinamool Congress sources say she will remain "equidistant."

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who is  Mr Mukherjee's authorised election agent, told NDTV that the former Finance Minister will not file an asset declaration as it is not required under law. He, however, added that it is for Mr Mukherjee to decide if he wants to declare his assets at a later stage. Polling will be held on July 19 and India will have a new President by July 22.

Later this afternoon, Mr Sangma, who is supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the AIADMK and the Biju Janata Dal, will also file his papers in what is expected to be an equal show of strength.

The numbers don't favour the former Lok Sabha Speaker, but he is backed by the BJP, and two powerful Chief Ministers - Tamil Nadu's  J Jayalalithaa and her AIADMK,  and Odisha's  Naveen Patnaik and his Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and he is expected to wear that support on his sleeve when he files his papers this afternoon. High-profile BJP leaders like Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Ms Jayalalithaa and  Mr Patnaik and Punjab Chief Minister and Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal are likely to be present.

After today's grand photo opportunities as nomination papers are filed, both candidates will get into campaign mode. For Mr Mukherjee, that will mean consolidating his numbers. He will fly by a private jet arranged by the Congress first to Chennai and then to Bangalore and Hyderabad as he kicks off his campaign.

Mr Sangma is expected to ensure a high decibel contest. He quit his party, the NCP, which as a UPA ally is staunchly supporting Mr Mukherjee.

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Surjeet Singh freed from Pak jail but reaches Wagah in handcuffs

WAGAH: He may have been officially released from jail on Thursday morning but when Indian prisoner Surjeet Singh alighted from the prison van at the Wagah border on the Pakistan side, he was handcuffed and the iron chain was attached to the belt of a Pakistani police officer.

Dressed in a white kurta-pyjama and black turban and carrying two bags, Surjeet, 69, slowly alighted from the prison van with his left hand in handcuffs. The accompanying policemen got down with him but did not open the handcuffs.

He had been released from the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore and reached Wagah about an hour later.

With a smile on his face, Surjeet, who had been in captivity for over 30 years, hugged his Pakistani lawyer who was waiting for him here before being taken away for completion of formalities to enable him to cross into India.

"I will never return to Pakistan again," Surjeet, who has a grey flowing beard, told reporters in Punjabi with his head and finger indicating a firm "no" gesture.

"I was arrested earlier for spying charges. If I return again, the security agencies might suspect that I have come for spying again," he said.

Surjeet said prisoners on both sides of the border should be released by the respective governments.

"I was treated well by prison officials and I am thankful to them," he said.

Surjeet, who spent over 30 years in Pakistani jails after being arrested on charges of spying, walked out of jail to a battery of camera crews waiting to interview him.

He said he was looking forward to meeting his family - waiting excitedly across the border in Attari in the Indian Punjab to welcome him home.

He had completed his life term in 2005.

His family had given up hope of seeing him again, presuming him to be dead after he went missing near the international border in the Ferozepur sector of Punjab in 1982. The return of an Indian prisoner in 2005 rekindled their hopes after the family received a letter from Surjeet.

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Big B open to working with Rekha again

Mumbai: An all time popular on screen couple, Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha might have parted ways over decades but Big B doesn`t rule out the possibility of reuniting with her again on the silver screen.

"If there is a good story and like it then I don`t mind working with her," the megastar said at a function here Saturday.

The two have earlier worked together in films like `Silsila`, `Mr Narwarlal`, `Muqaddar Ka Sikandar` among others.

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Rumours about Salman Khan don't bother me: Katrina Kaif

Actress Katrina Kaif, who is teaming up with Salman Khan again in Ek Tha Tiger, says she is not bothered about the gossip that goes around regarding her and the actor.
Katrina reportedly dated Salman when she started off her career in Bollywood but later separated. And their new movie has got the rumour mills spinning again. She was last seen with the Dabangg star in 2008 movie Yuvraaj.
"When we start working for a movie we go in as professionals. I am here to do my job and if people want to highlight baseless stories then it's up to them. I don't think that these stories will have any affect on my work and the film.
"I am never bothered about such stories. Why should I? I think it's what every actor goes through. When you start working in the industry, people taking about you becomes a part of your life. Why analyse it so much?" Katrina told PTI.
The 27-year-old actress, who first starred alongside Salman in Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, said she is excited to work with him again.
"I am excited about the film, it's shaping up good. Salman is working with Yash Raj for the first time and it's my second film with them. It's always fun working with Salman, he makes everything very comfortable on the sets," she said.
Katrina is also working in another Yash Raj film opposite Shah Rukh Khan. The untitled film will mark the comeback of veteran director Yash Chopra after a gap of eight years.
"I am enjoying working with Shah Rukh and Yashji. Yashji is a living legend in Indian cinema and working with him has been a learning experience for me. I am very fortunate to have got an oppurtunity to work with him. Working with him is magical.
"And Shah Rukh is a wonderful co-star. I have learnt so much from him," she said.
With hits like Singh Is Kinng, Raajneeti, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Namastey London to her credit, Katrina has always been experimental with her choice of roles.
The actress says she likes exploring herself and does not think there is any definite formula to success.
"I like experimenting with my roles... If you stick to one thing you can easily get bored. Everything in life is a risk, there is no definite way to success.
"Today if I do a role which I have done before there is no guarantee that the audience will like it. The higher the risk the greater will be the outcome. You won't be able to work if you fear taking risk. I just try to give my best," Katrina said.
The actress, who has made heads turn with her seductive act in a recent Slice ad, said, "It is a very different campaign. The new ad is very rustic and ethnic. I think it is the best one. I love the rapport which I share with the brand."

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