Former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam passes away, national mourning for 7 days

• Rahul Karmakar, Hindustan Times, Guwahati
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• Updated: Jul 27, 2015 21:57 IST

Former president and Bharat Ratna APJ Abdul Kalam died on Monday after collapsing during a lecture in Shillong. (Sanjeev Verma/HT File Photo)

Former president and Bharat Ratna APJ Abdul Kalam died on Monday after collapsing during a lecture in Shillong.

Kalam, 83, who reached Shillong via Guwahati in the morning, collapsed during a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management-Shillong (IIM-S) around 6:30 pm and rushed to the Bethany Hospital there.

Doctors at the hospital said he was brought dead around 7pm. “He had no pulse when he was admitted to the hospital. We can attribute his death to cardiac arrest,” a doctor said.

The hospital authorities, however, refrained from confirming the death until Meghalaya governor V Shanmughanathan and chief secretary PBO Warjri visited the hospital around 8pm.

“The body of the former president will be flown to New Delhi via Guwahati Tuesday morning,” Warjri said.

IIM-S officials said Kalam, who had tweeted in the morning about the function, showed no signs of illness after he reached the Meghalaya capital. “We had a packed house for the lecture on Liveable Planet Earth,” an official said.

From 'Missile Man' to 'People's President'

Kalam served as president for five years from 2002, enjoying the support of both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

Kalam  was closely involved in the country's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts, earning him the sobriquet  'India's Missile Man'.  He worked as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) before he became president.

He also played a pivotal technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, shortly after the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government came to power.

After his term, he returned to a life of education, writing, and public service. He received several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.

The Centre has declared a national mourning of seven days.

"Dr. Kalam was a man of impeccable character, indomitable spirit, profound knowledge and firm conviction. His death is an irreparable loss to this nation. He has left a big void hard to fill," said home minister Rajnath Singh.

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 in a poor Tamil Muslim family in Rameswaram. But he overcame all odds to study physics and aerospace engineering.

Source:  hindustantimes

Baahubali surpasses '300' in IMDB ratings

While 300 has been rated 7.8, Baahubali has received a rating of around 9.4

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Baahubali- The term literally means 'A man with strong arms'. Staying true to its powerful meaning 'Baahubali' has hit the box office hard. The audiences have thronged the theatres in huge numbers all over to lift those powerful arms and declare it as a true winner. In fact, it has surpassed the Hollywood epic '300' when it comes to IMDB ratings. 

'Baahubali' has been rated 9.4, whereas '300' scores 7.8. IMDB ratings are accepted all over the world and trusted for its genuineness. The ratings are put up by the genuine registered users and even scoring a 7/10 makes it a movie worth watching. In that case 'Baahubali's' achievement is symbol of growth for Indian Cinema.

S.S Rajamouli's 'Baahubali' is nothing short of an epic in true sense. The hard work put across over a period of 3 years has surely started reaping benefits for the maverick film maker. The Prabhas starrer has surely struck a chord with critics and the audience. The movie backed up with an excellent script, stunning visuals and strong performances is surely a must watch.

Source: DNA

Office space demand in Bengaluru highest in Asia-Pacific region

Bengaluru, July 6 (IANS) Robust demand for office and commercial space from the booming IT sector has placed Bengaluru on the top among Asia-Pacific cities, indicates a real estate survey.

"Bengaluru pipped other Asia-Pacific cities in demand for office space while growing need for commercial space from the IT sector is helping boost absorption levels," global real estate services firm Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) said in a report here on Monday.

Strong growth in office rents has also pushed Bengaluru to 12th slot among the 20 top technologically-rich cities around the world in JLL's global office index and the city is estimated to add a whopping 12 million square feet office space over the next 18 months.

"A five-10 percent hike in prime office rents is seen this year for which construction is rapidly growing to meet the demand generated by the city's rapidly expanding economy," said JLL India head Anuj Puri.

"Bengaluru top scores in the city momentum index of 120 cities, ranking sixth in gross domestic product (GDP) growth, eighth in population growth and improvement in real estate market transparency, 11th in office net absorption," he said.

The survey also found that Bengaluru had the largest number of applications filed in India for international patents.

"An increase in the number of high-tech start-ups registered in the city over the year has also helped boost Bengaluru's score, reflecting its strengths in innovation and depth of venture capital funding," said Puri.

Source: Yahoo!