north east online - north east india news: Aug 24, 2009

Monday, August 24, 2009

Swiss banks snub India

"N
ot really"- Switzerland's
polite but clear answer to India. The question: now that America's done it, can India get access to the Swiss banks accounts held by its citizens?

Swiss banks say that's possible only if India files specific requests. What's not allowed: "fishing expeditions", or random checks through bank accounts. So while Indians hold Rs 1500 crores in Swiss accounts, how and why will remain a mystery.

Speaking to NDTV, James Mason of the Swiss Banks Association says, "Bank clients have a certain right to a certain degree of privacy". He says that if India has specific suspicions about an account, it needs to apply for information through "existing and correct channels". As evidence of Switzerland's willingness to cooperate , Mason cites one of India's biggest political controversies. "We gave India the information it wanted in the Bofors case, so this proves the system does work".

Earlier this month, America reached an agreement with Switzerland, under which Swiss bank UBS AG agreed to hand over details of more than 4,000 secret accounts worth 18 billion dollars. This followed a lengthy investigation by the US revenue service which filed a case against UBS in an American court for helping US citizens evade taxes. UBS relented after it realized the case against it was strong.

Fighting black money was a central theme of the BJP's campaign during the general elections. Party president Rajnath Singh maintains that India should use diplomatic pressure to force Switzerland to share information.

M
iss Venezuela 18-year-old lady Stefania Fernandez is the new Miss Universe 2009. She has been crowned as Miss Universe on Sunday at the picturesque Paradise Island on Atlantis in the Bahamas.

Stefania Fernandez was selected among young women from 83 countries. She beats 4 big finalists, who are from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Kosovo, and Australia. In the 59-year history of the pageant it was Venezuela’s sixth Miss Universe crown.

Miss Dominican Republic, Ada Aimee De la Cruz, is named as the 1st Runner-Up, 2nd Runner-Up is Miss Kosovo Gona Dragusha. And the 3rd Runner-Up is Miss Australia Rachael Finch. Miss China Wang Jingyao is chosen as Miss Photogenic, while Miss Thailand Chutima Durongdej is named Miss Congeniality.

Prizes for Miss Universe:

* She will receive a 100,000-dollar scholarship to study acting at an academy in New York,

* A five-day vacation package in the Bahamas for two,

* A set of jewelry,

* and a complete wardrobe.

And well there is obviously a good amount of monetary prize the amount of which has been kept confidential.

According to organizers the main prize is the golden opportunity to enter, explore and establish themselves into the lucrative world of acting and entertainment.

Miss Universe 2009 top 15 beauties

S
urprisingly this time there was no single Asian contestant among the Miss Universe 2009 top 15, even hot favorite Kianca Manalo, Miss Philippines and Ekta Choudhry Miss India, did not able to make it. Where as Croatia, Albania, Sweden and Switzerland are this year’s surprise entries in the Top 15.

Miss Venezuela Stefania Fernandez, was eventually named winner of the 2009 Miss Universe pageant.

Miss Australia, Rachael Finch and Miss Puerto Rico, Mayra Matos Perez were stood as the first runner ups, while Miss Kosovo, Gona Dragusha was second runner up.

Miss Universe 2009 top 15 are

PUERTO RICO
ICELAND
ALBANIA
CZECH REPUBLIC
BELGIUM
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
SWEDEN
KOSOVO
AUSTRALIA
FRANCE
SWITZERLAND
SOUTH AFRICA
USA
CROATIA
VENEZUELA

See the Asian contestants here in the preliminaries

AI needs $620 mn bailout to keep it flying: Praful

N
ew Delhi
, Aug 24: Air India needs a bailout of nearly 620 million dollars to keep it flying, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told to India's Business Standard newspaper.

Patel said, "The airline will survive. Every time it was in trouble the problems were rolled over, and we will roll over this time also."

He said he did not want the government to have to bailout the state-run carrier but added that "we have to do certain things as shareholders" of the airline.

"Air India should be sold, but I've been asked to keep it going," he told the newspaper.

"The airline needs a 30 billion rupee (618.6 million dollar) equity infusion and the conversion of high-cost debt to low-cost debt to keep it going," Patel added.

In a bid to cut costs, Air India had recently announced it would divide productivity-linked incentive payments for its 31,000 employees and also cut down crew flying allowances by 50 percent.

Encephalitis kills 200 in India

A
t least 200 children have died in an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis in northern India, health officials say.

So far, 900 affected children have been admitted to hospitals in Uttar Pradesh state. Some patients have come from neighbouring Bihar state and Nepal.

There is no specific cure for the mosquito-borne disease which has killed thousands in India since 1978.

Health experts complain that red tape has prevented development of an effective vaccination programme.

The disease occurs regularly during India's monsoon.

Doctors say children between the age of six months to 15 years are worst affected and most of the victims are poor people from rural areas.

Breeding ground

"The attack of the encephalitis virus is extremely ferocious this year," says Dr Rashmi Kumar, an expert on Japanese encephalitis at Lucknow Medical College hospital.

"Children are developing a serious condition within a day or two of getting infected," she says.

Health officials in the state capital, Lucknow, say cases of acute encephalitis are being reported mostly from 14 districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh in the foothills of the Himalayas.

The low-lying areas are prone to annual floods, and severe water-logging and a lack of sanitation provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Doctors say Gorakhpur town is the epicentre of the disease.

Last year, the government said it would spend 60 million rupees ($1.24m) to upgrade facilities at Gorakhpur Medical College hospital.

But, doctors say, the hospital does not have adequate numbers of medical staff to deal with the large numbers of patients.

Doctors say the children who survive will have to face lifelong problems as the disease has a crippling effect.

'Preventable'

While there is no specific cure for the disease after it has been contracted, three vaccines are in use worldwide that have reportedly been successful in preventing the disease.

But India has so far failed to develop an effective vaccination programme.

After the disease killed 1,500 children in 2005, a public outcry forced the government to import vaccines from China and a mass vaccination project was started.

However, doctors say the vaccine coverage has not been satisfactory this year, with many parents of affected children saying no vaccination was done in their areas.

Japanese encephalitis, which causes high fever, vomiting and can leave patients comatose, usually hits Uttar Pradesh state in July-August.

The disease has recurred annually in eastern regions of the state since 1978.

Hunted reality TV star found dead in motel

H
OPE, British Columbia -Reality show contestant Ryan Jenkins' life ended in a way that could have been scripted for TV: as police investigated the murder suspect's suicide at a secluded Canadian motel, word came Monday that a mysterious young woman had checked him in there.
Accused of the gruesome death of his ex-wife, a model whose body was so badly mutilated it had to be identified by her breast implants' serial numbers, Jenkins evaded a massive international manhunt for days as he crossed from California into his native Canada.
The dramatic end came at an isolated motel at the edge of British Columbia's mountainous interior, on the outskirts of Hope, a town known for its giant wooden carvings made with chainsaws and as the site of the first bloody Rambo movie.
On Sunday evening, police responded to a call from motel staff about a dead person, and then called investigators who were part of the manhunt for Jenkins, said Sgt. Duncan Pound of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police border integrity unit.
The manager of The Thunderbird Motel and his nephew said they found Jenkins hanging from the bar of a coat rack by a belt. They said a young woman had checked him in to the two-story inn surrounded by trees.
The 32-year-old real estate developer and investor was charged in California with first-degree murder Thursday after the dismembered body of Jasmine Fiore was found in a trash bin in Buena Park, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles.
Fiore's teeth had been pulled out and her fingers cut off, apparently to impede her identification. Investigators used the serial numbers on her breast implants to identify her, Orange County prosecutors said.
Kevin Walker, who manages the Thunderbird Motel, said Jenkins and the mystery woman arrived Thursday in a Chrysler PT Cruiser with tinted windows and license plates from Alberta, Jenkins' home province. He stayed in the car while the woman checked them in, he said.
She was blonde, in her early 20s and "naturally pretty, one of those wholesome little ladies," he said.
Adam Curt, 19, a motel employee and Walker's nephew, said Jenkins "looked stressed out," said. "He wouldn't look anybody in the eye."
Walker said he didn't recognize the man although Jenkin's face had been all over the news.
"In no way shape or form did he look like the man on TV," he said. "He looked spent."
The motel manager said the woman paid cash for three nights and when the couple didn't check out, he unlocked the room and found him dead.
"I cracked the door and there he was, hanging there in front of me, feet touching" the floor, Walker said. "He definitely wanted to die. I smelt death."
Michelle Beck, who lives near the motel, said people who stay there are "kind of seedy — lots of drugs addicts and people down on their luck."
Police carried out bags of Jenkins' belongings, including his laptop computer, Walker said.
Hope is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Point Roberts, Washington state, the last place Jenkins was reported to have been seen before he crossed into Canada.
"The sadness of this all is that Mr. Jenkins will not stand before an Orange County jury for his crime," Buena Park Police Lt. Steve Holiday said at a Sunday night press conference.
Holiday said his department's investigation would continue. The British Columbia Coroner's Service is also investigating Jenkins' death and police are trying to determine how he got to Hope.
After Jenkins disappeared last week, his boat was found Wednesday at a marina not far from the U.S.-Canada border south of Vancouver. Canadian authorities launched a massive border search using helicopters, ground police and dogs.
"The ring was tightening on him," Tom Hession, chief inspector for the U.S. Marshals Service's regional fugitive task force, said at the California news conference. "He obviously was desperate."
Jenkins and Fiore met in Las Vegas in March and they married a few weeks later. The couple separated shortly afterward, but had reportedly reconciled.
A cell phone message left with Fiore's mother, Lisa Lepore of Maui, Hawaii, was not immediately returned.
Friends said Fiore was a model who worked mainly in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, doing gigs such as being bodypainted at parties. She also was an aspiring actress and had a bit part in a small 2008 horror science-fiction movie, "The Abandoned," according to the Internet Movie Database.
Jenkins was recently a contestant on VH1 reality show "Megan Wants a Millionaire," in which wealthy young men tried to win over a materialistic blonde. The network canceled the show Friday.
Fiore's mother told The Associated Press earlier this week that her daughter had the marriage annulled in May. However, there were no court records of an annulment in either Nevada, where the couple was married, or in Los Angeles County, where they most recently lived.
The two were married in a Las Vegas casino after taping for "Megan Wants a Millionaire" finished in early March, Lepore said. Court records show the date of marriage as March 18.
But in May they fought because he was jealous of her ex-boyfriends, Lepore said.
Jenkins also was a participant in an as-yet-unaired competitive reality series, "I Love Money 3." A VH1 spokesman said no decision has been made on whether or not to run the show.
A resume posted on the professional networking site LinkedIn.com says Jenkins had a license to fly commercial airplanes and dabbled in several development enterprises.
Jenkins had been charged with allegedly hitting Fiore in the arm recently, court records showed.
In his hometown of Calgary, Jenkins was sentenced to 15 months probation in January 2007 on an unspecified assault charge.
Prosecutors said Jenkins and Fiore checked into a San Diego hotel Aug. 13, and Jenkins checked out the next morning. Fiore was never seen alive again.

Emotions run high in Manipur as people pay tribute to July 23rd victim

F
loral tributes were offered by the family members and well wishers of Raveena Devi who was shot dead in front of her kid in broad daylight in the heart of Imphal on June 23rd. Similar tribute was paid by the family members and well wishers of Ch. Sanjit who was also allegedly killed in a staged encounter by Manipur police commandos on the very day. A month has passed since the unfortunate incident that took place in the heart of Imphal on June 23 in which a pregnant woman Raveena was killed before the very eyes of her kid while Manipur police commandos allegedly staged a fake encounter. Floral tributes to the two departed souls were paid at the residence of Raveena and Ch. Sanjit who were killed on June 23. People adorning traditional attire came out to take part in the tribute. It may be mentioned here that Manipur has been witnessing various forms of stir against the indifferent attitude of the government. Meanwhile, the state government is trying to subdue the vociferous protests by clamping curfew and coming down heavily upon the protestors.

Women defy curfew, come out demanding Ibobi’s resignation

Off late Manipur has been exploding with protests and once again a large number of women protestors hit the streets and took out torch rallies across the Imphal valley. Defying the curfew given by the government and heeding to the call of Apunba Lup, women protestors came out in large numbers voicing their demands. At many places Police resorted to lathi charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse protestors who were demanding Chief Minister Okram Ibobi’s resignation over the BT road fake encounter issue. In response to the Apunba Lup’s call to light up the Imphal valley with protest torches, women protestors came out, defying curfew, shouting anti-Ibobi slogans. Groups of women assembled at strategic places and took out rally protesting Chief Minister Ibobi’s indifference to their demands. They also demanded Chief Minister Okram Ibobi’s resignation. Meanwhile, police had to resort to firing of tear gas shells, mock bombs and lathi charge the protestors who challenged the curfew. According to reports available with us, some protestors received minor injuries due to police action, and a woman was seriously injured when a mock bomb directly hit her right thigh blowing off a chunk of muscles. After a gap of about 30 hours, the injured woman was finally evacuated to the JN hospital. It maybe be mentioned here that the JAC against the Brutal Killing of Ch. Sanjit submitted a memorandum to the visiting Union Home Secretary, GK Pillai on Saturday.

CAG report exposes Gogoi’s claims on Mid-Day Meal scheme in Assam August 23, 2009

T
he tall claims of success by Assam government on the implementation of various central schemes have once again been exposed for another time. After the Prime Minister, who had criticized Gogoi without mincing any words in front of all chief ministers last week, this time it is the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The CAG, in its latest report on the Mid-Day Meal scheme, has detected some disturbing facts in the implementation of the scheme in Assam. First, it was the Prime Minister. In last week’s chief ministers’ meet in Delhi, Dr Manmohan Singh had openly slammed the Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi for not utilizing the central funds properly. A beleaguered Gogoi, in stead of admitting his failure, had countered the Prime Minister in his much-hyped press conference on Saturday that the Centre has even failed to utilize cent per cent funds. But a day after, all his tall claims of success were laid exposed before the public by the Comptroller and Auditor General report on Mid Day meal scheme. Preparation of food in the open, engaging children for cooking and use of empty paint containers to serve meals are some of the shocking instances the country’s top audit watchdog CAG has found while inspecting schools running the Mid-Day Meal scheme in Assam. Despite the scheme existing for more than a decade, the CAG report noted that the government is yet to establish a dependable system for its evaluation. The report, which incorporates audit reviews for 19 states in the last five years, has also pointed out several deficiencies in infrastructural facilities for the scheme. According to the report, despite release of funds by the Centre for kitchen-cum-stores, the state governments and implementing agencies failed to release these funds on time. This resulted in improper storage of food and cooking of meals in classrooms or open spaces in 14 states. These States are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The report also noted lack of adequate utensils, gas stoves and potable water for cooking and drinking in test-checked schools in 12 States. The report also noted that despite guidelines to the contrary, teachers were actively involved in receipt of food grains, procurement of vegetables, cooking and serving of meals, thereby compromising on teaching hours. NETV, time and again has been exposing how the mid-day meal scheme has become a goose laying golden eggs for a section of teachers and education department officials. We recently exposed in a series of reports how the items meant for PDS and Mid Day Meal scheme are being sold in the black market at higher prices. The CAG report vindicated NETV’s reports on the way of functioning of Gogoi’s so-called transparent governance.

Fresh Swine Flu cases detected in Assam; 1 suspected death; countrywide toll rises to 66

A
25 year old boy died of suspected swine flu at Biswanath Chaliali civil hospital on Sunday even as six persons are still undergoing treatment of the deadly H1N1 virus in Assam. Two more suspected swine flu patients have been admitted at the Nagaon civil hospital and the results are expected in a day or two. A suspected swine flu patient died at Biswanath Chariali Civil Hospital on Sunday. The patient died in the morning after he was admitted on Saturday evening. The patient was Sunmoni Hazarika, 25 year old a resident of Sotea Puroni gaon. He was suffering from fever and cough for the last one week. Sunmoni, who worked as a security guard with Himotsinka Company in Guwahati went to his home on leave on Friday. He was rushed to the primary health centre by his family members but was offered an ordinary treatment. He was admitted at the civil hospital as his condition deteriorated. When his condition was getting worse, the doctors suspected it to be a case of H1N1 virus infection. Then he was referred to the Tezpur Civil Hospital. But his family members could not shifted Suntu at night. Moreover, there was special treatment available for him and he died of this deadly virus early in the morning. It may be noted that altogether 6 persons from Assam have tested positive in H1N1 case. Two couples are among these infected persons besides a student and a private sector employee. An ex army jawan Raju Kumar Sinha tested positive and two days after his wife Hemawati Sinha was also confirmed to be a H1N1 virus case. Same it was the case with W R Yadav and his wife Sarika. Both the couples are under going treatment at the Base Hospital at Basistha in Guwahati. This has worried the family members of other army jawans. Apart from these couples, two others are IIT student Dhiraj Yadav who is undergoing treatment at the MMC Hospital while the last one is Monmit Gogoi undergoing treatment at the Assam Medical College Hospital. Two more suspected swine flu patients have been admitted at the Nagaon Bhugeswari Pkukononi Civil Hospital. The duo are Giasuddin from Bangalore and Dipankar Bora from Puronigudam area. There samples have been sent for test and results are expected in a day or two.

Naxals blow up rail track, BSNL tower in Jharkhand

A
close shave for the Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express while it was crossing Jharkhand.

Just 10 minutes after the train crossed an area in Latehar district, the track was blown up by Maoists. The incident took place at about 7:30 am on Monday morning.

PTI adds: Maoists on Monday blew up a stretch of railway track in Latehar as they began their 48-hour bandh in five states, including Jharkhand.

About 20 left-wing ultras blasted the tracks between Kumundi and Hehegarha railway stations, about 150 km from Ranchi, according to Latehar Railway station master P N Tiwari.

The blast occurred on the down line disrupting the Barwadih-Barkakana route, he said.

Besides Jharkhand, the Maoists are observing the shutdown in Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Bihar to protest the alleged arrest of two senior members of the CPI
(Maoist).

Meanwhile, Maoists also blew up a mobile tower in Palamau district.

About 50 armed naxalites reached the site of the tower situated on Aurangabad-Medininagar route in the district, stuffed explosives before blowing it up, Deputy Superintendent of Police Brajmohan Paswan, said.

The blast left a big crater on the spot, about 200 km from Ranchi, he added.

The CPI (Maoist) is observing a two-day shut down in Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh against the arrest of two of its senior members.

Statue row: SC to hear PIL against Mayawati today

T
he Supreme Court is likely to hear a petition on Monday filed against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for alleged misuse of crores of rupees of public money for installing statues.

The PIL filed by Delhi-based advocate Ravi Kant is listed for hearing before a vacation bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A K Ganguly.

The PIL wanted the apex court to restrain Mayawati from installing her statutes and party symbol in public places at the cost of the state exchequer and demanded a CBI probe into the issue.

The BSP supremo unveiled 15 statues, which include that of party founder Kanshi Ram and herself on June 25, nine days ahead of the scheduled date July 3, after the apex court decided to hear the PIL challenging the Rs 52.20 crore project.

The Supreme Court had earlier issued notices to Mayawati and the UP government for erecting monuments and statues across Uttar Pradesh.

Bribery case: CBI to question Buta Singh today

T
he CBI will question Chairman of the National Commission for SCs/STs and former union minister Buta Singh on Monday in connection with the Rs 1-crore bibery scam involving his son Sarobjit.

According to CBI sources, Singh's statement would be recorded in connection with the corruption case which led to the arrest of his son Sarobjit Singh, alias Sweety, on July 31.

The CBI arrested Sarobjit for allegedly demanding Rs 1 crore as bribe from a Nasik-based contractor Ramrao Patil to close a case registered against him under the SC/ST Act.

The issue of Buta Singh's possible involvement had also sprung up during the investigation of the case.

This is how the case unfolded:

Former NCP man Ramrao Patil is a Nasik-based contractor who supplies garbage trucks to the municipality. Patil had reportedly taken Rs 10 crore loan from a cooperative society on behalf of several people from the Dalit community in Nasik and later pocketed the money which led to registration of a case against him.

They complained to Congressman Anup Beghe who organised a meeting between the workers and Buta Singh in Nasik.

According to Patil, when he visited Buta Singh's residence, Sarobjit threatened to lodge a case against him under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act unless he paid Rs 1 crore.

"When I met Sweety Singh in Delhi, he made it clear that his father wanted him to deal with me," Patil said.

Patil lodged a complaint with the CBI and then got the money delivered to Beghe. The CBI caught Beghe red-handed while delivering the money to Sarobjit's men and later Sarobjit was also held.

When contacted, Sweety Singh said he was being framed.

"We have some information of a possible Hawala transaction in the case. We have to dig further," said Rishiraj Singh, Joint Director, CBI (Western Region).

IIT Bombay professors on protest leave

A
fter IIT Chennai and Kharagpur, 450 professors in Mumbai are on mass casual leave to protest against their salaries.

Professors at the IIT Bombay have decided to go on a one-day mass casual leave to oppose what the government has to offer them under the sixth pay commission recommendations. As many as 6500 students will be affected due to the one-day strike.

The professors have struck work on Monday in the Mumbai campus and will be holding a silent protest march as well.

A similar mass causal leave was taken by the IITs at Madras and Kharagpur on Friday and the IIT in Delhi will do the same on Tuesday.

The IIT had reopened on Friday after the Government had ordered schools and colleges to shut due to swine flu.

Indian hopes dashed at Miss Universe contest

N
assau (Bahamas), Aug 24 (ANI): Indian hopes were dashed when Miss India Ekta Choudhry failed to make the top 15 in the Miss Universe 2009 contest.

Miss Venezuela Stefania Fernandez, named winner of the 2009 Miss Universe pageant.

Miss Australia, Rachael Finch and Miss Puerto Rico, Mayra Matos Perez were stood as the first runner ups, while Miss Kosovo, Gona Dragusha was second runner up.

The pageant, held in Nassau, Bahamas was hosted by Billy Bush and actress and former Miss Rhode Island USA Claudia Jordan.

Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza, also of the Venezuela, crowned her successor.(ANI)

India will look into the Swiss banks rejection to disclose details, says Mukherjee

I
ndia will look into the Swiss banks rejection to disclose details, says Mukherjee

New Delhi, Aug 24 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said the Indian Government will look into the matter of Swiss banks rejection to hand over the details of the Indian clients.

Speaking to newsmen before entering his North Block office Mukherjee said, "What can I comment? I will look into the matter and discuss the Swiss Banks rejection to disclose the details with authorities in banking sector."

Earlier Swiss Bank authorities rejected India''''s request to disclose details of clients, saying Swiss law and organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model Tax Convention do not permit fishing expeditions.

The Swiss Bank authorities added that they would not co-operate for the indiscriminate trawling through bank accounts in the hope of finding something interesting.

"This means that India cannot simply throw its telephone book at Switzerland and ask if any of these people have a bank account here," a top Swiss Bankers Association official said.

According to sources the Swiss bank-client confidentiality has never been 100 per cent absolute and Swiss legislators have built in provisions for it to be lifted during criminal investigations and also in many civil cases and it has also evolved over time.

"The key for the exchange of information in tax matters is the Double Taxation Agreement between Switzerland and India," said SBA''''s Head of International Communications James Nason.

Double Taxation Agreements are being currently revised to incorporate the OECD standard on the exchange of information in tax matters according to the OECD''''s own Model Tax Convention. (ANI)

Top Canadian universities to tour India

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ew Delhi, Aug.24 (ANI): Thirteen of Canada’s elite universities will be in India from August 23 to September 4 to hold information sessions on Canada as a destination for higher education.

The delegation is led by Ginette Sanfaçon of HEC Montréal (Business school affiliated with the Université de Montréal) and Michelle Beaton of Ryerson University in Toronto.

The tour is organized by the Canadian Higher Education Committee under the aegis of the Council of International Schools (CIS).

The Council’s fifth annual tour to India will begin in Mumbai and continue in Pune, Delhi and Bangalore.

According to a Canadian High Commission press release, the tour is of special interest to Standard XI and Standard XII students who exhibit strong academic standing, their school guidance counselors as well as to their parents. The schedule includes school visits, information fairs, and an indepth Canadian university admission workshop for guidance counselors.

“India is a key undergraduate student market for Canadian universities,” said Ginette Sanfaçon of HEC-Montréal and Tour Director. “Indian students are sought for their academic strength and their rich contribution to student life on Canadian university campuses. In turn, increasing numbers of Indian students are making Canada their first choice for study – as evidenced on this tour. Indian students are drawn to our universities’ common attributes of international reputation for academic excellence, state of the art resources, and safe campuses in welcoming locations,” Sanfaçon said.

Each year, tour organizers strengthen existing relationships with secondary schools in cities they visit and also expand outreach to new regions. For example, guidance counselors from schools in Dehra Dun, Hyderabad, Chennai and Chandigarh as well as Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are receiving invitations to attend the Tour’s counselor workshop in Delhi.

List of participating universities:

The University of British Columbia; Carleton University; Dalhousie University; HEC MONTRÉAL (Business School affiliated with Université de Montréal); Memorial University of Newfoundland; University of Manitoba; University of New Brunswick; Ryerson University; University of Saskatchewan; University of Toronto; Vancouver Island University; University of Waterloo; York University.

Canadian universities are engaged internationally as leaders in education through teaching, research and partnerships. Undergraduate education in Canada is a hybrid of US and UK styles offering breadth of program options, flexibility in choice and a degree that is ultimately recognized world-wide.

Indian students choose Canada because a strong education and a positive international experience is the foundation for their exciting and successful futures. The quality, affordability and renowned research opportunities are key factors in this decision. University campuses across Canada offer multicultural environments, beautiful spaces and friendly people. As a leader in business, political diplomacy, arts and culture and technology – Canada’s education system is at the core of its success and its graduates are players on the world stage. (ANI)

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