Seven-year-old Aaryan Balaji is the youngest mountaineer to climb Africa's highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro, making history on February 25.

Aaryan is the son of an Indian Navy officer, and displayed his adaptability to the highest standards of physical fitness, mental and moral strength, determination and spirit. He already has recorded his name in Mount Everest history by trekking to the mountain's Southern Base Camp in Nepal. He is also the youngest to climb Mt. Kalapattar last May.

The remarkable lad in 2012 also became the youngest in the world to go for an 08 metre maiden undersea dive.

Commander Balaji, Aaryan's father is an avid adventurer who has been on many successful expeditions, including to Mt Everest, the South Pole and the North Pole.

[ Back to Top ]

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's model has certainly grown investment inflows that grew to Rs.240,000 crore in 2010. Gross output too grew at a rate of 22%. But job growth - not so much - as job growth was recorded at a dismal 3%.

The data is provided in the Union Ministry of statistics and programme implementation, and shows that there are 879,000 job seekers on the employment exchange, of which 815,000 are educated youth.

One analyst says the quality of employment is a concern but a bigger concern is the quality of jobs, low wages, poor working conditions and almost no social protection, as well as an outright non-implementation of the International Labour Organisation's precept of decent work.

The top 10 sectors contributing to Gujarat's industrial output are petrochemicals, chemicals, metals, textiles, food, machinery, pharma, plastics, auto and oil.

[ Back to Top ]

Delhi continues to be the rape capital of India, with four rapes a day reported in the capital till mid February this year, twice the number reported in the same period last year.
Delhi's shameful reputation has been in the limelight since the fatal gang-rape of a young student.

Police have since then increased patrolling in areas where women are considered vulnerable in the city, and more public transport has been added at night. Even so, just a week ago a 7-year-old was raped at her school. Nobody has been arrested in connection with the case thus far.

[ Back to Top ]

Amish Tripathi, a former banker turned bestselling novelist is to receive the first million dollar advance, the largest ever advance paid by an India publisher, for an epic story that taps into the resurgence of interest in Hindu myths.

Tripathi, 38, says he has many ideas he is considering for his epic of men, Gods, lost tribes, battles and kingdoms, loaded with ancient and modern religious philosophy. Tripathi's publisher Gautam Padmanabhan confirmed the advance and said it was based on Tripathi's past record and what they anticipate the trilogy will be about.

Tripathi's first three works were a 're-imagined' account of the life of God Shiva, and have become cult reads, with the most recent launched last week by Bollywood stars and a music-based marketing campaign featuring a specially recorded CD.

Some analysts say Tripathi shows an uncanny ability to strike a chord with Indian readers.

[ Back to Top ]

The government proposes to lower the age for consensual sex from 18 to 16. It also plans to reintroduce the word 'rape' instead of 'sexual assault' in the new criminal law amendment bill, a draft of which has been readied by the government to replace the recently promulgated criminal law amendment ordinance.

The proposed bill incorporates most of the clauses in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013, constituted in the wake of the December 16 gang-rape in Delhi.

The bill also proposes enhanced punishment for crimes against women such as stalking, voyeurism, acid attacks, indecent gestures, words and inappropriate touching. The draft bill also suggests that only a woman police officer will take the statement of the victim of a sexual crime.

[ Back to Top ]