News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.

Etymology

One theory claims that the English word "news" developed in the 14th century as a special use of the plural form of "new". In Middle English, the equivalent word was ''newes'', like the French ''nouvelles'' and the German ''neues''. Similar developments are found in the Slavic languages – the Czech and Slovak ''noviny'' (from ''nový'', "new"), the cognate Polish ''nowiny'' and Russian ''novosti'' – and in the Celtic languages: the Welsh ''newyddion'' (from ''newydd'') and the Cornish ''nowodhow'' (from ''nowydh'').

History

Before the invention of newspapers in the early 17th century, official government bulletins and edicts were circulated at times in some centralized empires.

The first documented use of an organized courier service for the diffusion of written documents is in Egypt, where Pharaohs used couriers for the diffusion of their decrees in the territory of the State (2400 BC). This practice almost certainly has roots in the much older practice of oral messaging and may have been built on a pre-existing infrastructure.

In Ancient Rome, ''Acta Diurna'', or government announcement bulletins, were made public by Julius Caesar. They were carved in metal or stone and posted in public places.

In China, early government-produced news sheets, called tipao, circulated among court officials during the late Han dynasty (second and third centuries AD). Between 713 and 734, the ''Kaiyuan Za Bao'' ("Bulletin of the Court") of the Chinese Tang Dynasty published government news; it was handwritten on silk and read by government officials. In 1582 there was the first reference to privately published newssheets in Beijing, during the late Ming Dynasty;

In Early modern Europe, increased cross-border interaction created a rising need for information which was met by concise handwritten newssheets. In 1556, the government of Venice first published the monthly ''Notizie scritte'', which cost one gazetta. These avvisi were handwritten newsletters and used to convey political, military, and economic news quickly and efficiently to Italian cities (1500–1700) — sharing some characteristics of newspapers though usually not considered true newspapers. Due to low literacy rates, news was at times disseminated by town criers.

Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, from 1605, is recognized as the world's first newspaper.

The oldest news agency is the Agence France-Presse (AFP). It was founded in 1835 by a Parisian translator and advertising agent, Charles-Louis Havas as Agence Havas.

In modern times, printed news had to be phoned in to a newsroom or brought there by a reporter, where it was typed and either transmitted over wire services or edited and manually set in type along with other news stories for a specific edition. Today, the term "breaking news" has become trite as commercial broadcasting United States cable news services that are available 24-hours a day use live satellite technology to bring current events into consumers' homes as the event occurs. Events that used to take hours or days to become common knowledge in towns or in nations are fed instantaneously to consumers via radio, television, mobile phone, and the Internet.

Newspapers

Most large cities in the United States historically had morning and afternoon newspapers. As the media evolved and news outlets increased to the point of near over-saturation, most afternoon newspapers were shut down. Morning newspapers have been gradually losing circulation, according to reports advanced by the papers themselves. Commonly, news content should contain the "Five Ws" (who, what, when, where, why, and also how) of an event. There should be no questions remaining. Newspapers normally place hard news stories on the first pages, so the most important information is at the beginning. Busy readers can read as little or as much as they desire. Local stations and networks with a set format must take news stories and break them down into the most important aspects due to time constraints. Cable news channels such as BBC News, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN, are able to take advantage of a story, sacrificing other, decidedly less important stories, and giving as much detail about breaking news as possible.

News organizations are often expected to aim for objectivity; reporters claim to try to cover all sides of an issue without bias, as compared to commentators or analysts, who provide opinion or personal point-of-view. Several governments impose certain constraints or police news organizations against bias. In the United Kingdom, for example, limits are set by the government agency Ofcom, the Office of Communications. Both newspapers and broadcast news programs in the United States are generally expected to remain neutral and avoid bias except for clearly indicated editorial articles or segments. Many single-party governments have operated state-run news organizations, which may present the government's views.

Even in those situations where objectivity is expected, it is difficult to achieve, and individual journalists may fall foul of their own personal bias, or succumb to commercial or political pressure. Similarly, the objectivity of news organizations owned by conglomerated corporations fairly may be questioned, in light of the natural incentive for such groups to report news in a manner intended to advance the conglomerate's financial interests. Individuals and organizations who are the subject of news reports may use news management techniques to try to make a favourable impression. Because each individual has a particular point of view, it is recognized that there can be no absolute objectivity in news reporting.

Newsworthiness

Newsworthiness is defined as a subject having sufficient relevance to the public or a special audience to warrant press attention or coverage.

In some countries and at some points in history, what news media and the public have considered "newsworthy" has met different definitions, such as the notion of news values. For example, mid-twentieth-century news reporting in the United States focused on political and local issues with important socio-economic impacts, such as the landing of a living person on the moon or the cold war. More recently, the focus similarly remains on political and local issues; however, the news mass media now comes under criticism for over-emphasis on "non-news" and "gossip" such as celebrities' personal social issues, local issues of little merit, as well as biased sensationalism of political topics such as terrorism and the economy. The dominance of celebrity and social news, the blurring of the boundary between news and reality shows and other popular culture, and the advent of citizen journalism may suggest that the nature of ‘news’ and news values are evolving and that traditional models of the news process are now only partially relevant. Newsworthiness does not only depend on the topic, but also the presentation of the topic and the selection of information from that topic. Daily trends update

New ecology of news

“Everything we thought we once knew about journalism needs to be rethought in the Digital Age”, professor of Sociology and Communication Michael Schudson points out. Today the work of journalism can be done from anywhere and done well. It requires no more than a reporter and a laptop. In that way, journalistic authority seems to have become more individual- and less institution-based. But does the individual reporter always have to be an actual journalist? Or can journalistic work be done from anywhere and by anyone? These are questions that refers to the core of journalistic practice and the definition of “news” itself. As Schudson has given emphasis to, the answer is not easily found; “the ground journalists walk upon is shaking, and the experience for both those who work in the field and those on the outside studying it is dizzying”.

Schudson has identified the following six specific areas where the ecology of news in his opinion has changed: 1. The line between the reader and writer has blurred 2. The distinction among tweet, blog post, newspaper story, magazine article, and book as blurred 3. The line between professionals and amateurs has blurred, and a variety of “pro-am” relationships has emerged 4. The boundaries delineating for-profit, public, and non-profit media have blurred, and the cooperation across these models of financing has developed 5. Within commercial news organizations, the line between the news room and the business office has blurred 6. The line between old media and new media has blurred, practically beyond recognition

These alterations inevitably has fundamental ramifications for the contemporary ecology of news. “The boundaries of journalism, which just a few years ago seemed relatively clear, and permanent, have become less distinct, and this blurring, while potentially the foundation of progress even as it is the source of risk, has given rise to a new set of journalistic principles and practices”, Schudson puts it. It is indeed complex, but it seems to be the future.

See also

References

Further reading

Stephens, Mitchell. "The History of News - 3rd Ed" Oxford University Press, New York, 2007.

External links

Category:Television terminology

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name	Sharad Pawar
birth date	December 12, 1940
birth place	Pune, M aharashtra
residence	Baramati, Pune]]
constituency	Madha
office	MP
office1	Chief Minister of Maharashtra
term start1	18 July 1978
term end1	17 February 1980
predecessor1	Vasantdada Patil
successor1	President's Rule
term start2	26 June 1988
term end2	25 June 1991
predecessor2	Shankarrao Chavan
successor2	Sudhakarrao Naik
term start3	6 March 1993
term end3	14 March 1995
predecessor3	Sudhakarrao Naik
successor3	Manohar Joshi
office4	Presidents Bharat Scouts and Guides
term start4	2001
term end4	2004
predecessor4	Rameshwar Thakur
successor4	Rameshwar Thakur
office5	Minister of Agriculture
term start5	2004
term end5	Present
predecessor5	Rajnath Singh
successor5	Incumbent
office6	Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
term start6	2004
term end6	2011
predecessor6	Sharad Yadav
successor6	K.V. Thomas
office7	president of the International Cricket Council president of RAYAT SHIKSHAN SANSTHA
term start7	2010
term end7	Present
predecessor7	David Morgan
successor7	Incumbent
party	Indian National Congress (1967–1999) Nationalist Congress Party (1999–present)
religion	Hindu
spouse	Pratibha Pawar
children	1 daughter – Supriya Sule
profession	Social workerPolitician
date	October 29
year	2010
source	http://164.100.24.208/ls/lsmember/biodata.asp?mpsno327 }}

Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar (; born 12 December 1940), popularly known as SAHEB, is the president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress. He has previously held the posts of Minister of Defence and Chief Minister of Maharashtra and currently serves as Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.

Pawar is from the town of Baramati in the Pune district of Maharashtra. He leads the NCP delegation in the Lok Sabha, representing his constituency of Madha in Maharashtra. He has a prominent place in Indian national politics as well as regional politics of Maharashtra, although marred by frequent corruption allegations.

Pawar also served as the Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from 2005 to 2008. In 2010, Sharad Pawar became the International Cricket Council president after England's David Morgan.

Early Life and Family History

M. Pawar is one of the eleven children (seven sons and four daughters) born to Govindrao Pawar and Shardabai (nee, Bhonsle). Govindrao was employed by the Baramati farmers' Cooperative ( Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Sangh) whilst his mother looked after the family farm at Katewadi, a few kilometers from Baramati. Most of siblings were well educated and were either professionals or ran their own businesses. Mr. Pawar studied at BrihanMaharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC)in Pune. He was an average student, however, active in student politics. Mr. Pawar's first political act was when he organized a protest march for Goan Independence in Pravaranagar in 1956., Mr. Pawar is married to Pratibha ( nee Shinde). They have one daughter, Supriya who is married to Sadanand Sule. Mr. Pawar's nephew, Ajit Pawar is also a prominent politician in his own right. Mr. Pawar's younger brother, Pratap runs the influential Marathi daily, Sakal

Career

Till 1990

Sharad Pawar entered the Maharashtra legislative assembly for the first time in 1967 from Baramati, representing the undivided Congress Party. Yashwantrao Chavan was the political mentor of Sharad Pawar.

Pawar broke away from the Congress to form a coalition government with the opposition Janata party in 1978 becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the first time at a time when Indira Gandhi had become incredibly unpopular due to her imposition of Emergency in 1975. This Progressive Democratic Front government was dismissed in February 1980, following Indira Gandhi's return to power at the Centre.

In the elections that followed, the Congress party won the majority in state assembly and A.R. Antulay,took over as the chief minister of the state. Pawar took over the Presidency of the Congress in 1981. For the first time, he won Lok Sabha election from Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won state assembly elections of March 1985 from Baramati and preferred to continue in state politics for a while and resigned from the Lok Sabha. His party, the Indian Congress (Socialist) won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly and he became the leader of the opposition.

His returning to the Congress has been cited as a reason for the rise of the Shiv Sena at that time. In June 1988, Prime Minister of India and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into Union Cabinet as Finance Minister and Sharad Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as chief minister. Sharad Pawar had the task of checking the rise of the Shiv Sena in state politics, which was a potential challenge to the dominance of Congress party in the state. In 1989 Lok Sabha elections, Congress party won 28 seats out of 48 in Maharashtra. In the state assembly elections of February 1990, the alliance between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party posed a stiff challenge to the Congress. Congress fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly, winning 141 seats out 288. Sharad Pawar was sworn in as chief minister again on March 4, 1990 with the support of 12 independent MLAs.

Early 1990s

During the course of election campaign, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. There were reports in the media that Pawar's name was being considered for the Prime Minister's post along with those of P.V. Narasimha Rao and N.D. Tiwari. However the Congress Parliamentary Party elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as its leader and he was sworn in as Prime Minister on June 21, 1991. Rao decided to induct Pawar as Defence Minister. On June 26, 1991, Pawar took over as that portfolio, continuing till March 1993. After Pawar's successor in Maharashtra, Sudhakarrao Naik stepped down, Rao sent Pawar back as chief minister of the state.

He was sworn in as chief minister for his fourth and most controversial term on March 6, 1993. Almost immediately, Mumbai, the financial capital of India and the state capital of Maharashtra, was rocked with series of bomb blasts on March 12, 1993.

Mid 1990s

The Deputy Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, G R Khairnar made a series of accusations against Pawar for being involved in corruption and protecting the criminals. Though Khairnar could not produce any evidence in support of his claims, it inevitably affected Pawar's popularity. Notable social worker Anna Hazare started a fast unto death to demand expulsion of 12 officers of the Forest department of Government of Maharashtra, who had been accused of corruption. The opposition parties accused Pawar's government of trying to shield the corrupt officers. The 1994 Gowari stampede occurred at Nagpur during the Winter Session of Maharashtra State Assembly and killed 114 people. Nagpur Police were trying to disperse almost 50000 Gowari protesters using baton charge but it created panic and triggered stampede amongst protesters. Allegations were made that the mishap occurred because welfare minister Madhukarrao Pichad did not meet with the delegation of the Vanjara people in time. Though Pichad stepped down owing moral responsibility for the mishap, this incident was another setback to Sharad Pawar's government.

The elections to the Vidhan Sabha were due to be held in 1995. The Shiv Sena and BJP combine was leading the Congress in the polls, and there was widespread rebellion in the Congress party. The Shiv Sena-BJP combine won 138 seats while Congress party retained only 80 seats in the state assembly. Sharad Pawar had to step down and Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi took over as chief minister on March 14, 1995.

Till the Lok Sabha elections of 1996, Sharad Pawar served as the Leader of the Opposition in State Legislative Council. In the 1996 General elections, he won from the Baramati seat and has not returned to the State Assembly since.

1997 till date

In June 1997, he unsuccessfully challenged Sitaram Kesri for the post of Congress President. In the mid-term parliamentary elections of 1998, Sharad Pawar not only won from his constituency, Baramati but also led the Congress to an emphatic win in Maharashtra. His move to align with the Republican Party of India (Athvale) and Samajwadi Party for the elections in the state brought rich dividents and the Congress party and allies won 37 seats out of 48 in the state. Sharad Pawar served as Leader of Opposition in 12th Lok Sabha.

After 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved and elections to 13th Lok Sabha were due, Pawar, P.A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar demanded that the Congress Party needed to project someone born in India as the Prime Ministerial candidate and not the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, who had entered party politics and replaced Kesri as Congress President.

In June 1999, Pawar and Sangma founded the Nationalist Congress Party. His party had to align with the Congress party to form a coalition government in Maharashtra as neither party could win an absolute majority on its own in the 1999 assembly elections. Pawar, however, did not return to state politics, and Vilasrao Deshmukh of the Congress was chosen as Chief Minister, with Chagan Bhujbal representing the NCP as his deputy. The alliance has endured at the national and state level to this day.

After 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he joined the United Progressive Alliance government headed by Manmohan Singh as the Minister of Agriculture.

On November 29, 2005, he was elected President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

He was appointed Union Minister of Agriculture and of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution on May 28, 2009

The criminal-politician nexus

In 2002–03, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao made a statement that the state leader of Indian National Congress party and erstwhile Chief Minister Sharad Pawar, had asked him to "go easy on Pappu Kalani", a well known criminal-turned-politician now. Shiv Sena Chief, Bal Thakare, had later concurred with these allegations. Further, Sudhakarrao also alleged that it was possible that Kalani and Hitendra Thakur, another criminal-turned-politician from Virar, had been given tickets to contest election for Maharashtra State Legislature at the behest of Sharad Pawar who also put in a word for Naik with the police when the latter was arrested for his role in post-Babri Masjid Demolition riots in Mumbai.

Allegations of corruption

Abdul Karim Telgi cited Pawar's name in relation to the 600 billion rupee stamp-paper scam, during a narcoanalysis filmed by various Indian news channels, wherein he also mentioned Chhagan Bhujbal Telgi also claimed that it was Sharad Pawar's brain to print fake stamp papers across country and mint money. Pawar's idea to print fake currency was rejected by Telgi.

The BJP asked for Pawar's resignation after alleging he was involved in a multi-crore scam involving wheat imports. In May 2007 a tender floated by the Food Corporation of India for procurement of wheat was cancelled when the lowest bid received was for 263 USD/ton. The government subsequently allowed private traders to purchase wheat directly from farmers that year resulting in a paucity of wheat to stock FCI granaries. By July 2007 the shortage at FCI was large enough to require import of wheat at a much higher price of 320–360 USD/ton. Taking advantage of this, traders who had domestically purchased wheat at 900 INR/ton earlier, were now offering the same to FCI at 1,300 INR/ton.

On October 27, 2007, the Bombay High Court served notices to institutions headed by Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar and Sadanand Sule (Sharad Pawar's son-in-law) along with a corresponding notice served to the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) on why special privileges were given to Pawar and his family. This was done in consideration of a Public Interest Litigation No. 148 of 2006, filed by Shamsunder Potare alleging that the land said allocations in Pune, made in 2002, were illegal. The institutions and properties mentioned include: Two plots given allotted to Vidya Pratishthan, an educational society headed by Sharad Pawar A plot allotted to Anant Smriti Pratishthan, headed by Ajit Pawar, the Maharashtra state minister for irrigation and Sharad Pawar's nephew

A 130,000 square metre (32.12 acre) plot allotted to Lavasa Corporation, owned by Sadanand Sule, Sharad Pawar's son-in-law at the time. He handed over his stake in 2006.

A plot allotted to Shivajinagar Agriculture College A plot allotted to Sharadchandraji Scout and Guide Training Institute

These allocations were made allegedly under NCP leader and minister Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar who was in charge of MKVDC at the time. Sharad Pawar was served a contempt of court notice on May 1, 2008 in connection with this case for issuing statements to the press even though the matter was ''subjudice'' at the time, that was later rejected by the court. Also in connection with the case, the respondents were directed not to create third-party interests in the property under dispute and to undertake any developments at their own risk.

While Pawar had declared that he is no richer than 3.6 crore rupees, the recent IPL Pune team bidding has revealed his 16% stake in City finance. IPL Pune team is supposedly worth 1200 crore rupees. Likewise, his 0.05% stake in Royal Challengers Bangalore team is alone worth 6 crores. The Pawars had consistently denied any IPL stake, but have now had to declare it publicly.

Pawar is also listed on the No Criminals website as an incriminated offender of the Religion Institution Act 1988 (Prevention of Misuse).

Ever since he has been appointed Cabinet Minister for Agriculture, Pawar has been consistently accused of being incapable of handling the extreme hike in prices of agricultural produce. Wheat import in 2007 – Bombay High Court issued notices to Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, questioning the decision to import defective red wheat and to submit details of procurement of the crop from different states and the exact process of importing it.

Sugar prices in 2009 – Opposition parties, including the BJP and the CPI(M) accused Sharad Pawar of engineering a steep rise in the price of sugar to the advantage of hoarders and importers. Onion prices in 2010–11 – The opposition have accused him to be responsible on the same issue.

Veteran social leader Anna Hazare has claimed that Sharad Pawar has "corruption running through his veins"

Endosulfan

Even though almost all over the world has banned Endosulfan, India is the only one country which is against global banning of Endosulfan. Recently, Sarad Pawar made a remark that Endosulfan is not yet proved dangerous. This remark made some activist like vandana shiva to call him a corrupt minister.

Sports administration

Pawar has interests in kabbadi, kho kho, wrestling and football. He has served as the head of various sports organizations, including

Mumbai Cricket Association

Maharashtra Wrestling Association

Maharashtra Kabbadi Association

Maharashtra Kho Kho Association

Maharastra Olympics Association

Board of Control for Cricket in India President 2005 – 2008

International Cricket Council Vice President International Cricket Council President Pawar was president of Pune International Marathon Trust, which host Pune International Marathon for last 22 years.

See also

Ajit Pawar, MLA, his nephew

Supriya Sule, his daughter, MP Loksabha

Prataprao Pawar brother, Managing Director-editor, Sakal

Rajendra pawar son of Prataprao Pawar

References

External links

Profile at ''BBC News''

Profile at Govt. of India website

Further reading/sources

P. K. Ravindranath (February 1, 1992) ''Sharad Pawar- the making of a modern maratha'' South Asia Books. ISBN 81-85674-46-9

Page 23 of the Times of India, New Delhi, Tuesday, December 12, 2006.

{{s-ttl | title = Minister of Agriculture | years = ?-present}} {{s-ttl | title = Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution | years = ?-present}} {{s-ttl | title = Chief Minister of Maharashtra | years = 18 July 1978 – 17 February 1980}} {{s-ttl | title = Chief Minister of Maharashtra | years = 26 June 1988 – 25 June 1991}} {{s-ttl | title = Chief Minister of Maharashtra | years = 6 March 1993 – 14 March 1995}} {{s-ttl | title = Presidents of the Bharat Scouts and Guides | years = 2001–2004}}

Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:Indian politicians Category:Chief Ministers of Maharashtra Category:Maharashtra politicians Category:Cricket administrators Category:People from Pune Category:Members of the Cabinet of India Category:People from Maharashtra Category:15th Lok Sabha members Category:14th Lok Sabha members Category:Nationalist Congress Party politicians Category:Members of Parliament from Maharashtra Category:Scouting and Guiding in India Category:Politicians with physical disabilities Category:Marathi politicians Category:Marathi people Category:Union Ministers from Maharashtra Category:Indian sports administrators Category:Leaders of political parties in India Category:Indian people with disabilities

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company name	China Telecom
company logo
company slogan	Connecting the World
company type	Public Company | foundation 2002
location	Beijing
area served	Mainland China
industry	Telecommunication
revenue	$30.630 billion (2009)
net income	$2.142 billion (2009)
num employees	312,520 (2010)
key people	Chairman & CEO Wang Xiaochu President & CFO Shang Bing
products	Voice services Mobile services Internet Broadband
parent	China Telecommunications Corporation Limited
homepage	www.chinatelecom-h.com/ }}

China Telecom Corp. Ltd. (simplified Chinese: 中国电信集团公司, 中国电信) (, ) is a Chinese state-owned telecommunication company. It is the largest fixed line service and 3rd largest mobile telecommunication provider in the People's Republic of China.

Sectors

The company provides fixed-line and Xiaolingtong (Personal Handy-phone System) telephone services to 216 million subscribers as of April 2008, and broadband internet access to over 38 million subscribers, providing approximately 62% (46 Gb/s) of China's internet bandwidth. On June 2, 2008, China Telecom announced that it would purchase China Unicom's nationwide CDMA business and assets for 110 billion RMB, giving it 43 million mobile subscribers. On 7 January 2009, China Telecom was awarded CDMA 2000 license to expand its business to 3G telecommunication.

The company was formerly a state-owned monopoly, but is now divided into largely autonomous provincial branches. Its assets in the country's 10 northern provinces were transferred to China Netcom in 2002, leaving China Telecom with the 21 southern provinces. Although the two companies are free to compete across the whole country, Telecom still has an overwhelming market share in the south, while Netcom dominates the north.

China Telecom has been listed on the Hong Kong and New York stock exchanges since 2002, but the Chinese government still retains majority ownership.

WiFi

China Telecom has the largest single WiFi wireless broadband network with over 30,000 hotspot locations covering hotels, restaurants and transportation facilities in over 250 major Chinese cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanning, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Dalian, Kunming, Wuhan, Chongqing and Xi'an.

Consolidation and expansion

On June 2, 2008, the company announced it would acquire China Unicom's CDMA business and network for a total of 110 billion yuan in cash (USD $15.86 Billion in cash), a series of transactions aimed transform the company into a fully integrated telecommunications operator after its expected completion in the next six months to one year.

Such shifts mark a new era for the Telecommunications industry in China in which analyst have further commented that these changes are aimed at promoting a more fair and competitive industry environment.

China Telecom (Europe) Ltd. on 2008-10-23 said it would expand its Asian-European services, aiming to increase its market share in Europe.

In May of 2011, China Telecom formed a strategic partnership with German software group SAP to offer a cloud-based version of SAP's business software to small and medium companies in China.

Rerouted Internet traffic

On April 8, 2010 China Telecom rerouted about 15% of foreign Internet traffic through Chinese servers for 18 minutes. The traffic included the commercial websites of Dell, IBM, Microsoft, and Yahoo! as well as government and military sites in the United States. China Telecom denied hijacking any Internet traffic.

See also

Communications in the People's Republic of China

List of companies in the People's Republic of China

Telecommunications industry in China

References

External links

Category:Telecommunications companies of China Category:Central-owned enterprises of the People's Republic of China Category:Warrants issued in Hong Kong Stock Exchange Category:Callable Bull/Bear Contracts issued in Hong Kong Stock Exchange Category:Internet service providers of China Category:Mobile phone companies of China

de:China Telecom es:China Telecom fr:China Telecom id:China Telecom ja:中国電信 ro:China Telecom sv:China Telecom zh:中国电信

name	Andimuthu Raja
alias	Kanimozhi
motive	Money
constituency	Nilgiris
allegiance	DMK
religion	Hindu
profession	LawyerPolitician
Conviction status	Judicial custody at Tihar Jail awaiting trial
Conviction penalty	Case for 2G spectrum scam ongoing
date	September 22 |
year	2006 |
source	http://india.gov.in/govt/loksabhampbiodata.php?mpcode344 }}

Andimuthu Raja () (ஆண்டிமுத்து ராஜா) (born May 10, 1963, Perambalur, Tamil Nadu, India) is an Indian politician from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(DMK) political party. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Nilgiris constituency of Tamil Nadu.

In 2011, ''TIME'' magazine listed him on the “Top 10 Abuses of Power” list. The 2G spectrum scam is listed at No. 2, just behind the Watergate scandal which brought down President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Political Career

Controversial Resignations

On October 17, 2008 he submitted his post-dated resignation to the D.M.K party chief M. Karunanidhi over the killings of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. His resignation was a part of the mass resignation of all the D.M.K ministers forming a parts of the coalition UPA central government.

On November 14, 2010, he announced that he would step down from his cabinet post, over the 2G spectrum allocation scandal.

2G Spectrum scandal

The 2G spectrum financial scandal in the Telecommunications and IT Ministry under A. Raja is noteworthy as the largest political corruption case in modern Indian history, amounting to a record $40 billion loss from underpricing to the Government of India. The alleged modus operandi was telecom bandwidth being grossly undervalued and offered to a chosen few with vested interests, on a dubious 'First-Come-First-Served' basis. It is alleged that it should have been put under a transparent auction system, purportedly advised by higher office.

The bandwidth-spectrum allocation of 2G bandwidth had later come under criticism for gross irregularities. An FIR filed by the CBI claims that the allocation was not done as per market prices, resulting in a scam worth . However it had been alleged by Arun Jaitley of Bhartiya Janata Party that the scam is worth around . The Comptroller and Auditor General holds Raja personally responsible for the sale of 2G spectrum at 2001 rates in 2008, resulting the previously mentioned loss of up to Rs. 1.76 lakh crores (US$40 billion) to the national exchequer. In August, 2010, evidence was submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) showing that Raja had personally signed and approved the majority of the questionable allocations. Although the political opposition was demanding his resignation over the 2G spectrum scam, Raja initially refused to resign stating his innocence, and this view was backed by his party president M.Karunanidhi.

The financial scam eventually led to Raja's resignation on the 14th of November, 2010. There will be further criminal investigation and action on Raja with reports being filed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In 2011, the results of an investigation by retired judge Shivraj Patil, who was appointed by current telecom minister Kapil Sibal, has also found Raja to have been directly responsible for "procedural lapses" regarding the spectrum scandal. The CBI and Enforcement Directorate estimate that Raja could have made as much as Rs 3,000 crore from the alleged bribes.

In January and February 2011, Raja's homes and offices were raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Computers were reportedly seized as part of the evidence that the CBI plans to present against him. Raja and two former associates were arrested on February 2, 2011. The 3 have been taken to Patiala House Courts for enquiries by the CBI on 3 February 2011 After the end of his custody with CBI, Raja was sent to Tihar Jail for judicial custody until March 3, 2011. His stay in the Tihar Jail was then extended, first to March 17 and then to March 31.under judicial custody.

He was later backed by his party DMK after his arrest and in general meeting in Chennai party passed a resolution in favor of Raja stating that until charges are proven he is not guilty.

Arrest and chargesheet

On February 2, 2011, the CBI arrested Raja. The CBI also arrested R. K. Chandolia, Raja's personal aide, and Siddharth Behura, the former Telecom Secretary. Both Raja and R.K. Chandolia are heard in conversation with Niira Radia in the released Radia tapes.

On April 02, 2011, the CBI filed its first 80,000 page chargesheet in the 2G spectrum scam before a Special Court in Delhi naming nine individuals and three companies. It said the wrongful acts of the accused deprived the government exchequer of possible revenues amounting to INR Rs 30,985 crore (USD $ 6,983,322,233).

References

See also

List of politicians in India charged with corruption

Sadiq Batcha

M. K. Kanimozhi

Suresh Kalmadi

External links

{{s-ttl | title = Minister of Communications and Information Technology | years = 2007-10}}

Category:Living people Category:Indian Tamil people Category:1963 births Category:14th Lok Sabha members Category:15th Lok Sabha members Category:Members of the Cabinet of India Category:Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians Category:Union Ministers from Tamil Nadu Category:Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu Category:Indian prisoners and detainees

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