Nithari Murder Case

The 2006 Noida serial murder investigation began during December 2006 when the skulls and bones of a number of missing children were discovered in the village of Nithari on the outskirts of Noida City, a planned industrial township in Uttar Pradesh near New Delhi. A rich and politically connected Punjabi businessman, Moninder Singh Pandher and his servant and aide Surender Koli had been apprehended on the suspicion of murder of a call girl by the Delhi Police on December 26, 2006. A case has been registered against the two under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including rape, murder, kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy.

Events before the primary investigation

The anxious and worried parents of the children who had gone missing in the last two years rushed to the Nithari village as word spread that the skeletal remains of eight children had been found in a sewer behind the house of a factory owner. Surender alias Satish later confessed killing six children and the 20 year-old Payal after having sexually assaulted them.

The residents alleged that the police were corrupt and involved with the rich people. Demands were made for an independent probe into the matter. One of the residents even claimed that the police were claiming credit for discovering the bodies when it was the residents who dug them up. They also put forward a possibility of an organ trade scandal. The police denied having found fifteen bodies. They reiterated that they had discovered skulls, bones and other body parts and said that they were unable to give a figure for the number of victims. The victims' identities and number could only be established with DNA tests. The police then sealed the house and did not allow mediapersons anywhere near the scene of crime.

The Central government tried to ascertain the facts behind the discovery of the skeletal remains of children and whether it had "inter-state ramifications. Law and order is a state's subject but the Home ministry asked for details about the magnitude of the crime.

It was later revealed by the media that the prime accused in this case, Moninder Singh had been picked up by the police on December 26 and his aide on December 27 in connection with the disappearance of a prostitute named Payal. And it was after Surinder confessed, the police claimed to have started digging up the nearby land area and discovered the children's bodies.

Two policemen were suspended on December 31, 2006 in connection with the serial murders of children in Noida as angry residents charged the house of the alleged mastermind. The policemen were suspended for dereliction of duty in the wake of the allegations by the locals that the cops had refused to take any action when they were informed about a number of children missing in this industrial township.

The situation at Nithari got aggravated as an irate mob of villagers fought pitched battles with the police, both pelting stones at each other, just outside the residence of the accused. The police also detained a maid named Maya whom they suspected had a hand in procuring women for the businessman. As more body parts were dug out from near the premises of the house, hundreds of local residents descended on the spot and alleged that there was an organ trade angle to the grisly killings of young children. A doctor living close to the Pandher residence, Navin Choudhary had been under police suspicion a few years ago in connection with an alleged kidney racket at his hospital. Searches were conducted throughout the properties owned by him and the investigators could not derive any information to support the claims of the public.

The police investigation

On January 1, 2007 – the police remand of the two accused was extended till January 10, 2007. The remand magistrate granted the police custody of the two accused for ten more days as the investigators said that further interrogation was required to complete the recovery of the human remains of the victims. The court also granted the permission for the narco analysis. On the same evening, the police conducted a raid over the Chandigarh residence of Moninder Singh. His wife and son were interrogated and questions were asked about Moninder's habits. Police sources disclosed that their relationship with him was "strained" but his behaviour was "normal". A senior police inspector revealed that there would be a series of searches conducted at Pandher's Ludhiana farmhouse and nearby places. The recent child kidnapping cases in Chandigarh – the accused's hometown – were re-opened.

It was on the next day that 15 of the 17 skeletons discovered in the village were identified. Ten of them were identified by the servant, Surinder Koli, when he was confronted with the photographs of the missing children of the village. Five other were identified by the family members of the victims after being shown some of the belongings of the children which were recovered from the scene of crime. The torsos of the bodies were missing and the investigating team was looking into possibilities of the motivation of the killings to be that of organ trade. The police said that there were at least 31 children who had been victims. Security was beefed up as police expected more disturbance, following two days of violence near the residence of the accused. The Chief Justice of India, Justice K. G. Balakrishnan while releasing a press statement asserted that the investigation was at a preliminary level and the courts or the Central Bureau of Investigation had no role to play at this stage.


The inquiry committee report

The Central Government, however, constituted a high-level inquiry committee to go into the police lapses, during the period of reporting and investigation. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav said that he would await the report of the committee looking into the issue before taking the decision whether there should be a CBI probe into the matter. The committee is headed by the Joint Secretary, Women and Child Development Ministry, Manjula Krishnan. Under the terms of the reference,

This committee would take stock of the efforts made by the Noida police in locating the children who went missing.
It would assess the level of cooperation and assistance provided by the local administration, to locate the missing children and unite them with their families.
It would go through the modus operandi and the motives of the accused.
The panel met the parents of the of the victims to record their statements even as the police determined that out of the 17 confirmed people killed, 10 were girls. Parents of eight of the sexually abused children were given compensation of Rs. 12 lakh. The DNA samples from the human remains were sent to forensic laboratory in Hyderabad for the identification of the victims while forensic samples were sent to the laboratory in Agra for determining the age, cause of death and other details. It was determined that Payal was the only victim identified as adult in this case, with all other 11 victims below the age of 10. Seven of the eight families that had been provided compensation of Rs. 2 lakh on January 3, 2007 returned their cheques in protest. However, the cheques were soon returned back to them. They demanded houses and jobs in compensation.

After reeling under a lot of relentless pressure and public outcry, the Uttar Pradesh Government suspended two superintendents of police and dismissed six policemen for dereliction of duty. This action followed the report by the four-member committee. On January 17, 2007 the inquiry committee submitted its reports severely indicting the Uttar Pradesh police for "gross negligence" in handling the cases of missing persons. The committee said that the local administration was negligent and irresponsible while dealing with the missing persons reports and did not rule out organ trade as a possible motive behind the killings.

The call girl angle

The two accused in the case were already in police custody while the skeletal remains of the young children were being unearthed at the Pandher residence. An FIR had been filed on October 7, 2006. Investigations revealed that Payal's cellphone was being used although the SIM card she owned remained inactive. Through digital surveillance, the investigators were able to track down a number of people and could finally reached the man who sold the phone. The rickshaw cart puller affirmed that the phone belonged to someone from the Pandher residence. After the affirmation of the facts by the witness, Moninder Singh was called for interrogation, which subsequently revealed nothing. His aide and servant, Surender Koli was picked up the next day and he confessed killing the woman and dumping her body behind the house. The police started digging and henceforth recovered the skeletal remains of the missing children.

Nand Lal, the father of the girl – Deepika alias Payal, alleged that the police had threatened and harassed him. He stated that it was because of the court intervention that the police officers registered the First Information Report. Nand Lal said that he was accused of being a blackmailer and his daughter was called a woman of easy virtue.


Suspicions of child pornography racket

The investigating teams seized erotic literature along with a laptop computer connected to a webcam, which immediately raised the apprehensions of the presence of an international child pornography racket. The police also recovered some photographs of Pandher with nude children and foreigners, during his four international visits. It was apprehended that Pandher supplied such pictures abroad and could link him to paedophilia.


Suspicions of organ trade and cannibalism

The police initially suspected an organ trade angle as to the motive behind the murders and raided the house of a doctor who lived in the neighbourhood of the prime accused. A team of officials was accompanied by a team of forensic experts to pick up probable evidence for tests. The police revealed that the doctor had been accused of similar crime in the year 1998, although the court had later absolved him in the same year. This was a second raid in a few days. The police was however, cautious with the news reports indicting the accused of cannibalism even before the polygraph tests had barely begun. They were left aghast when they learned that one of the accused had even confessed to the consumption of the victims' livers and other body parts. Such a possibility was, however, not completely ruled out by the investigating team, considering the amount of brutality the duo had allegedly committed on the victims.


Brain mapping and narco analysis

The accused duo were brought to the Directorate of Forensic Sciences, Gandhinagar city for undergoing a series of medical tests. Brain mapping and polygraph tests were conducted on January 4, 2007 and narco analysis five days later. The police director told the scribes that both the accused had been cooperative during the tests and examinations. The directorate officials did not make any revelations to the public media.

A senior director of the institute announced the conclusion of the extensive tests and declared that no conclusion had been drawn. The police sources said that during the first day of the tests, Moninder Singh revealed a number of his high-profile connections with the ministers and others who frequented his residence in Noida.


The CBI investigation

After four days of discourse and mounting pressure from the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to hand over the inquiry to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The notification came after the Department of Personnel and Training, which governs the CBI sent a letter to the state government about making a proper request for a probe by the agency in line with the prescribed norms.

The two accused were taken away to an undisclosed location on the night of January 11, 2007, a day before the investigation was to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The CBI continued its investigation and discovered three more skulls and human remains at the site of the serial killings. The investigators searched the drains and found three skulls, believed to be of the children and several body parts, including parts of legs, bones and torso. Several objects were found that are believed to belong to the victims. The exhibits were sealed and forwarded to forensic labs.

The Central enquiry committee that investigated the serial killings discovered serious lapses on the part of the police in handling the cases of missing persons. The published report was provided to the CBI to aid the agency in its probe. The reports were incriminating and proclaimed that the local police failed in their duty to admit their complaints over the past two years.

The discovery of several gunny bags containing parts of human torsos led the investigators to believe that it was unlikely that the accused had links to illegal organ trade. The CBI team discovered the bags in the drains outside the Pandher residence. After interrogating Surinder Koli, they came to a prima facie conclusion that "he is a psychopath who used to carry out the killings". Interrogators also said that it was possible that Pandher had no role to play in the murders.[34] The seized materials were sent to laboratory for post-mortem, individualisation and DNA extraction. The materials received from the Uttar Pradesh police were also forwarded for forensic examination. Some liquor bottles, a double-barrel gun, cartridges, mobile phones, photographs, photo albums and a blood-stained grill were handed over to the CBI for extensive examination. Preliminary investigations revealed that the bones were not more than two years old. The CBI also revealed that only fifteen skulls had been found thus far, and not seventeen as claimed by the state police.

A three-member CBI team questioned the kin members of Surendra Koli in the Almora district.

In November 2007, the Supreme Court issued notice to CBI in case on the allegation by a relative of the victim that the investigating agency was trying to shield Moninder Singh Pandher, one of the key accused in the case.


The victims

The call girl was the only adult victim in the string of serial murders. Young girls constituted the majority of victims. Post mortem reports of the 17 sets of skulls and bones recovered showed that 11 of the killed were girls. The top doctors of the Noida Government Hospital revealed that there was a "butcher-like precision" in the chopping of the bodies. The post mortem reports revealed that there had been a pattern in the killings. A gory revelation was made by the AIIMS on February 06, 2007. It was also concluded that there were 19 skulls in all, 16 complete and 3 damaged. The bodies had been cut into three pieces before being disposed off by the servant Surender Koli. The CBI sources said that the manservant, after strangulating the victims, used to sever their head and throw it in the drain behind the house of his employer. Sources also revealed that he used to keep the viscera in a polythene bag before disposing it off in a drain, so as to prevent detection. The skulls and the other bio-material remains were forwarded to the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad for further profiling.

Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the record industry. The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the more prominent Grammy Awards are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony. The current President of the Academy is Neil Portnow. The Grammys are considered the highest music honor, the U.S. record industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards (Oscars) for motion pictures.

The awards were established in 1958. Prior to the first live Grammys telecast in 1971 on ABC, a series of taped annual specials in the 1960s called The Best on Record were broadcast on NBC. The first Grammy Award telecast took place on the night of November 29, 1959, as an episode of the NBC anthology series Sunday Showcase, which was normally devoted to plays, original TV dramas, and variety shows. Until 1971, awards ceremonies were held in both New York and Los Angeles, with winners accepting at one of the two. Pierre Cossette bought the rights to broadcast the ceremony from NARAS, and organized the first live telecast. CBS bought the rights in 1973 after moving the ceremony to Nashville, Tennessee; the American Music Awards were created for ABC as a result.

The award show is normally held in February. The 50th Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, again at the Staples Center. The 51st Grammy Awards will be held on February 8, 2009 once again at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Awarded for Outstanding achievements in the record industry
Presented by National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
Country USA
First awarded 1958

Categories
Main article: List of Grammy Award categories
Main article: Grammy Award records
The "General Field" are four awards which are not restricted by genre, and are generally considered to be the most important.[citation needed]

Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the production team of a single song.

Album of the Year is awarded to the performer and the production team of a full album.

Song of the Year is awarded to the writer(s)/composer(s) of a single song.
Best New Artist

Other awards are given for performance and production in specific genres, as well as for other contributions such as artwork and video. Special awards are also given out for more long-lasting contributions to the music industry

Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize (Swedish: Nobelpriset) was established in Alfred Nobel's will in 1895, and it was first awarded in Peace, Literature, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Physics in 1901. An associated prize, The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was instituted by Sweden's central bank in 1968 and first awarded in 1969. The Nobel Prizes in the specific disciplines (Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature) and the Prize in Economics, which is commonly identified with them, are widely regarded as the most prestigious award one can receive in those fields. The Nobel Peace Prize conveys social prestige, and that award also is often politically controversial. With the exception of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economics are presented in Stockholm, Sweden, at the annual Prize Award Ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. The recipients' lectures are presented in the days prior to the award ceremony. The Nobel Peace Prize and its recipients' lectures are presented at the annual Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, Norway, also on December 10. "Since the Nobel Prize is regarded as the most prestigious prize in the world by far, the Award Ceremonies as well as the Banquets in Stockholm and Oslo on 10 December have been transformed from local Swedish and Norwegian arrangements into major international events that receive worldwide coverage by the print media, radio and television."

Awarded for Outstanding contributions in Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace, and Physiology or Medicine.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, commonly identified with the Nobel Prize, is awarded for outstanding contributions in Economics.
Presented by Swedish Academy
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Karolinska Institutet
Norwegian Nobel Committee
Country Sweden, Norway
First awarded 1901

Bharat Ratna

Bharat Ratna (translates to Jewel of India or Gem of India in English) is India's highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service. This service includes artistic, literary, and scientific achievements, as well as "recognition of public service of the highest order." Unlike knights, holders of the Bharat Ratna carry no special title nor any other honorifics, but they do have a place in the Indian order of precedence. The award was established by the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, on January 2, 1954.[4] Along with other major national honours, such as the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, the awarding of the Bharat Ratna was suspended from July 13, 1977 to January 26, 1980. The honour has been awarded to forty persons, a list which includes two non-Indians and a naturalized Indian citizen. Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are the states with the most number of awardees (8 each). Originally, the specifications for the award called for a circular gold medal carrying the state emblem and motto, among other things. It is uncertain if a design in accordance with the original specifications was ever made. The actual award is designed in the shape of a peepul leaf and carries the Hindi-written words "Bharat Ratna" on the front. The reverse side of the medal carries the state emblem and motto. The award is attached to a two-inch long ribbon, and was designed to be worn around the recipient's neck.

History

The order was established by Dr Rajendra Prasad, President of India, on January 2, 1954. The original statutes of January 1954 did not make allowance for posthumous awards (and this perhaps explains why the decoration was never awarded to Mahatma Gandhi), though this provision was added in the January 1955 statute. Subsequently, there have been twelve posthumous awards, including the award to Subhash Chandra Bose in 1992, which was later withdrawn due to a legal technicality, the only case of an award being withdrawn. The award was briefly suspended from July 13, 1977 to January 26, 1980.


The Bharta Ratna Citation, the certificate conferred to Late M. G. RamachandranWhile there was no formal provision that recipients of the Bharat Ratna should be Indian citizens, this seems to have been the general assumption. There has been one award to a naturalized Indian citizen — Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa (1980); and two to non-Indians — Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987) and Nelson Mandela (1990). The awarding of this honour though, has frequently been the subject of litigation questioning the constitutional basis of such.



Controversies

Award to Subhas Chandra Bose
Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1992. The award was later withdrawn due to a legal technicality. This is the only case of an award being withdrawn. It was withdrawn in response to a Supreme Court of India directive following a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Court against the “posthumous” nature of the award. The Award Committee could not give conclusive evidence of Bose’s death and thus it invalidated the “posthumous” award.


Award to Abul Kalam Azad
When the award was offered to freedom fighter and India's first Minister of Education, Abul Kalam Azad, he promptly declined it saying that it should not be given to those, who have been on selection committee [5].


Specifications
The original specifications for the award called for a circular gold medal, 35 mm in diameter, with the sun and the Hindi legend "Bharat Ratna" above and a floral wreath below. The reverse was to carry the state emblem and motto. It was to be worn around the neck from a white ribbon. There is no indication that any specimens of this design were ever produced and one year later the design was altered

Complete list of the Awardees


1. Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1888–1975 1954 Second President, First Vice President, Philosopher. Tamil Nadu

2. Chakravarti Rajagopalachari 1878–1972 1954 Last Governor-General, Freedom Fighter. Tamil Nadu

3. Sir C. V. Raman 1888–1970 1954 Nobel-prize winning Physicist Tamil Nadu

4. Bhagwan Das 1869–1958 1955 Literature, Freedom Fighter Uttar Pradesh

5. Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya 1861–1962 1955 Civil Engineer Karnataka

6. Jawaharlal Nehru 1889–1964 1955 First Prime Minister, Freedom Fighter, Author. Uttar Pradesh

7. Govind Ballabh Pant 1887–1961 1957 Freedom Fighter, Home Minister Uttar Pradesh

8. Dhondo Keshav Karve 1858–1962 1958 Educationist, Social Reformer, Awarded in his birth centenary year. Maharashtra

9. Dr. B. C. Roy 1882–1962 1961 Physician, Politician, Former Chief Minister of West Bengal West Bengal

10. Purushottam Das Tandon 1882–1962 1961 Freedom Fighter, Educationist Uttar Pradesh

11. Dr. Rajendra Prasad 1884–1963 1962 First President, Freedom Fighter, Jurist Bihar

12. Dr. Zakir Hussain 1897–1969 1963 Former President, Scholar. Andhra Pradesh

13. Pandurang Vaman Kane 1880–1972 1963 Indologist and Sanskrit scholar Maharashtra

14. Lal Bahadur Shastri 1904–1966 1966 Posthumous, Second Prime Minister, Freedom Fighter Uttar Pradesh

15. Indira Gandhi 1917–1984 1971 Former Prime Minister Uttar Pradesh

16. V. V. Giri 1894–1980 1975 Former President, Trade Unionist. Andhra Pradesh

17. K. Kamaraj 1903–1975 1976 Posthumous, Freedom Fighter, Chief Minister-Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu

18. Mother Teresa 1910–1997 1980 Nobel Laureate (Peace, 1979). West Bengal

19. Acharya Vinoba Bhave 1895–1982 1983 Posthumous, Social Reformer, Freedom Fighter. Maharashtra

20. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan 1890–1988 1987 First non-citizen, Freedom Fighter. Pakistan

21. M. G. Ramachandran 1917–1987 1988 Posthumous, Chief Minister-Tamil Nadu, Actor. Tamil Nadu

22. B. R. Ambedkar 1891–1956 1990 Posthumous, Architect-Indian Constitution Maharashtra

23. Nelson Mandela b. 1918 1990 Second non-citizen and first non-Indian, Leader of Anti-Apartheid movement. South Africa

24. Rajiv Gandhi 1944–1991 1991 Posthumous, Former Prime Minister New Delhi

25. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel 1875–1950 1991 Posthumous, Freedom Fighter, First Home Minister of India. Gujarat

26. Morarji Desai 1896–1995 1991 Former Prime Minister, Freedom Fighter. Gujarat

27. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 1888–1958 1992 Posthumous, Freedom Fighter, First Education Minister of India West Bengal

28. J. R. D. Tata 1904–1993 1992 Industrialist and philanthropist. Maharashtra

29. Satyajit Ray 1922–1992 1992 Film Director ,Oscar winner West Bengal

30. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam b. 1931 1997 Former President, Scientist. Tamil Nadu

31. Gulzarilal Nanda 1898–1998 1997 Freedom Fighter, former Prime Minister. Punjab

32. Aruna Asaf Ali 1908–1996 1997 Posthumous, Freedom Fighter. West Bengal

33. M. S. Subbulakshmi 1916–2004 1998 Classical singer. Tamil Nadu

34. Chidambaram Subramaniam 1910–2000 1998 Freedom Fighter, Minister of Agriculture (Father of Green revolution). Tamil Nadu

35. Jayaprakash Narayan 1902–1979 1998 Posthumous, Freedom Fighter, Social Reformer. Bihar

36. Pandit Ravi Shankar b. 1920 1999 Classical sitar player. Uttar Pradesh

37. Amartya Sen b. 1933 1999 Nobel Laureate (Economics, 1998), Economist. West Bengal

38. Gopinath Bordoloi 1890–1950 1999 Posthumous, freedom fighter Assam

39. Lata Mangeshkar b. 1929 2001 Play back singer. Maharashtra

40. Ustad Bismillah Khan 1916-2006 2001 Classical Shehnai Maestro Uttar Pradesh

Param Vir Chakra

The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy, similar to the British Victoria Cross, US Medal of Honor, or French Legion of Honor. It can be awarded posthumously with many of the awards having been awarded posthumously.

Param Vir means "Bravest of the Brave" in Sanskrit. (Param = Highest; Vīr = Brave (warrior); Chakra = wheel/medal).

The PVC was established on 26 January 1950 (the date of India becoming a republic), by the President of India, with effect from 15 August 1947 (the date of Indian independence). It can be awarded to officers or enlisted personnel from all branches of the Indian military. It is the second highest award of the government of India after Bharat Ratna (amendment in the statute on 26 January 1980 resulted in this order of wearing). It replaced the former British colonial Victoria Cross (VC), (see List of Indian Victoria Cross recipients).

Provision was made for the award of a bar for second (or subsequent) awards of the Param Vir Chakra. To date, there have been no such awards. Award of the decoration carries with it the right to use P.V.C. as a postnominal abbreviation.

The award also carries a cash allowance for those under the rank of lieutenant (or the appropriate service equivalent) and, in some cases, a cash award. On the death of the recipient, the pension is transferred to the widow until her death or remarriage. The paltry amount of the pension has been a rather controversial issue throughout the life of the decoration. By March 1999, the stipend stood at Rs. 1500 per month. In addition, many states have established individual pension rewards that far exceeds the central government's stipend for the recipients of the decoration.

Subedar Major Bana Singh of the Eighth Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry was the only serving personnel of the Indian defence establishment with a Param Vir Chakra till the Kargil operations

Design

The medal was designed by Savitri Khanolkar (born Eva Yuonne Linda Maday-de-Maros to a Hungarian father and Russian mother) who was married to an Indian Army officer, Vikram Khanolkar. This was done following a request from the first native Adjutant General, Major General Hira Lal Atal, who in turn had been entrusted with the responsibility of coming up with an Indian equivalent of the Victoria Cross by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the Indian Union. Coincidentally, the first Param Vir Chakra was awarded to her son-in-law, Major Somnath Sharma for his bravery in the Kashmir operations in November 1947. He died while evicting Pakistani infiltrators and raiders from the Srinagar Airport. This was when India and newly-formed Pakistan had the first war over the Kashmir issue.

The medal is a circular bronze disc with a 1-3/8 inch (approximately 3.5 cm) diameter. In the center, on a raised circle, the state emblem. Surrounding this, four replicas of Indra's Vajra (the all-powerful mythic weapon of the ancient Vedic King of Gods). The decoration is suspended from a straight swiveling suspension bar. It is named on the edge.

On the rear, around a plain center, are two legends separated by lotus flowers. The words Param Vir Chakra are written in Hindi and English.


Ribbon of the Param Vir ChakraThe ribbon which holds the Param Vir Chakra is of 32 mm length and purple in colour. The medal was designed to symbolize Rishi Dadhichi, who had donated his bones to the Gods for making Vajra, and contains an image of Shivaji's sword Bhawani on the other side.[citation needed].The Indian General Service Medial (1947) also contains the Bhavani sword.

IC-521 Major Som Nath Sharma 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment November 3, 1947 Badgam, Kashmir Posthumous

IC-22356 Lance Naik Karam Singh 1st Battalion, Sikh Regiment October 13, 1948 Tithwal, Kashmir

SS-14246 Second Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane Corps of Engineers April 8, 1948 Naushera, Kashmir

27373 Naik Jadu Nath Singh 1st Battalion, Rajput Regiment February 1948 Naushera, Kashmir Posthumous

2831592 Company Havildar Major Piru Singh 6th Battalion, Rajputana Rifles July 17/18, 1948 Tithwal, Kashmir Posthumous

IC-8497 Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria 3rd Battalion, 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment) December 5, 1961 Elizabethville, Katanga, Congo Posthumous

IC-7990 Major Dhan Singh Thapa 1st Battalion, 8th Gorkha Rifles October 20, 1962 Ladakh, India

JC-4547 Subedar Joginder Singh 1st Battalion, Sikh Regiment October 23, 1962 Tongpen La, Northeast Frontier Agency, India Posthumous

IC-7990 Major Shaitan Singh 13th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment November 18, 1962 Rezang La Posthumous

2639885 Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hamid 4th Battalion, The Grenadiers September 10, 1965 Chima, Khem Karan Sector Posthumous

IC-5565 Lieutenant-Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore 17th Poona Horse October 15, 1965 Phillora, Sialkot Sector, Pakistan Posthumous

4239746 Lance Naik Albert Ekka 14th Battalion, Bihar Regiment December 3, 1971 Gangasagar Posthumous

10877 F(P) Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon No.18 Squadron, Indian Air Force December 14, 1971 Srinagar, Kashmir Posthumous

IC-25067 2/Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal 17th Poona Horse December 16, 1971 Jarpal, Shakargarh Sector Posthumous

IC-14608 Major Hoshiar Singh 3rd Battalion, The Grenadiers December 17, 1971 Basantar River, Shakargarh Sector

JC-155825 Naib Subedar Bana Singh 8th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry June 23, 1987 Siachen Glacier, Jammu and Kashmir

IC-32907 Major Ramaswamy Parameshwaran 8th Battalion, Mahar Regiment November 25, 1987 Sri Lanka Posthumous

IC-56959 Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey 1st Battalion, 11th Gorkha Rifles July 3, 1999 Khaluber/Juber Top, Batalik sector, Kargil area, Jammu and Kashmir Posthumous

2690572 Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav 18th Battalion, The Grenadiers July 4, 1999 Tiger Hill, Kargil area

13760533 Rifleman Sanjay Kumar 13th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles July 5, 1999 Area Flat Top, Kargil Area

IC-57556 Captain Vikram Batra 13th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles July 6, 1999 Point 5140, Point 4875, Kargil Area Posthumous

More information
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (March 2008)

Of the 21 awardees, 20 are from Indian Army and 1 from Indian Air Force.
Som Nath Sharma, the first recipient of the award, was the award designer Mrs. Savitri Khanolkar's son-in-law.

14 of the 21 awards were posthumous.

Grenadiers Regiment have received the most number of Param Vir Chakras, with 3 awards, one each for the Indo-Pakistan 1965 war, 1971 Indo-Pakistan war and the Kargil War. The Gorkha Rifles have also received 3 awards, with the 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), 8th Gorkha Rifles and 11th Gorkha Rifles each receiving one.

The Sikh Regiment, Kumaon Regiment, 17th Poona Horse and Jammu and Kashmir Rifles have received 2 awards.

The highest rank to be awarded a Param Vir Chakra is that of a Lieutenant Colonel. Lt. Col. Ardeshir Tarapore, thus, had the highest rank to get this award.
The award to Major Dhan Singh Thapa, for the battle of Sirijap in the 1962 War was initially announced as a Posthumous award. It was not known that Major Thapa was taken POW at that time.

By an administrative mistake, the Param Vir Chakra to Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav was also announced posthumously. At that time Gren Yadav was recuperating in a hospital from his wounds. This was because there was another Soldier with the exact same name in his Unit who died in the same operation.

Between 1983-85, The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd., took delivery of 15 ships (oil tankers) from Hyundai Shipyard and they were named after the then PVC awardees. The ships were named as "Company Havildar Major Piru Singh PVC". In fact in foreign ports the word PVC had to be explained to the pilots because it was construed by them to mean synthetic PVC.

Bear Mutual Fund

Bear Mutual Funds - Time to Take a Bite?

You may not have heard about bear market funds, but the fact is that they exist, and are quite popular among investors. Although they are risky, bear market mutual funds are used as a leverage for broadening portfolios, specially in times when things aren't going well. But what exactly is a bear fund, and how do they work? Let's find more about this curious financial tool.


What Are Bear Funds?
In the stock market, people believe that there are market trends. These trends are divided into primary market trends, and secondary market trends. In the case of primary market trends, there are two types. The bull market and the bear market.

A bull market is the classical stock exchange market, in which people buy stock expecting that it's price will rise and that they will receive dividends for it. The most famous period of history for bull markets were the 1990's, when the economy of the US and many countries in the world grew at incredible rates.

The bear market is all the contrary. It is a market where pessimism rules. Desperate investors are looking for people who are willing to buy their plunging stock. The perfect example for this kind of scenario is the Great Depression of 1930s. Although there isn't an official definition for determining a bear market, investors consider that a 20% decline in a key stock market index is a telltale of this phenomena.

So, a bear is an investor that thinks the other way around. Instead of expecting the share to rise, he is expecting that the share will go down. This may sound as an strategy that should belong to a reality more attuned with "Alice in Wonderland", but it is real, and it works.


Why Aren't They Good For Long Term Investments?

The problem with bear funds is that they go against an historical fact. In the last hundred years, the stock market in the US has grown at an average of 11%. It makes sense, since the economy in the last ten decades has been growing. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, but it hasn't stopped to grow.

So, if an individual wants to put money in bear mutual funds as a long term investment, then he won't earn money. Actually, he will lose it. It is impossible to go against the tide of the national economy. For that reason, bear market funds are considered short term mutual funds or short term bond funds; the only way to make money with them is during determined periods of time, but no more.

Micro Cap Mutual Fund

Small Cap Mutual Funds - Why they are always in demand?

Small cap mutual funds are essentially stock funds devised at maximizing returns or growth. The term small cap refers to the capitalization of a corporation in the stock market which is any where between $ 300 and $ 2 billion. This article covers:

-Are small cap mutual funds advantageous?
-What are the benefits in investing in investing in small cap mutual funds?
-What are micro cap mutual funds?

Of all the types of various mutual funds what are these small cap mutual funds? Why are they in news of late? It pays to understand term as applied to stock market first in order that we get an insight in to what small cap mutual funds are?

What are small cap stocks and what are small cap mutual funds?

The term small cap refers to the capitalization of a corporation in the stock market which is any where between $ 300 and $ 2 billion. The figure is debatable among brokerages. Also the classification is for convenience and broking purposes and hence is an approximation.

Small cap mutual funds are essentially stock funds devised at maximizing returns or growth. Thus, small cap mutual funds are those that focus the investment of their assets on small cap stocks. Small cap mutual funds need not necessarily spread their investment across the spectrum of small cap market as the name might suggest. On the contrary they have the liberty and sanction both from the shareholder and law to compartmentalize select stocks and sectors within the class.

Do Mutual Funds Have A Free Hand In Investing In Small Cap Market?

By and large mutual funds have free market access subject to SEC guide liens. Like in any other sector, be it index stocks or the large cap stocks, mutual funds can have the freedom to choose stocks from here in any proportion. But it does not mean that they can invest in large volumes in small cap stocks. This restriction is imposed by SEC (Securities and Exchanges Commission) and is to facilitate retail distribution rather than large volume acquisition by institutional investors.
Prospects of Investing In Small Cap Mutual Funds
Small cap funds and micro cap funds are relatively less stable in comparison to other types of mutual funds owing to their narrow focus and limited presence by volume in the market. Also they lay a lot of weightage to small cap stocks which means that when market is not in its best, the funds values can plummet as they are directly connected to markets.

If this were the only case, why do you think the market is raising hype and hoopla about small cap mutual funds? Alternately, small cap mutual funds have a great potential due to a couple of reasons.

Small cap stocks and thus small cap mutual funds generate a lot of demand driven sales at the counters in bullish market pushing up the prices. The converse is also true for a bad day.

Historically small cap companies are found to be reinvesting most of their profits in to business reassuring its share holders a better performance and profit potential.

Commodity Mutual Fund

Maximize Your Profits with Commodity Mutual Funds

Commodities mutual funds are those investing in certain designated real assets or their derivatives like futures contracts. The commodities or the derivatives are traded for maximizing profits. This article informs you on:

-Know in detail about commodity mutual funds
-Which are the two indices marking commodities market?
-out the principle behind commodity mutual funds

There are times when financial assets are out of favor and real assets are in favor, Mutual funds need to address that. says Don Phillips, president of Morningstar Inc.

Commodities mutual funds are those investing in certain designated real assets (as listed in the following paragraph) or their derivatives like futures contracts (instruments that facilitate investment in commodities). The commodities or the derivatives are traded for maximizing profits. All said and done there are no commodity mutual funds in real terms and all those trading in commodities are hedge funds (hedge funds are for big time investors who can pool in excess of $1 million for the purpose of trading in commodities).

In a way commodity mutual funds are scaled down versions of hedge funds that provide a chance to retail investors to take a look at commodities market who otherwise were not able to.
Bench Mark Indices for Commodities Mutual Funds
Commodities' market facilitates trades in real assets unlike virtual assets in conventional markets. For example we have two indices marking commodities market. One is GSCI, stands for Goldman Sachs Commodity Index and DJCI, which stands for Dow Jones Commodity Index.

GSCI has 22 different commodities right from oil to cooking-fuel oil listed on the basis of their contracted future prices (technically called as futures). About 55% of this is made up by Energy futures and another 25% by agriculture commodities. The balance of them is spread amongst bond markets. This broad based, diversified index gives weightage to long term and un-leveraged commodities. The weightage itself is calculated on the basis of the commodity's currency (flow through) in the economy. The quantity and their presence in the index are calculated based on their five year average production.

Where as the DJCI is a pretty liquid index with broader outlook and worldwide importance of commodities. None of the commodity can have a representation of more than 33%.

How Do Commodities Mutual Funds Operate?

Commodity mutual funds operate by investing in what are known as future contracts (an industry jargon for instruments of contract for commodities & prices) to anywhere between one third and one half of their asset. The contracts are made for a future date and price obligating the buyers and sellers. These futures (contracts) are traded on exchanges and values vary based on speculation and hedging (reducing risk). Some future notes are delivery based (delivered to the buyer) and some others are cash settled upon expiry of the contract at the higher of the speculated value and the contract value.

The commodities mutual funds, in order that some kind of stability is attained will invest the balance money with them in short term government securities. The returns on these will compliment returns from commodities investments apart from paying for expenses. A small amount may be set aside for speculative trading in commodities like silver, hogs etc. Some funds take care of effects of inflation by the earning they make on government securities. These are known as inflation insulated or inflation free funds.

No Load Mutual Fund

No Load Mutual Funds - Where do They Have an Edge?

As the name implies, no load mutual funds do not charge any sales loads on the investors. No load mutual funds are usually sold to the investors at net assets values and sales commission is charged. This article deals with:

-What is the major feature of no load mutual funds?
-Do no load mutual funds enjoy an edge over load mutual funds?
-Want to buy the best no load mutual funds? find out how

It is important to know what do they mean by load in relation to mutual funds in order to understand what are no load mutual funds. Loads are fees or expenses recovered by mutual funds against compensation paid to brokers, their distribution and marketing costs. These expenses are generally called as sales loads. These are also referred as front end loads and along the same line of thought there are back end loads that are charged on you even while you exit from the share holding of the fund (sales fees).

What Are No Load Mutual Funds?

As the name implies, no load mutual funds do not charge any sales loads on the investors. No load mutual funds are usually sold to the investors at net assets values and sales commission is charged. But at this point in time it is important to know that some fees are still chargeable to the purchasers of the funds and still be called as no load funds as per guidelines of NASD. NASD allows mutual funds to charge some fees that are not considered as sales loads. Examples of such fees are exchange fees, purchase fees, redemption fees and account fees. The combined 12b-1 fees of the fund or share holder service fees do not exceed 0.25% of the average annual net asset of the fund.

Are No Load Mutual Funds Really Beneficial?

Assume two similar funds, load fund as well as no load fund as having an equal performance expectation. But at the onset itself the load fund is disadvantaged. A part of your investment goes to serve various fees and the balance of the amount will be actually invested in the stated mandate of the mutual fund. For example if you invested say $ 10,000 in a loaded fund that has a load of 5% the actual fees translates to $500 and the actual amount that goes for investment is $9,500 only. It is here that the no load mutual funds have an edge over loaded funds. More often than not it is the 12b-1 fees that are charged on a no load fund.

Types of Mutual Fund

Learn the Types before Investing in Mutual Funds

There is no one method of classifying mutual funds risk free or advantageous. However we can do the same by way of classifying mutual funds as per their functioning and the type of funds they offer to investors. This article makes you aware on:

-What are the reasons that make the close ended mutual finds more attractive?
-What are the factors that determine the prices of exchange traded funds?
-Find out the features of open ended mutual funds

There is no one method of classifying mutual funds risk free or advantageous. However we can do the same by way of classifying mutual funds as per their functioning and the type of funds they offer to investors. If we took the middle path and classify broadly we get the following list.

Open End Mutual Funds

All mutual funds by default and by definition are open end funds. Here an investor can buy the shares at any point of time and exit from it at any time of his choice. Both buying and selling will be at the current NAV subject to load factors where ever applicable. Though this is a very broad category, one can easily say this is the most popular of the lot looking at the ease with which one can liquidate his holding (exit from position by selling or redemption to the trust/fund). Affordability is another key factor that decides the popularity of open end funds. Those who can not afford high initial prices can buy with low dollar values and even on a monthly basis.

Closed End Mutual Funds

Selling off of a specified and limited number of shares by the mutual funds at an initial public offering is known as closed end mutual fund. However one important difference between open end fund and closed end mutual fund is that the price of the latter is decided by demand and supply of the stock in the market and not by NAVs unlike in the former case. The pooled funds are utilized as per the mandate of the fund and Securities and Exchange Commission's regulations. They are traded more like the general stocks. Some of the reasons to invest in this category
Prices are determined by market demands and thus closed end funds trade at lower than the offer price more often than not which is a perfect time for buying (at discounted prices)

Like in the open end funds there are wide options for you to choose from. Like stock funds, balanced funds that give full asset allocation benefit and thirdly the bond funds.

Exchange Traded Funds

The Exchange Traded Funds are a basket of stocks and trade like a normal security on exchanges tracking index much like index funds. The prices of the ETFs are determined by market forces and thus no NAVs can be fixed. The advantages of ETFs include buying and selling like you can do with any stock traded on the exchange not excluding short selling while you enjoy the diversification of an index fund. There no fees/loads on these funds other than the commission you pay to the broker. There are many popular funds in this class and one of them is SPDR that tracks S&P 500 index.

Mutual Fund analysis

Best Tips to do an Analysis of Mutual Funds

Before investing in mutual funds a proper analysis is required. While all analyses' efforts are aimed at maximizing returns and minimizing risks, it is the latter that gains importance as the single most fundamental criterion to compare mutual funds. This article makes you aware of:

-How can you do a mutual fund analysis?
-important is the risk factor analysis?
-Why is it important to track the record of mutual fund companies?

Investing in mutual funds is not a child's play unless one does a mutual funds' analysis. At least it is not as easy as picking top performers going by indices and investing in them. While all analyses' efforts are aimed at maximizing returns and minimizing risks, it is the latter that gains importance as the single most fundamental criterion to compare mutual funds.

Fundamental Objectives of Investment

To begin with our mutual funds' analysis you need to be clear about the investment objectives you have, that is whether the objective is growth of capital or regular income. Whatsoever be the case, the basics of objective of investment are not to be forgotten.

Tips To Do Mutual Fund Analysis

It is needless to say that you need to have some rudimentary knowledge of investing in stocks and securities apart from street smartness to research mutual funds. Here are a few tips for analysis before investing mutual funds. We will begin our exercise from the point you have collected all the relevant information about competing funds.

Look At The Portfolio of Your Pick of Funds

Most of the plans will have invested in multiple stocks or securities for diversification. Critical point here is in what proportion they have invested in different stocks. Giving a higher weightage to a high returning stock leaves less opportunity for broader allocation and may back fire when market is bearish (plummeting steadily). Also higher returning stocks carry high element of risk.

The Optimum Portfolio Size

What should be the optimum portfolio size (assortment investments under one plan) for your pick of fund? Well, opinions are divided about this, but it is crucial to look into the specifics of stock bets and sectors you will be exposed to. Higher exposure to specific sectors may see you loosing out on broad based rallies in the bourses (stock markets). Optimally 65 % to 85% may be allocated in stocks from different sectors for diversification plus growth and the balance being in typical bond and money market instruments.

Is Your Pick of Funds Really Diversified

Notice that the competing plans, though from different fund companies, perform almost on par as if they have a correlation. They indeed have. So, does it mean you have diversified by spreading your money amongst them? Well, think again. Similar plans have similar pattern of their holdings of stocks and with a similar portfolio. This means, in actual effect you are not diversifying. They all go up and down almost as if they do it in tandem. For clear diversification, pick those with different portfolios though they are similar plans (ex: growth, index or dividend paying etc).

Best Mutual Funds

Best guide for selecting the right mutual funds

Selecting best mutual funds mean a lot more than deciding by indices and their past performances. However, you need to remember one thing that there is no quick gratification in investments of any kind. This article tells you regarding:

-How can you select a mutual fund for investment?
-Is it important to pick up companies that are performing above average?
-Is it advisable to compare mutual funds across category?

When your investment purpose is for saving for retirement, then risk minimization should be your mantra. And one of the best avenues for you to invest now is mutual funds as they have an average of 50 stocks in each portfolio for diversification and cushioning the risks. Selecting best mutual funds mean a lot more than deciding by indices and their past performances. However, you need to remember one thing that there is no quick gratification in investments of any kind.

Let us discuss the dos and don'ts of selecting the best mutual funds. These points should serve as guidelines for making decision on whether your pick is among the best in the industry or not.

Dos In Selecting the Best Mutual Fund

Draw down your investment objective. There are various schemes suitable for different needs. For example retirement plan, capital growth etc. Also get clear about your time frame for investment and returns. Equity funds are not advisable for short term because of their long term nature. You can consider money market and floating rate funds for short term gains. This equals asking - What kind of mutual fund is right for me?

Once you have decided on a plan or a couple of them, collect as much information as possible on them from different sources offering them. Funds' prospectus and advisors may help you in this.

Pick out companies consistently performing above average. Mutual funds industry indices are helpful in comparing different funds as well as different plans offered by them. Some of the industry standard fund indices are Nasdaq 100, Russel 2000, S&P fund index and DSI index with the latter rating the Socially Responsible Funds only. Also best mutual funds draw good results despite market volatility.

Get a clear picture of fees & associated cost, taxes (for non-tax free funds) for all your short listed funds and how they affect your returns. Best mutual funds have lower cost out go.

Best mutual funds maximize returns and minimize risks. A number called as Sharpe Ratio explains whether a fund is risk free based on its expected returns compared against a risk free money market fund.

Some funds have the advantage of low minimum initial investments. You can start investing even with $250 a month. This is advisable for building asset bases over a long period with small regular investments.

Make money in Mutual Fund

Is the time ripe to buy mutual funds?
Buying mutual funds have never been difficult even considering the complexities involved in it. Mutual funds market has grown big enough in the last decade or so that it has almost always out performed the stock market. This article throws light on:

-How to pick a mutual fund from the huge pool of existing funds?
-When you can sell the mutual funds?
-How much you can earn from mutual funds?

Those of you who are looking to investing money in order that higher returns can be made must have concluded stock market is too hot for you especially so when you are a new and a novice investor. But sulking that you are loosing out on action while others are walking to their banks merrily is not necessary. Take a look at the world of mutual funds. Mutual funds market has grown big enough in the last decade or so that it has almost always out performed the stock market. Yes, there is big money to be made in mutual fund investment too provided you played your cards with aplomb.

How to Buy Mutual Funds?

Buying mutual funds have never been difficult even considering the complexities involved in it. You can buy mutual funds as easily as 1-2-3. Here are the typical steps involved when you want to buy mutual funds
You can buy mutual funds when mutual fund companies make initial public offerings. At this time you will usually have to pay the basic face value and not the market dictated price that includes a premium as in many cases. Filling out an application form with a payment of some initial deposit is all it takes.
Buying mutual funds called closed end funds is from stock exchanges. Closed end funds are initially sold by fund companies in limited numbers and they are listed in a stock exchange to facilitate trading by investors. These will be usually at premium prices or as dictated by demands in the market (higher demands for various reasons attract higher premiums).

Buying mutual funds called closed end funds is from stock exchanges. Closed end funds are initially sold by fund companies in limited numbers and they are listed in a stock exchange to facilitate trading by investors. These will be usually at premium prices or as dictated by demands in the market (higher demands for various reasons attract higher premiums).

You can also buy mutual funds (open end funds - funds purchasable perpetually from the company). Here the price at which you buy will be a figure called as NAV in the industry circles. This term stands for net asset value, a figure that denotes the current value of a share of the company after adding the earnings and deducting the expenses and taxes equally amongst all the number of shares.
How do you mutual funds online? Most companies and banks that are in the mutual funds business facilitate online buying of mutual funds to their customers. They need you to have a trading as well as a demat account and connect your bank account to this. You can log on to a broker's or the company's own trading internet portal to be able to buy online. Once online you can choose from the array of exchange traded mutual funds (ETF) and open end funds too. Your trades will be either credited or debited to your demat account (an account to hold dematerialized shares - electronic form of shares) instantaneously. This is some what like you can transfer funds from your bank account.

What Kind of Funds to Buy and how to pick From a Huge Pool of Existing funds?

Well. It is not easy to pick from a really huge pool of funds. Add to it the spate of new public offers every now and then, to make things worse. But you have your objectives in place. If it is making money, you sure would not want to go to money market funds in a big way.

Stock Funds for Growth

You can bet a good chunk of your money on growth funds such as index funds and sector funds. These are also called as stock funds in a broader sense. Stock funds come in different varieties like index funds that invest and track specific index (S&P, DOWJONES etc) and sector specific funds that invest and track for example automotive sector. Do not pool your entire money in any one fund as it deprives you of growth benefits of other funds.

401 (k) Plans

For retirement plans you can choose from many of the 401 (k) plans. These funds appreciate in value over long periods and carry lesser risk compared to growth funds. It is a tailor made fund for those looking for safer investment for retirement. The advantage here is your employer makes an equal contribution to yours and your contribution is from your before-tax salary. Your account will not be taxed until you withdraw thus paving way for faster growth.

Balanced Funds

Balanced Funds or Managed Funds allocate assets in predetermined proportions among government securities (bonds, T-Bills) for safety and in stocks for rapid growth. Investment in stocks grow rapidly (rapid and higher growth are associated with risks too) while government securities give a sort of cushion with their definite but slow growth. Most funds let you switch allocation for a small fee. Exercise the switch over option when growth falls behind your expectation.

Buy Mutual Funds

Thinking of Mutual fund? Here are the tips!!!
Investing in mutual funds requires that you have a fair amount of knowledge of securities market, economy and the law governing mutual funds apart from an all-round knowledge and a bit of street smartness. This article makes you aware of:

-What are the points that help you to arrive at a decision while investing in mutual funds?
-Learn how mutual funds can be a better option
-How to invest in mutual funds?

Investing in mutual funds requires that you have a fair amount of knowledge of securities market, economy and the law governing mutual funds apart from an all-round knowledge and a bit of street smartness. When you buy mutual funds you are actually investing in the shares of a certain corporation which is an investment company or a trust. Such corporations share the dividend earned on their investments among all the investors. Thus the fruit of some of the finest money management is eaten by all the investors. We will briefly see how mutual funds work before proceeding on to explore ways of investing in mutual funds.

How Do Mutual Funds Work and How To Buy Mutual Funds?

Mutual funds work on the principle of pooling money from countless number of investors and investing in various instruments such as bonds, stocks and money market in short term instruments. This means investors who do not or were not able to buy shares from other buyers or from exchanges can buy shares/units of mutual funds that have purchased the same shares. Principally a fund trades, invests and redeems its holding of shares to maximize the returns on its investment and dividends. The entire earnings are shared among the share holders of a particular fund whose names are recorded in the books of the mutual fund on a given date (record date) though some funds have a different ways of sharing the dividends.

Buying mutual fund actually means investing in mutual funds and to a certain degree you can rest assured that you are safe at the hands of the best money managers. However even on your part, you need top make an investment decision when you buy shares of a particular mutual fund.


Decide on the amount of money you can set aside to investing in mutual funds
Decide for your self whether you can wait till a new fund is launched and you can buy at their IPO or buy from the secondary market or from the company it self (IPO's generally do not charge any loads/fees)
Open end funds have greater liquidity in comparison to closed end funds which have a limited number of shares. Pick your investment from these.
The important decision is when you have to pick an instrument to invest in. There are many funds with very good performance records. They will have invested in particular genre and sector of securities. Consider the following:
Funds invested on short term money market instruments return higher returns but carry a greater element of risk than funds invested on bonds and G-Secs.
Though Index Funds are a volatile lot, they all the more follow the same curve as the index; you can derive higher returns depending on your timing of entry and exit.
Industry experts recommend funds which returned stable and increasing income over various periods to short term high returning funds. You can consider funds that returned consistently and considerably for three years.
Double check on mutual funds that invest in stocks of non public companies and derivatives or real estate and mortgages. Non public companies and others here are not at obligation to publish financial results and so you have no way of knowing the performance of your investment tied to these companies
Do not forget to check on the history and experience of the mutual funds you have short listed.

How Do You Say Mutual Funds are a Better Investment Option?

There are times when every one of us has thought to invest in all opportunities. One striking reason for not doing so is the lack of relevant knowledge. As opposed to this think of some mutual funds that have expert professionals who are knowledgeable of the market and economy too apart from maximizing returns and minimizing risks. With mutual funds you can invest in smaller amounts of money while you spread it among securities you will not even realize you have minimized your risk of loss of capital. Now, if your answer is a NO to 'whether you can do the same thing buying index scrip or a real estate with a similar amount of money' you have answered right. Mutual funds are for real a better investment option

Mutual Fund Investment

Will Mutual Funds Definitely Work in Your Favor?

Mutual funds have gained in popularity with the investing public especially in the last two decades following what is now known as the longest bull run of twenty years. Mutual funds have created wealth for retirees and general safe financial players with the rise in stock prices. This article throws light on
-What are the factors that prompt investors to invest in mutual funds?
-What are the risks involved in investing in mutual funds?
-Who regulates mutual funds?


Any one who is aware of stock market is not new to mutual funds. Mutual funds have gained in popularity with the investing public especially in the last two decades following what is now known as the longest bull run of twenty years. At the out set mutual funds have created wealth for retirees and general safe financial players with the rise in stock prices. But why invest in mutual funds and why is investing in mutual funds a popular option? How beneficial are they and what are the risk factors involved in mutual funds investing? After all they are also a kind of instruments of investments.

Why Invest In Mutual Funds?

If you are considering investing in stock market and are afraid of its some what unpredictable fluctuations, you can definitely consider investing in mutual funds. Some of the reasons that go strongly in favor of mutual funds are their lowest risk factors owing to diversification of assets in to various sectors and scrips or instruments within. As with the risk, the costs of unit share too are spread across making them affordable by almost any one. If you are looking at open end funds you can always purchase them from the company at the NAV minus some loads or expenses. The closed end funds give you the flexibility of independent stocks while combining the best of the features of mutual funds.

How Mutual Funds Manage To Reduce Their Risk?

Fund managers allocate available funds in a specified proportion among various instruments of investments. Consider a fund being well diversified across the spectrum of exchange listed stocks and bonds which yield a guaranteed return in addition to being invested in money markets and real estates. While bonds and money market investments provide a low but steady return, other instruments are of high yielding character in a short period. The higher risk of high yielding portfolio is compensated for by the investments in bonds in events of adverse market behavior.

The portfolio will be constantly reviewed and adjusted to variations in order to maximize returns and minimize risks. This means, fund managers buy or sell stocks or bonds as per the dictates of the fund and market pulls. For example an investment in a perceived risky instrument will be sold immediately and reinvested in a prospective media of the time.

Mutual Funds Basics

Mutual funds are investment companies that pool money from investors at large and offer to sell and buy back its shares on a continuous basis and use the capital thus raised to invest in securities of different companies. This article helps you to know in depth on:

-Is it possible to diversify investment if invested in mutual funds?
-Find more on the working of mutual fund
-Know more about the legal aspects in relation to the mutual funds

At the beginning of this millennium, mutual funds out numbered all the listed securities in New York Stock Exchange. Mutual funds have an upper hand in terms of diversity and liquidity at lower cost in comparison to bonds and stocks. The popularity of mutual funds may be relatively new but not their origin which dates back to 18th century. Holland saw the origination of mutual funds in 1774 as investment trusts before spreading to Anglo-Saxon countries in its current form by 1868.

We will discuss now as to what are mutual funds before going on to seeing the advantages of mutual funds. Mutual funds are investment companies that pool money from investors at large and offer to sell and buy back its shares on a continuous basis and use the capital thus raised to invest in securities of different companies. The stocks these mutual funds have are very fluid and are used for buying or redeeming and/or selling shares at a net asset value. Mutual funds posses shares of several companies and receive dividends in lieu of them and the earnings are distributed among the share holders.

A Brief of How Mutual Funds Work

Mutual funds can be either or both of open ended and closed ended investment companies depending on their fund management pattern. An open-end fund offers to sell its shares (units) continuously to investors either in retail or in bulk without a limit on the number as opposed to a closed-end fund. Closed end funds have limited number of shares.

Mutual funds have diversified investments spread in calculated proportions amongst securities of various economic sectors. Mutual funds get their earnings in two ways. First is the most organic way, which is the dividend they get on the securities they hold. Second is by the redemption of their shares by investors will be at a discount to the current NAVs (net asset values).

Are Mutual Funds Risk Free and What are the Advantages?

One must not forget the fundamentals of investment that no investment is insulated from risk. Then it becomes interesting to answer why mutual funds are so popular. To begin with, we can say mutual funds are relatively risk free in the way they invest and manage the funds. The investment from the pool is well diversified across securities and shares from various sectors. The fundamental understanding behind this is not all corporations and sectors fail to perform at a time. And in the event of a security of a corporation or a whole sector doing badly then the possible losses from that would be balanced by the returns from other shares.

This logic has seen the mutual funds to be perceived as risk free investments in the market. Yes, this is not entirely untrue if one takes a look at performances of various mutual funds. This relative freedom from risk is in addition to a couple of advantages mutual funds carry with them. So, if you are a retail investor and planning an investment in securities, you will certainly want to consider the advantages of investing in mutual funds.
-Lowest per unit investment in almost all the cases
-Your investment will be diversified
-Your investment will be managed by professional money managers

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

(born April 24, 1973 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India), often referred to as The Little Master or The Master Blaster, is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. In 2002, Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman next only to Sir Donald Bradman.

Sachin is the first player to score 10,000 runs in One-day internationals, and has the most number of centuries in both Tests and ODIs. He is one of the three batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in Test cricket, and the first Indian to do so.

The nation has honored Tendulkar, who made his debut at the age of 16, with the Padma Bhushan and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.

Early years and personal life
Tendulkar was born on April 24, 1973 in Mumbai, India. His father, Ramesh Tendulkar, a Marathi novelist, named Tendulkar after his favorite music director, Sachin Dev Burman. Tendulkar's elder brother, Ajit, encouraged him to play cricket. Tendulkar has two other siblings: brother, Nitin, and sister, Savitai.

Tendulkar attended Sharadashram Vidyamandir (High School), where he began his cricketing career under the guidance of his coach and mentor, Ramakant Achrekar. During his school days, he attended the MRF Pace Foundation to train as a fast bowler, but the fast bowling trainer there, Dennis Lillee, suggested to him to "just focus" on his batting.

When Tendulkar was young, he would practice for hours on end in the nets. If he became exhausted Achrekar would put a one-Rupee-coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin. If Tendulkar passed the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach would give him the coin. Tendulkar now considers the 13 coins he won then as his most prized possessions.

While at school, he developed a reputation as a child prodigy. He had become a common conversation point in Mumbai circles, where there were suggestions already that he would become one of the greats. His season in 1988 was extraordinary, scoring a century in every innings he played. He was involved in an unbroken 664-run partnership in a Lord Harris Shield inter-school game in 1988 with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli, who also went on to represent India. The destructive pair reduced one bowler to tears and made the rest of the opposition unwilling to continue the game. Tendulkar scored 326* in this innings and scored over a thousand runs in the tournament. This was a record partnership in any form of cricket, until 2006 when it was broken by two under-13 batsmen in a match held at Hyderabad in India.

When he was 14, Indian batting maestro Sunil Gavaskar gave him a pair of his used ultra light pads. "It was the greatest source of encouragement for me," he said nearly 20 years later after surpassing Gavaskar's top world record of 34 Test centuries. This was in the same year as his first-class debut. Tendulkar never played for any Under-19 teams, crossing straight into the seniors.

In 1995, Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali (born 10 November 1967), the paediatrician daughter of Gujarati industrialist, Anand Mehta. They have two children, Sara (born 12 October 1997), and Arjun (born 24 September 1999).

Tendulkar sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annaben Mehta. He is reluctant to speak about his charitable activitieschoosing to preserve the sanctity of his personal life despite media interest in him.

Domestic career

In 1988/1989, aged just 15, he scored 100 not-out in his first first-class match for Bombay against Gujarat. At 15 years and 232 days he is the youngest cricketer to score a century on his first-class debut. His first double century was for Mumbai playing against the visiting Australian team at the Brabourne Stadium in 1998.

Tendulkar is the only player to score a century in all three of his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debuts.

In 1992, at the age of 19, Tendulkar became the first overseas born player to represent Yorkshire (Craig White, although born in Yorkshire was the first player to be signed as an overseas player by Yorkshire. He had to be listed as an overseas player as he had already played for Victoria in Australia). Tendulkar played 16 first-class matches for the county and scored 1070 runs at an average of 46.52.

Indian Premier League

Tendulkar was made the icon player and captain for his home side, the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition in 2008. As an icon player, he was signed for a huge sum of US$1,121,250, 15% more than the second-highest paid player in the team, Sanath Jayasuriya.


International career

Early career

Tendulkar played his first Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989 under the leadership of Kris Srikkanth. According to Cricinfo's Andrew Miller and Martin Williamson, India took an unconventional approach to combating the Pakistani pace attack by calling up a "baby-faced 16-year-old with one season of first-class cricket to his name". He made just 15 runs, being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match, but was impressive in how he handled numerous blows to his body at the hands of the Pakistani pace attack. Tendulkar followed it up with his maiden Test fifty a few days later at Faisalabad. His One Day International (ODI) debut on December 18 was disappointing. He was dismissed without scoring a run, again by Waqar Younis. The series was followed by a tour of New Zealand in which he fell for 88 in the Second Test. His maiden Test century came in the next tour, to England in August 1990 at Old Trafford. Tendulkar further enhanced his development into a world-class batsman during the 1991–1992 tour of Australia that included an unbeaten 148 in Sydney (the first of many battles against Shane Warne who made his debut in the match) and a century on the fast and bouncy track at Perth. Merv Hughes famously commented to Allan Border at the time that "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB

Rise through the ranks

Sachin Tendulkar waits at the bowler's endTendulkar's performance through the years 1994–1999 coincided with his physical peak, in his early twenties. On the day of the Hindu festival Holi, Tendulkar was told to open the batting at Auckland against New Zealand in 1994.[16] He went on to make 82 runs off 49 balls. He scored his first ODI century on September 9, 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It had taken him 79 ODIs to score a century.

In 1996 against Pakistan in Sharjah, Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was going through a lean patch. Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu both made centuries to set a record partnership for the second wicket. After getting out, Tendulkar found Azharuddin in two minds to bat out. Tendulkar boosted Azharuddin to bat and Azharuddin subsequently unleashed 29 runs in mere 10 balls. It enabled India post a score in excess of 300 runs for the first time. India went on to win that match.
Tendulkar's rise continued when he was the leading run scorer at the 1996 Cricket World Cup, topping the batting averages whilst scoring two centuries. He was the only Indian batsman to perform in the infamous semi-final of that World Cup. When Tendulkar's wicket fell, the Indian batting lineup collapsed and India conceded defeat after the crowd began angry demonstrations.

This was the beginning of a period at the top of the batting world, culminating in the Australian tour of India in early 1998, with Tendulkar scoring three consecutive centuries. These were characterised by a pre-meditated plan to target Australian spinners Shane Warne and Gavin Robertson, to whom he regularly charged down the pitch to drive over the infield. This technique worked as India beat Australia. Following the series Shane Warne ruefully joked that he was having nightmares about his Indian nemesis. He also had a role with the ball in that series, including a 5 wicket haul in an ODI. Set 310 runs to win, Australia were cruising comfortably at 203/3 in the 31st over. Sachin turned the match for India taking wickets of Michael Bevan, Steve Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Tom Moody and Damien Martyn for just 32 runs in 10 overs.

Tendulkar single-handedly won the ICC 1998 quarterfinal at Dhaka to pave way for India's entry into the semifinals, when he took 4 Australian wickets after scoring 141 runs in just 128 balls.

A chronic back problem flared up when Pakistan toured India in 1999, with India losing the historic Test at Chepauk despite a gritty century from Tendulkar himself. The worst was yet to come as Professor Ramesh Tendulkar, Tendulkar's father, died in the middle of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar flew back to India to attend the final rituals of his father, missing the match against Zimbabwe. However, he returned with a bang to the World cup scoring a century (unbeaten 140 off 101 balls) in his very next match against Kenya in Bristol. He dedicated this century to his father.


Captaincy
Tendulkar's two tenures as captain of the Indian cricket team were not very successful. When Tendulkar took over as Captain in 1996, it was with huge hopes and expectations. However, by 1997 the team was performing poorly. Azharuddin was credited with saying "Nahin jeetega! Chote ki naseeb main jeet nahin hai!", which translates into: "He won't win! It's not in the small one's destiny".

Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, then led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by the newly-crowned world champions. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0-2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.

Tendulkar remains an integral part of the Indian team's strategic processes. He is often seen in discussion with the captain, at times actively involved in building strategies. Former captain Rahul Dravid publicly acknowledged that Tendulkar had been suggesting moves such as the promotion of Irfan Pathan up the batting order which, although only temporary, had an immediate effect on the team's fortunes.


Injuries and decline
Tendulkar continued his good form in Test cricket in 2001 and 2002, with some pivotal performances with both bat and ball. Tendulkar took three wickets on the final day of the famous Kolkata Test against Australia in 2001. Tendulkar took the key wickets of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, centurions in the previous test.

Tendulkar made 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, helping India reach the final. While Australia retained the trophy that they had won in 1999, Tendulkar was given the Man of the Tournament award. The drawn series as India toured Australia in 2003/04 saw Tendulkar making his mark in the last Test of the series, with 241* in Sydney, putting India in a virtually unbeatable position. He followed up the innings with an unbeaten 50 in the second innings of the test and then an unbeaten 194 against Pakistan at Multan in the following series. The 194 was controversial in that he was stranded prior to reaching his double century as a result of a declaration by Rahul Dravid. In meeting with the press that evening, Tendulkar responded to a question on missing 200 against Pakistan by stating that he was disappointed and that the declaration had taken him by surprise. Many former cricketers commented that Dravid's declaration was in bad taste. The media noted at the time that the decision had apparently been made by Sourav Ganguly, and Ganguly himself later admitted that it had been a mistake. The controversy was put to rest when Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and coach John Wright spoke to the media after the team's victory and stated that the matter was spoken internally and put to rest.

Although he was in strong form, tennis elbow then took its toll on Tendulkar, leaving him out of the side for most of the year, coming back only for the last two tests when Australia toured India in 2004. He played a part in India's victory in Mumbai in that series, though Australia took the series 2-1.

On 10 December 2005, at Feroz Shah Kotla, he scored record-breaking 35th Test century, against the Sri Lankans. On 6 February 2006, Tendulkar scored his 39th ODI hundred, in a match against Pakistan. He followed with a run-a-ball 42 in the second ODI against Pakistan on February 11, 2006, and then a 95 in hostile, seaming conditions on 13 February 2006 in Lahore, which set up an Indian victory.

On 19 March 2006, after scoring an unconvincing 1 off 21 balls against England in the first innings of the third Test in his home ground, Wankhede, Tendulkar was booed off the ground by a section of the crowd, the first time that he had ever faced such flak. Tendulkar was to end the three-Test series without a single half-century to his credit, and news of a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity. Tendulkar was operated upon for his injured shoulder. In July 2006, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that Tendulkar had overcome his injury problem following a rehabilitation programme and was available for selection, and he was eventually selected for the next series.


Return to form
Tendulkar's comeback came in the DLF cup in Malaysia and he was the only Indian batsman to shine. In his comeback match, against West Indies on 14 September 2006, Tendulkar responded to his critics who believed that his career was inexorably sliding with his 40th ODI century. Though he scored 141*, West Indies won the rain-affected match by the D/L method.

In the preparation for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Tendulkar was criticized by Greg Chappell on his attitude. As per the report, Chappell felt that Tendulkar would be more useful down the order, while the latter felt that he would be better off opening the innings, the role he had played for most of his career. Chappell also believed that Tendulkar's repeated failures were hurting the team's chances. In a rare show of emotion, Tendulkar hit out at the comments attributed to Chappell by pointing out that no coach has ever suggested his attitude towards cricket is incorrect. On 7 April 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India issued a notice to Tendulkar asking for an explanation for his comments made to the media

At the Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies, Tendulkar and the Indian cricket team, led by Rahul Dravid had a dismal campaign. Tendulkar, who was pushed to bat lower down the order by the Greg Chappell had scores of 7 (Bangladesh), 57* (Bermuda) and 0 (Sri Lanka). As a result, former Australian captain Ian Chappell, brother of the then Indian coach Greg, called for Tendulkar to retire in his column for Mumbai's Mid Day newspaper

In the subsequent series against Bangladesh, Tendulkar returned to his opening slot and was Man of the Series. He continued by scoring two consecutive scores of 90+ in the Future Cup against South Africa. He was the leading run scorer and was adjudged the Man of the Series

On the second day of the Nottingham Test (28 July 2007) Tendulkar became the third cricketer to complete 11,000 Test runs. In the subsequent One day series against England, Tendulkar was the leading run scorer from India with an average of 53.42. In the ODI Series against Australia in October 2007 Tendulkar was the leading Indian run scorer with 278 runs.

Tendulkar was dismissed seven times in 2007 between 90 and 100, including three times at 99, leading some to suggest that he struggles to cope with nerves in this phase of his career. Tendulkar has got out 23 times between 90 and 100 in his international career. On 8 November 2007 he got out on 99 against Pakistan in an ODI at Mohali to the bowling of Umar Gul caught by Kamran Akmal. In the fourth ODI, he got out on 97 (off 102 balls with 16 fours) after dragging a delivery from Umar Gul on to his stumps, falling short of another century in ODIs in 2007.

In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2007-08, Tendulkar showed exceptional form, becoming the leading run scorer with 493 runs in four Tests, despite consistently failing in the second innings. Sachin scored 62 runs in the first innings of the first Test at the MCG in Melbourne, but couldn't prevent a heavy 337-run win for Australia. In the controversial New Years Test at Sydney, Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 154 as India lost the Test. This was his third century at the SCG, earning him an average of 221.33 at the ground. In the third Test at the WACA in Perth, Sachin was instrumental in India's first innings score of 330, scoring a well compiled 71, only to be dismissed by what was later confirmed to be a questionable LBW decision. India went on to record a historic triumph at the WACA. In the fourth Test at Adelaide, which ended in a draw, he scored 153 in the first innings, involving in a crucial 126 run stand with V.V.S. Laxman for the fifth wicket to lead India to a score of 282 for 5 from 156 for 4. He secured the Player of the Match award.

In the One-Day International Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series involving Sri Lanka and Australia, Sachin became the first and only batsman to complete 16,000 runs in ODIs. He achieved this feat against Sri Lanka on 5 February 2008 at Brisbane. He started the CB series well notching up scores of 10, 35, 44 and 32, but could not convert the starts into bigger scores. His form dipped a bit in the middle of the tournament, but Sachin came back strongly in India's must-win game against Sri Lanka at Hobart, scoring 63 off 54 balls. He finished the series with a match winning 117 not out of 120 balls in the first final, and 91 runs in the second final.


Style of play
Tendulkar is ambidextrous: He bats, bowls, and throws with his right hand, but writes with his left hand. He also practices left-handed throws at the nets on a regular basis. Cricinfo columnist Sambit Bal has described him as the "most wholesome batsman of his time".[40] His batting is based on complete balance and poise while limiting unnecessary movements and flourishes. He appears to show little preference for the slow and low wickets which are typical in India, and has scored many centuries on the hard, bouncy pitches in the Caribbean Islands and Australia. He is known for his unique punch style of hitting the ball over square. He is also renowned for his picture-perfect straight drive, often completed with no follow-through.

Sir Donald Bradman, the greatest batsman of all time, considered Tendulkar to have a batting style similar to his. In his biography, it is stated that "Bradman was most taken by Tendulkar's technique, compactness and shot production, and had asked his wife to have a look at Tendulkar, having felt that Tendulkar played like him. Bradman's wife, Jessie, agreed that they did appear similar."

Former Australian cricket team coach John Buchanan voiced his opinion that Tendulkar had become susceptible to the short ball early in his innings because of a lack of footwork. Buchanan also believes Tendulkar has a weakness while playing left-arm pace. He was affected by a series of injuries since 2004. Since then Tendulkar's batting has tended to be less attacking. Explaining this change in his batting style, he has acknowledged that he is batting differently due to that fact that (1) No batsman can bat the same way for the entire length of a long career and (2) He is a senior member of the team now and thus has more responsibility. However, it cannot be denied that his batting became less attractive since 2004 and while a string of his highest scores have come within this time period, the consistency has been lacking.[citation needed] During the early part of his career he was a more attacking batsman and frequently scored centuries at close to a run a ball. Ian Chappell, former Australian player, recently remarked that "Tendulkar now, is nothing like the player he was when he was a young bloke". However, during the latest tour of Australia in 2008, Tendulkar displayed glimpses of his attacking style with several masterful innings, dominating attacks in a manner reminiscent of his younger days.

While Tendulkar is not a regular bowler, he is adept at bowling medium pace, leg spin, and off spin with equal ease. He often bowls when two batsmen of the opposite team have been batting together for a long period, and he can often be a useful partnership breaker. With his bowling, he has helped secure an Indian victory on more than one occasion.

Career achievements
Main articles: Achievements of Sachin Tendulkar and List of ODI Awards for Sachin Tendulkar

An innings-by-innings breakdown of Tendulkar's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).Sachin Tendulkar is the most prolific run scorer in one-day internationals with 16,361 runs and the second highest run scorer in Test matches with 11,877 runs after Brian Lara. He also holds the record of highest number of centuries in both Test (39) and ODI cricket (42). Throughout his career, he has made a strong impact on Indian cricket and was, at one time, the foundation of most of the team's victories. In recognition with his impact on sport in a cricket-loving country like India, Tendulkar has been granted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India. He was also elected Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997 and is ranked by the objective scoring method of the Wisden 100 as the second best test batsman and best ODI batsman of all time.

Tendulkar has also consistently done well in Cricket World Cups (excluding the 2007 Cricket World Cup in which India were knocked out after only 3 matches). Tendulkar was the highest run scorer of the 2003 Cricket World Cup and 1996 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODIs 7 times, and in one of these years he scored 1894 runs, easily the record for the highest number of runs scored by any player in a single calendar year for one day internationals. Tendulkar is also one of the very few players who are still playing in international cricket from the 1980s.

He has been Man of the Match 11 times in Test matches and Man of the Series 4 times, out of them twice in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The performances earned him respect from Australian cricket fans and players.


Individual Honours
Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, 2008.
ICC World ODI XI: 2004, 2007
Player of the tournament in 2003 Cricket World Cup
Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 1997
Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, 1999.
Arjuna Award, by the Government of India in recognition of his outstanding achievement in Cricket, 1994.
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports, 1997-98.
In September 2007, formet Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne published his list of 50 greatest cricketers ever, in which Sachin had secured the number 1 spot. In January 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that Sachin should be conferred with an honorary knighthood for his contribution to international cricket.


Controversies

Mike Denness incident
Main article: Mike Denness and Indian cricket team incident
In the second test of India's 2001 tour of South Africa, match referee Mike Denness fined 4 Indian players for excessive appealing as well as the Indian captain Sourav Ganguly for not controlling his team. Tendulkar was given a suspended ban of one game in light of alleged ball tampering. Television cameras picked up images that suggested Tendulkar may have been involved in cleaning the seam of the cricket ball in the second test match between India and South Africa at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. This can, under some conditions, amount to altering the condition of the ball. The match referee Mike Denness found Sachin Tendulkar guilty of ball tampering charges and handed him a one Test match ban. The incident escalated to include allegations of racism, and led to Mike Denness being barred from entering the venue of the third test match. After a thorough investigation, the International Cricket Council revoked the official status of the match and the ban on Tendulkar was lifted. Tendulkar's ball tampering charges and Sehwag's ban for excessive appealing triggered a massive backlash from the Indian public and even the Indian parliament.


Controversy over Ferrari customs waiver
In commemorating Sachin Tendulkar's feat of equalling Don Bradman's 29 centuries in Test Cricket, automotive giant Ferrari invited Sachin Tendulkar to its paddock in Silverstone on the eve of the British Grand Prix (23 July 2002) to receive a Ferrari 360 Modena from the legendary F1 racer Michael Schumacher. On September 4, 2002 India's then finance minister Jaswant Singh wrote to Sachin telling him that the government will waive custom's duty imposed on the car as a measure to applaud his feat.[58] However the rules at the time stated that the customs duty can be waived only when receiving an automobile as a prize and not as a gift. It is claimed that the proposals to change the law (Customs Act) was put forth in Financial Bill in February 2003 and amended was passed as a law in May 2003. Subsequently the Ferrari was allowed to be brought to India without payment of the customs duty (Rs 1.13 Crores or 120% on the car value of Rs 75 Lakhs). When the move to waive customs duty became public in July 2003, political and social activists protested the waiver and filed PIL in the Delhi High Court. With the controversy snowballing, Sachin offered to pay the customs duty and the tab was finally picked up by Ferrari. Tendulkar has been seen taking his Ferrari 360 Modena for late-night drives in Mumbai.


Fan following
Sachin Tendulkar's entry into world cricket was very much hyped up by former Indian stars and those who had seen him play. By scoring his first half-century in his second match and his first century aged 17, Tendulkar's consistent performances earned him a fan following across the globe, including amongst Australian crowds, where Tendulkar has consistently scored centuries. One of the most popular sayings by Sachin's fans is "Cricket is my religion and Tendulkar is my God".

At home in Mumbai, Tendulkar's fan following is so great that he is unable to lead a normal life. Ian Chappell has said that he would be unable to cope with the lifestyle Tendulkar was forced to lead, having to "wear a wig and go out and watch a movie only at night". In an interview with Tim Sheridan, Tendulkar admitted that he sometimes went for quiet drives in the streets of Mumbai late at night when he would be able to enjoy some peace and silence.


Business Interests
Tendulkar's immense popularity has led him to numerous profitable business dealings in the past. He currently has the most sponsorships out of all players in world cricket. Sachin Tendulkar was an early pioneer in India on cricket business dealings when he signed a then record sports management deal with Worldtel in 1995, the value of the deal being 30 crore rupees over 5 years. His next contract with WorldTel in 2001 was valued at 80 crores over 5 years. In 2006, he signed a contract with Saatchi and Saatchi's ICONIX values at 180 crores over 3 years. He is the highest earning cricketer in the world.

Making use of his popularity, Tendulkar has opened two restaurants: 'Tendulkar's' (Colaba, Mumbai) & 'Sachin's' (Mulund, Mumbai). Sachin owns these restaurants in partnership with Sanjay Narang of Mars Restaurants. He has also got a new restaurant in Bangalore called Sachin's.

In 2007, Tendulkar also announced a JV with the Fortune Group and Manipal Group to launch healthcare and sports fitness products under the brand name 'S Drive and Sach'. A series of comic books by Virgin Comics is also due to be published featuring him as a superhero.


Product and Brand Endorsments
Sachin Tendulkar endorses the following products:

Pepsi: 1992 - Present
Canon: 2006 - 2009
Airtel: 2004-2006
Nazara Technologies: 2005 - 2008. License for Mobile Content development based on Sachin.
Reliance Communications sub-licensed brand 'Sachin Tendulkar' to update the user of the latest 2007 Cricket World Cup scores and news in Sachin's voice. Hutch - ICC's prime communication sponsor protested calling Reliance's plan as 'ambush marketing', a charge that Reliance Communication denies
Britannia: 2001 - 2007
HomeTrade: 2001 - 2002
Sunfeast: 2007 - 2013/14
National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC): 2003 - 2005
Boost: 1990 - Present
Action Shoes: 1995 - 2000
Adidas: 2000-2010
Fiat Palio: 2001 to 2003
Reynolds: 2007 - Present
TVS: 2002 - 2005
ESPN Star Sports: 2002 - Present
G-Hanz: 2005 - 2007
Sanyo BPL: 2007 - Present
AIDS Awareness Campaign: 2005
Colgate-Palmolive
Philips
MRF
VISA

Biographies
Sachin Tendulkar has been the subject of various books. The following is the listing of books focused on Tendulkar's career:

Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman by Gulu Ezekiel. Publisher: Penguin Global. ISBN 978-0143028543[92]
The A to Z of Sachin Tendulkar by Gulu Ezekiel. Publisher: Penguin Global. ISBN 978-8174765307
Sachin Tendulkar-a definitive biography by Vaibhav Purandare. Publisher: Roli Books. ISBN 8174363602
Sachin Tendulkar - Masterful by Peter Murray, Ashish Shukla. Publisher: Rupa. ISBN 8171678068