We're excited to introduce Chat 2.0," the California startup announced on its blog Tuesday."You can start by sending a few chats, and when your friend shows up, start talking or video chatting instantly with one tap," it said."Your friend can simply listen if you want to sing them a song, or watch if you have a new puppy to show them."The new chat platform aims for improved video chat with new features such as sending an audio note or a "sticker" chosen from a range of images similar to those on Facebook's messenger app.First gaining notoriety for its disappearing messages, Snapchat has been growing rapidly to a base of some 100 million, with particular appeal to young users, as it expands its partnerships with various media organisations.The Los Angeles-based company, which reportedly turned down a $3 billion buyout from Facebook in 2013, was valued at more than $15 billion in its latest funding round.But it is facing competition from Facebook and others seeking to be the preferred messaging platform — that can draw users into more services and open up possibilities for advertisers.

What we love most about the new Chat is how easily you can transition between all these ways of communicating — just like you do in person," the Snapchat team said on the blog."When that's possible, you aren't texting, calling, or video chatting... You're just talking. We've been working on this redesign for a while — we can't wait to hear what you think!"

Hide Comments | Add Comment

The latest feature on the popular social media platform will let users keep Stories permanently on your profile page to show off formerly ephemeral content. The new feature will be available in version 25 of Instagram for Android and iOS.It seems that Stories Archive is one of the other features copied from Snapchat, which introduced Memories last year. But the new feature introduced by Instagram differs from Snapchat’s version. Here, users can bridge old stories together in the archive, give them a name and share on their profile.Instagram story highlights are basically archived stories that users can pin up to their profile. The new feature will appear below the biography. To create a Stories Highlight, users need to tap into the ‘New’ circle on the far left and choose any of the stories from your archives. Once that is accomplished, you can give your Stories Highlights a name and select a cover. From that point on, your Highlights will show up as a circle on your profile. Not only can you have as many Highlights as you wish, they stay on your profile until you remove it. A long tap on any individual Highlights circle allows you to edit or remove it.(Source)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

AIB has released a series of videos explaining why one should protest against Free Basics and recently, Vishal Dadlani too expressed a similar take on his Facebook page. The Advertising Standards Council of India has received several complaints against Facebook’s print and outdoor ads for its Free Basics initiative. But even as both sides of the debates keep making themselves more vocal, confusion reigns supreme in the minds of users. We get experts to decode the exact definitions of these oft used terms like Free Basics, Net Neutrality, Internet.org and reveal their real agendas. 

What is Free Basics Free basics is a tool that is designed to generate a lot of revenue for Facebook. If the government allows Free Basics, Facebook will pay some extra money to the service providers and pool in their services in a way that in turn will generate money for both Facebook and the corresponding service providers. They are basically doing it to tap the Indian user base and the massive amount of revenue that it’ll generate. Even if the government allows this, there are a lot of issues and technicalities that’ll come up in due course and hamper the domestic revenue channels in India.— Sunny Vaghela, Tech Expert.What is Internet.org Most people are failing to understand the difference between Free Basics and Net Neutrality. Internet is for the masses. 

Especially in a country like India, people need the Internet primarily for education. When Facebook had launched Internet.org, it sounded good, but there were many hidden agendas. It was supposed to get as many people online. However, it turned China instant water heating faucet Manufacturers out to be not as they had projected. Internet.org was bringing people only to Facebook. Since the name was a misnomer — .org is usually used for not-for-profit organisations — they renamed it and have now introduced Free Basics. Internet is Internet — there shouldn’t any such thing as basic or premium. — Faisal Farooqui, CEO, Mouthshut.com.How is Free Basics opposed to Net Neutrality Net Neutrality is the principle of allowing you to access any content on the Internet, while Free Basics is limiting that accessibility. With Free Basics, one will get free access to Facebook, if you are a Reliance customer as Reliance is FB’s telecom partner in India. 

Hide Comments | Add Comment

To see these face filters, swipe right to open the wholesale electric water heater camera and tap the face icon in the bottom right corner.The company has added a set of new sounds for the Superzoom effect. Users will be able to choose from Beats, Bounce and TV Show sounds. This feature will be rolled out soon.The sticker library will soon be expanded with a range of holiday stickers for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, including ice skates, penguins, winter clothing, snowflakes and more.Users who have an iPhone, you’ll also see an updated set of colour filters in the camera. 

You need to simply tap the camera icon in the top left of the screen or swipe right from anywhere in the feed. Once you’ve captured your moment, swipe left or right to discover different colour filters then tap ‘next’ to add to your story or send to friends directly.To recall, Instagram is testing new waters. The company is trying out an app for private messages called Direct. 'Direct' will be a standalone app, which could also be the company’s first step towards separating the messaging feature from its core app. Quite similar to what Facebook had done by shutting down the message feature in the app.

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Mobile apps have dominated our lives for almost decade now, so what’s next?With the global hype and success generated by Pokémon Go, an Augmented Reality (AR) app based on the popular TV series and video game, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality apps are expected to become one of the most talked about developments in the mobile app industry. In 2017, statista states that there are more than 5 million apps available across all app stores like Google Play, Apple App, Microsoft, etc. Internet usage on these devices is on a constant rise, and service providers are introducing newer plans with more data (internet) than talk and text services. 

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, if planned and executed well, can be powerful platforms for brands to build and enhance their customer experiences. In a recent article published by The Wall Street Journal, it talks about how "the next billion”, a wave of newcomers to the internet and mobile devices, are avoiding texting, and replacing it with communication through voice recognition, images and videos.According to App Annie, India surpassed the US in 2016 to become the largest market for Google Play downloads.VR and AR, if planned and executed well, can be powerful platforms for brands to build and enhance their customer experiences.Research done by Goldman Sachs Global Investment showcases the predicted market size of VR and AR software across multiple industries. ranging from utility apps to sophisticated interactive games.Moreover, with the soon to be released ARKit from Apple for iOS devices, developers have been busy playing around with ARKit and have already rolled out a number of cool demos.Ninad Chhaya, COO of WITS Interactive and COO of GoPhygital believes that current generations have adopted a new way of life since the launch of mobile apps, everything from capturing memories in the form of pictures or videos and sharing them instantly on social media platforms, to daily errands like catching a taxi or having food delivered to your doorstep, all are done with the tap of a button through an app.(source)Technology changes are always just around the corner and mobile apps need to be in accordance with the latest trends/technologies so that they can reap the benefits. Considered to be unreal promotional tools for several years, AR and VR application developments are something to watch out for in the years to come. 

Technology changes are always just around the corner and mobile apps need to be in accordance with the latest trends/technologies so that they can reap the benefits. A recent report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India stated that as of May 2017, in India alone, there were over 1 billion active wireless subscribers.As compared to a regular mobile app, which most businesses use as current means to engage with their users, VR and AR have the potential to give a greater emotional resonance to objects and topics. applications can deliver, business should leverage these technologies as it will bring about a transformation in approaching ideas/experiences that could possibly disrupt the current business landscape. This influx of mobile phones and demand for mobile internet has further lead to an explosion in the mobile apps development market as more and more businesses are going mobile in order to tap this customer base.. There is a growing market for immersive tech, and with the promise that Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Chatbots etc. 

 As faster, smarter and more affordable mobile phones become accessible to consumers across the globe, the use of mobile internet and apps have also seen an exponential growth. These demos give us a glimpse of what’s to come, and the future looks very promising.In addition to AR and VR, there are other technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Chatbots and Machine Learning which are also considered to change the mobile app landscape. India not only held onto the top spot in Q2 2017, but it widened its lead as it experienced the quarter’s largest year-over-year market share growth of Google Play downloads

Posted by: Sarah tvargas at May 04, 2020 08:28 AM (aqagF)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

The first time it took me 13 hours. But we were in contact with our base camp who simultaneously was connected to my wife back home and my dad, inside a house stuffed with people who were witnessing this historic event. "I have been to India several times as a child. Wrestling is a sport with only a modest handicap for a blind person because you learn how and where to initiate moves by the feel of the person under you on the mat or on top of you. Finally, Erik’s also the only blind person to have finished the Seven Summits challenge (reaching the highest peaks on each of the continents) — which includes the dreaded Everest. Unlike most in the sighted world, Erik had learnt one important aspect of his disability — he could push on while others fell back, scared at what they were seeing.”As vision started fading, fast, Erik was forced to make his peace. I fought to stay in the sighted world, even refusing to use my cane properly, fighting learning Braille. "The Khumba Ice Fall — along Everest’s slope — was the true test. So, I learned to tap my tool against the face and feel the vibration through the tap on the ice.Since that 2001 Everest climb, Erik has participated in Primal Quest, billed as one of the toughest adventure races in the world — nine days, 60,000 feet of elevation gain, with no timeouts. That record still holds. 

Complete darkness was no trouble for me hey guys, suck it up!”Hours later, they were at a place few have been before — the peak.” ’Family’The parents were one of the first who decided they’ll never give up. At 12, I was beginning to wake up with my eyes not working; it was like a kaleidoscope. "Inside each of us is something I can only describe as a light, which feeds on adversity and consume it like fuel. We have wanted to arrange a tour in India, making some commercial presentations to Indian firms and visiting youth groups as well. "I flipped and flopped but was pinned. I do enjoy the diversity of Indian culture.”In the immediate future though, Erik’s focussing on his third book — about living a "no barriers life”.EverestThe climb to the very top was a decision Erik made after he had already climbed four of the seven summits. And in September, he’s exploring the Walker Spur — a climb through Europe’s Alps. While I can operate independently, she does so many things which makes my life more enjoyable. That definitely wasn’t my best day. He rode a tandem bike through the gruelling Vietnam Challenge from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with injured American and Vietnamese soldiers, covering 1,200 miles in 16 days. My foundation has even discussed bringing our multi-day No Barriers Summit to India. He has led several expeditions with visually-impaired and sighted students, including a climb into Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail, rafting the Grand Canyon, and climbing the Blue Mountains in Australia with Australian students. "We celebrated at the summit but not for too long because weather was moving in and most accidents happen on the way down. Many weeks later, when I left Camp 4 for the summit in the dead of night most of my team had trouble because they couldn’t see. The last time I did it in five hours. We took one practice climb, Lobuche, close to Everest, got turned back at 20,000 feet because of a blizzard — which ended in an emergency descent for one of our climbers, who was injured in a 150-foot fall, but this "test” was turned us into an Everest-ready team.jpg It’s a dream the healthiest of us keep for, much later. His is a life that has transcended limitations. All this from the man who received crushing news quite early in life. The greater the challenge, the brighter the light burns,” says Erik. But in his disability, there was also opportunity. During the years, over 200 highly-trained, professional climbers have lost their lives trying to conquer the 30,000 feet of sheer snow and unpredictable weather. But as it turned out, the very things I resisted, once I learned them, were the things which kept me connected to the sighted world. My mother had to walk me wholesale electric instant heating water faucet into school the first day, which was hugely embarrassing. I had gained some skills, and my teammates were better prepared to guide me.”‘Hey guys, suck it up’As the team ascended, Erik suffered his share of injuries and for the first time in several months, found himself really questioning his decision to climb Mt Everest.And the next time you’re at home whining away a day complaining about the stresses of everyday life, here’s something to ponder; "What’s within us is stronger than what’s in our way. In a separate interview he notes, "As you swing sharp, heavy metal tools at the ice face, you don’t want to knock off a huge chunk of ice the size of a refrigerator, and crush yourself or your teammate. Because Mount Everest is not for all.The school allowed him to wrestle and day one on the mat, in a room he couldn’t see, ended in 20 seconds. And then one day, at the start of my freshman year in school, I woke up blind.It’s a dream the healthiest of us keep for, much later. Mum, meanwhile, died when I was a teenager in an accident — she was my loudest protectorate. My dad put a wrestling mat in the garage and we would work out together. But we had to cross it again and again, to set up the higher camps and to acclimatise. I was in my element though — the fast guy for once.”Erik also had to come up with an entirely new way to deal with ice while climbing. I had stumbled crossing a small crevasse and one teammate, trying to help me, had smashed my nose with his ice axe. eric. Despite his gruelling commute into New York every day, he never missed a wrestling match of mine. He’s also mulling a step into India.” And with intensified training and support came higher goals. I was on the cover of Time, on big TV talk shows. I loved the Taj, loved Fatehpur Sikri, absolutely loved Delhi, loved staying in a houseboat on Dal Lake near Srinagar. "The doctors informed my parents when I was one that I would be blind by 13. So in addition to complete exhaustion I was bleeding and had a broken nose. "My parents set me on my path. By judging that feel and that sound, I determine whether it would be a good or bad ice swing. We set about building a team of people who believed in me and were ready to subordinate their personal ambitions to help get a blind person on top of the world. Not only did a blind guy stand on top of the world but 19 people from our team — of 13 Americans and 8 Sherpas — was the most people from one team were standing on the summit that day. For Erik, it was the culmination of years and years of preparations, hurt and pain. My wife, a teacher, married a blind guy so, she knew what was in store. But he had his doubts. "I admit I was thinking about climbing Everest, but was afraid to say it out loud for fear people would think I am crazy. I was on my way to the life I have today — presentations, adventures, and my foundation, No Barriers..”The foundation was Erik’s idea to help out individuals who were facing physical obstacles similar to his.” Which is the motto of No Barriers. Because Mount Everest is not for all. But with encouragement from my team, I rallied on. Perhaps under a "maybe” or a "someday”. Perhaps under a "maybe” or a "someday”. But my time was still 10 seconds better than the other novices, so I felt pretty good. By tapping into that light, every frustration, every setback, every obstacle becomes a source to power our lives forward. Our team leader, said that the pace was too slow, too dangerous — for both me and the team due to avalanches.”After much training, the climb up Everest began. But I was legally blind from birth. To get a better picture, imagine a kayaker without arms, a runner without legs people overcoming the most overwhelming odds to achieve their highest levels in performance. It’s built on the very strength and determination that put humanity on the Moon and one blind man on the top of Everest. "Reaching Camp 1 the first time, just above the Ice Fall I just collapsed in my tent. "Everest was the event which put my message on the map. His entire life so far has been this one question: Can we, as human beings, simply ignore the most debilitating of problems and go above and beyond what’s possible Because Erik did.”Many doctors had a tough time figuring out what I had because it was so rare — juvenile retinoschesis — a splitting of my retinas for which there was no prevention. Erik was absolutely in the dark. "I was scared that I was going to live a life that didn’t matter, that I would lose all my friends.So Erik’s story is one that needs a certain sense of awe to completely fathom. He’s the only visually-impaired person on the planet to have reached the summit of the known world’s highest mountain

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Does it really help tourism Does Bollywood drive Indian tourists to explore the destinations it showcases The answer, according to experts, is a resounding yes.Bollywood is on a quest for new and unspoiled vistas, and filmmakers are showcasing the beauty of hitherto unconventional destinations like Bulgaria, Iceland, Corsica and Poland on the big screen — much to viewers’ delight Imtiaz Ali's Tamasha was set in picturesque Corsica Bollywood is on a quest for new and unspoiled vistas, and filmmakers are showcasing the beauty of hitherto unconventional destinations like Bulgaria, Iceland, Corsica and Poland on the big screen — much to viewers’ delightThere once this time when Switzerland was the de facto location whenever a Bollywood film required a foreign shoot. In fact, Deepika Padukone’s character is shown to be a huge fan of the comic Asterix in Corsica, which is how she ends up travelling there. 

As Stefan Ionkov tells us, the services of the largest film studio in the Balkans (the Nu Boyana Film Studio) are available to overseas film crews. We had to rely a lot on the smart people (around us) to help us out,” he told us. Bulgaria was very keen to tap into the power of Bollywood. Director Shankar explored stunning new settings for Jeans (which had Aishwarya Rai dancing against all the Seven Wonders of the world) and later, in Robot, for which Rajinikanth and Ash shot at locations such as Machu Picchu in Peru, and in Brazil.”Bulgaria too, had played host to the shoots of films like Bahubali and Masss (Tamil) before drawing Dilwale and Shivay to its shores. Also, the IFB offers a range of tax incentives for filming on the island of Ireland (a new 32 per cent incentive is available since 2015), an expansion of eligible expenditure criteria and greater flexibility in the application process. So from shooting in Beirut for Phantom to heading off to Kabul for Kabul Express and on home ground, Sonmarg and Zoji La for Bajrangi Bhaijaan — the locations of his films attest to the director’s own personality. Imtiaz Ali admitted that shooting in Corsica was not without its challenges. Tourism Ireland worked closely with Yash Raj Films to bring the Ek Tha Tiger shoot to Dublin. 

If you happened to sit through just a few films from the latter half of 2015 alone — Dilwale, Dil Dhadakne Do, Tamasha, Phantom, to name a few — you would have been transported to destinations like Bulgaria, Iceland, Greece, Corsica and Beirut. Kabir recounts, "During the shoot, we got death threats from the Taliban. Says Rohit Shetty, "To be honest, it was Suriya’s film that was shot in Iceland (that prompted me to go there).If Rohit Shetty’s song sequence for Gerua (from Dilwale) was shot in Iceland, it was because he had previously seen the song Eno Eno Panithuli from the Suriya starrer Aadhavan, that had been filmed there. But over the past two years, Bollywood has expanded its directions — quite literally. Corsica has a distinct, unique culture. "Having Rohit Shetty, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in Bulgaria has been achieved with a lot of work, dedication I am happy and proud that we have already built our relation of trust with Bollywood,” says Stefan. But Adi (Aditya Chopra, producer) was very supportive; he said YRF would recreate Kabul in any part of the world for me I met intelligence and security officers and after five days, I told Adi we could continue (in Kabul). But not every new location offers such seamless infrastructure to film crews. 

Not much shooting happens in Corsica so everything had to be set by us almost for the first time. Any location featured prominently in a movie instantly become aspirational and popular with travellers. One of our line producers told us about the location.”In return, several filmmakers also shoot promotional videos for these destinations — SRK’s Red Chillies presented a short one called "Welcome to Bulgaria” which garnered over 4,00,000 views on YouTube says Stefan; Ajay Devgn has also featured in a promotional video for the country, while Imtiaz Ali’s video showcasing Corsica and his experiences shooting there has received millions of likes on Facebook. We also conduct familiarisation visits for Bollywood producers to Ireland. Imtiaz had said that right from the time that he began writing the script, his first choice of a location had been Corsica. 

 However, his team felt the location was not feasible for filming the high-octane action sequences in mind (it was accessible only by chopper) so they opted for the Rila Mountain in Bulgaria. So we went and shot the song there. Says Daniel D’Souza of Kuoni India, "Bollywood-inspired holidays are a huge draw. Other films like Kick (Poland) and PK (Belgium) have also capitalised on the beauty of untapped foreign locations for their shoots. We sent John and Arshad back to Mumbai. The trend can perhaps be traced back to Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara, which many said was almost a tourism advertisement for Spain. Ajay Devgn had previously meant to shoot Shivay in Calgary, Canada. It is not modern, it is not old-fashioned; they have kept their food and music and culture. For director Kabir Khan, locations also speak to his love for adventure. Stefan China instant heating faucet Suppliers Ionkov, the head of the Commercial & Economic Affairs Office of Bulgaria to India, says that they have been working actively on bringing Bollywood shoots to Bulgaria, because the strategy proved to be so successful for Switzerland, Spain and Germany.And while Zoya Akhtar made the idea of a cruise holiday look like a dream in DDD, she has said that shooting it was "logistically insane”. 

Hats off to John and Arshad for coming back. With increasing number of Bollywood producers exploring newer destinations for their movies, we will see this trend growing in future. "We have professional dancers, costume designers, shooting equipment After Shivay, we have another 10 Indian movies being shot in Bulgaria in 2016 alone,” he says. Convenience counts too!Sometimes, the logistics may drive a filmmaker to look for an out-of-the-ordinary shoot location. The same can be said for Imtiaz Ali, who set his Tamasha in picturesque Corsica. Nobody is insured in a war zone. Kunal Kohli first ventured to shoot Fanaa in the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland, because his original location, Kashmir, presented several difficulties. Wooed to travel Perhaps the key reason that new destinations are being explored by Bollywood filmmakers is because of ardent wooing by their tourism boards. It took over two years to bring the right film projects to Bulgaria — in this case, Dilwale, and Ajay Devgn’s upcoming Shivay.So just what is drawing Bollywood to newer, unexplored territories And is it pushing Indian travellers to visit the places they’ve seen on the big screen Where the South goes The South film industry has perhaps taken the lead when it comes to venturing to newer locations. 

Soon, films like David and 1: Nenokkadine had also booked their "tickets” for the island country, drawn by what the tourism board had to offer. Similarly, movies like Dil Chahta Hai, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Finding Fanny have catapulted self-drive vacations to long hauls such as Spain,” adds Jatinder Paul Singh, of Thomas Cook India."Tourism Ireland works with the Irish Film Board (IFB) and Northern Ireland Screen (NSI) to support the filming of Bollywood movies in Ireland — visas, screen location facilitation etc,” says Huzan Fraser, the India representative for Tourism Ireland.Some filmmakers may have found newer destinations a whole lot more welcoming to shoot in. Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Corsica have gained prominence with Indian clients after being extensively featured in Indian movies. "(The story was about) two people meeting at a place that’s very unusual. Dil Dhadakne Do has inspired Indian families to take cruise vacations, and we are seeing unprecedented demand of over 23 per cent to short haul favourites like Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. 

The production house Excel ironed out every possible detail before starting work on the film. I told Shah Rukh about it, and he said, ‘Let’s go’. There was no steady catering and all the other services a team requires on a shoot were not established. Scripting demandsOf course, while there will be filmmakers who take their shoots to destinations previously unknown, simply because they can afford to, there are others who believe their script truly demands itThen there are certain locations that offer their own dangers — as Kabir Khan found when he went to Kabul for Kabul Express.. We have witnessed a surge of demand for holidays to locations where movies have been shot. A good place, but definitely not a ‘regular’ destination for Indians (to travel to).”"We witnessed an uptake in queries for Corsica, after the release of Tamasha. The Indian ambassador told us that five men had been sent to attack us. In Zoya Akhtar’s films, ZNMD and Dil Dhadake Do, the locations (Spain and a cruise on the Mediterranean) were inseparable from the plot. "Corsica was a very expensive location — but it was a location I wanted. "For Ek Tha Tiger, Tourism Ireland undertook a television, print and digital campaign during the release of the film in India to showcase Ireland as an attractive destination. I (was) lucky that it has not been explored cinematically, but I think that people will more and more go to Corsica (after this),” Imtiaz said, explaining why he chose it. Filmmakers presented the same pristine vistas repeatedly; and even when budgets expanded, as did themes, filmmakers were not so experimental in their choices of locations.” 

Does it really help tourism Does Bollywood drive Indian tourists to explore the destinations it showcases The answer, according to experts, is a resounding yes.Bollywood is on a quest for new and unspoiled vistas, and filmmakers are showcasing the beauty of hitherto unconventional destinations like Bulgaria, Iceland, Corsica and Poland on the big screen — much to viewers’ delight Imtiaz Ali's Tamasha was set in picturesque Corsica Bollywood is on a quest for new and unspoiled vistas, and filmmakers are showcasing the beauty of hitherto unconventional destinations like Bulgaria, Iceland, Corsica and Poland on the big screen — much to viewers’ delightThere once this time when Switzerland was the de facto location whenever a Bollywood film required a foreign shoot. In fact, Deepika Padukone’s character is shown to be a huge fan of the comic Asterix in Corsica, which is how she ends up travelling there. As Stefan Ionkov tells us, the services of the largest film studio in the Balkans (the Nu Boyana Film Studio) are available to overseas film crews. We had to rely a lot on the smart people (around us) to help us out,” he told us. Bulgaria was very keen to tap into the power of Bollywood. Director Shankar explored stunning new settings for Jeans (which had Aishwarya Rai dancing against all the Seven Wonders of the world) and later, in Robot, for which Rajinikanth and Ash shot at locations such as Machu Picchu in Peru, and in Brazil.”Bulgaria too, had played host to the shoots of films like Bahubali and Masss (Tamil) before drawing Dilwale and Shivay to its shores. 

Also, the IFB offers a range of tax incentives for filming on the island of Ireland (a new 32 per cent incentive is available since 2015), an expansion of eligible expenditure criteria and greater flexibility in the application process. So from shooting in Beirut for Phantom to heading off to Kabul for Kabul Express and on home ground, Sonmarg and Zoji La for Bajrangi Bhaijaan — the locations of his films attest to the director’s own personality. Imtiaz Ali admitted that shooting in Corsica was not without its challenges. Tourism Ireland worked closely with Yash Raj Films to bring the Ek Tha Tiger shoot to Dublin. If you happened to sit through just a few films from the latter half of 2015 alone — Dilwale, Dil Dhadakne Do, Tamasha, Phantom, to name a few — you would have been transported to destinations like Bulgaria, Iceland, Greece, Corsica and Beirut. Kabir recounts, "During the shoot, we got death threats from the Taliban. Says Rohit Shetty, "To be honest, it was Suriya’s film that was shot in Iceland (that prompted me to go there).If Rohit Shetty’s song sequence for Gerua (from Dilwale) was shot in Iceland, it was because he had previously seen the song Eno Eno Panithuli from the Suriya starrer Aadhavan, that had been filmed there. But over the past two years, Bollywood has expanded its directions — quite literally. Corsica has a distinct, unique culture. 

Having Rohit Shetty, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in Bulgaria has been achieved with a lot of work, dedication I am happy and proud that we have already built our relation of trust with Bollywood,” says Stefan. But Adi (Aditya Chopra, producer) was very supportive; he said YRF would recreate Kabul in any part of the world for me I met intelligence and security officers and after five days, I told Adi we could continue (in Kabul). But not every new location offers such seamless infrastructure to film crews. Not much shooting happens in Corsica so everything had to be set by us almost for the first time. Any location featured prominently in a movie instantly become aspirational and popular with travellers. One of our line producers told us about the location.”In return, several filmmakers also shoot promotional videos for these destinations — SRK’s Red Chillies presented a short one called "Welcome to Bulgaria” which garnered over 4,00,000 views on YouTube says Stefan; Ajay Devgn has also featured in a promotional video for the country, while Imtiaz Ali’s video showcasing Corsica and his experiences shooting there has received millions of likes on Facebook. We also conduct familiarisation visits for Bollywood producers to Ireland. Imtiaz had said that right from the time that he began writing the script, his first choice of a location had been Corsica. However, his team felt the location was not feasible for filming the high-octane action sequences in mind (it was accessible only by chopper) so they opted for the Rila Mountain in Bulgaria. 

So we went and shot the song there. Says Daniel D’Souza of Kuoni India, "Bollywood-inspired holidays are a huge draw. Other films like Kick (Poland) and PK (Belgium) have also capitalised on the beauty of untapped foreign locations for their shoots. We sent John and Arshad back to Mumbai. The trend can perhaps be traced back to Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara, which many said was almost a tourism advertisement for Spain. Ajay Devgn had previously meant to shoot Shivay in Calgary, Canada. It is not modern, it is not old-fashioned; they have kept their food and music and culture. For director Kabir Khan, locations also speak to his love for adventure. Stefan China instant heating faucet Suppliers Ionkov, the head of the Commercial & Economic Affairs Office of Bulgaria to India, says that they have been working actively on bringing Bollywood shoots to Bulgaria, because the strategy proved to be so successful for Switzerland, Spain and Germany.And while Zoya Akhtar made the idea of a cruise holiday look like a dream in DDD, she has said that shooting it was "logistically insane”. Hats off to John and Arshad for coming back. With increasing number of Bollywood producers exploring newer destinations for their movies, we will see this trend growing in future. 

We have professional dancers, costume designers, shooting equipment After Shivay, we have another 10 Indian movies being shot in Bulgaria in 2016 alone,” he says. Convenience counts too!Sometimes, the logistics may drive a filmmaker to look for an out-of-the-ordinary shoot location. The same can be said for Imtiaz Ali, who set his Tamasha in picturesque Corsica. Nobody is insured in a war zone. Kunal Kohli first ventured to shoot Fanaa in the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland, because his original location, Kashmir, presented several difficulties. Wooed to travel Perhaps the key reason that new destinations are being explored by Bollywood filmmakers is because of ardent wooing by their tourism boards. It took over two years to bring the right film projects to Bulgaria — in this case, Dilwale, and Ajay Devgn’s upcoming Shivay.So just what is drawing Bollywood to newer, unexplored territories And is it pushing Indian travellers to visit the places they’ve seen on the big screen Where the South goes The South film industry has perhaps taken the lead when it comes to venturing to newer locations. 

Soon, films like David and 1: Nenokkadine had also booked their "tickets” for the island country, drawn by what the tourism board had to offer. Similarly, movies like Dil Chahta Hai, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Finding Fanny have catapulted self-drive vacations to long hauls such as Spain,” adds Jatinder Paul Singh, of Thomas Cook India."Tourism Ireland works with the Irish Film Board (IFB) and Northern Ireland Screen (NSI) to support the filming of Bollywood movies in Ireland — visas, screen location facilitation etc,” says Huzan Fraser, the India representative for Tourism Ireland.Some filmmakers may have found newer destinations a whole lot more welcoming to shoot in. Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Corsica have gained prominence with Indian clients after being extensively featured in Indian movies. "(The story was about) two people meeting at a place that’s very unusual. Dil Dhadakne Do has inspired Indian families to take cruise vacations, and we are seeing unprecedented demand of over 23 per cent to short haul favourites like Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The production house Excel ironed out every possible detail before starting work on the film. I told Shah Rukh about it, and he said, ‘Let’s go’. There was no steady catering and all the other services a team requires on a shoot were not established. Scripting demandsOf course, while there will be filmmakers who take their shoots to destinations previously unknown, simply because they can afford to, there are others who believe their script truly demands it

Hide Comments | Add Comment

This development is proposed to be done in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The land adjacent to these lighthouses would have hotels, resorts, viewing gallery, maritime museums and heritage museums, adventure sports facilities, thematic restaurants, souvenir shops, laser shows, spa and rejuvenation centres, amphitheaters and allied tourism facilities to attract the visitors, subject to viability and necessary instant heating water faucet Suppliers clearances.Lighthouses at Uttan Point, Korlai Fort With an aim to promote lighthouse tourism in the state, nine lighthouses in Maharashtra will be developed as tourist destinations by the Union shipping ministry.Capt.India has 189 lighthouses dotting its vast coastline of 7,517 km. 

An expression of interest (EOI) has also been issued by DGLL for another 70 lighthouses.Lighthouses at Uttan Point, Korlai Fort, Jaigad, Vengurla Rocks, Kanhoji Angre, Ratnagiri, Devgad, Tolkeshwar Point and Sunk Rock in the state have been identified for the ambitious project aimed at developing tourism at these places.”

An investor summit is also organised in Mumbai on Thursday, which will be addressed by Nitin Gadkari, minister of shipping, road transport and highways. It is aimed at seeking active participation from the hospitality players and developers in the private sector and the support of the state government agencies, said DGLL officials.To tap the scenic surroundings and the maritime heritage, the shipping ministry has decided to develop 78 lighthouses across the country for attracting tourists.The DGLL has already invited request for qualifications (RFQ) from developers for eight lighthouses at Aguada (Goa), Chandrabhaga (Odisha), Mahabalipuram, Kanya Kumari and Muttom (Tamil Nadu), Kadalur Point (Kerala), Kanhoji Angre and Sunk Rock (Maharashtra) and Minicoy (Lakshadweep). Suraj, DGLL, said, "We will provide land to developers to develop these lighthouses as tourist centres

Hide Comments | Add Comment

The caste panchayat ordered a social boycott of Mahaveer Sharma and his family and levied a fine of Rs 1. The trauma of living in isolation, financial constraints and the set back of caste panchayat’s betrayal was too much for one of my daughter-in-laws who died on June 13,” said Madan Lal Sharma.Dalchand Joshi one China wholesale instant heating faucet of the members of caste panchayat denies his hand in the matter claiming that he did not attend a single meeting of panchayat and if the panchayat accepts the victim’s family back into community, he would have no problem.51 lakh fine, which he did. However, the caste panchayat after collecting money reneged on its promise.The matter relates to Mahaveer Sharma of Bala Nagar in Mandal block of Bhilwara district. The caste panchayat ordered him to keep shoes of community members on his head for 15 minutes and pay Rs 1.Finally, Mahaveer’s father Madanlal Sharma, a halwai by profession whose business suffered a lot because of social boycott, approached community leaders and members of the kangaroo court for settlement to end the misery.

People were warned of dire consequences if they kept any tie with Mahaveer’s family.51 lakh. The caste panchayat ostracised the entire family. Not only were people forced to sever ties but the victims were also not allowed to collect water from public tap. One of them Dalchand Joshi is relative of girl’s family.However, the caste panchayat after collecting money reneged on its promise. Despite collecting fine they have not revoked social boycott. With no help from the law, the head of the family agreed to serve punishment and pay a hefty fine but even after that the social boycott continues."The panch are dabang

Hide Comments | Add Comment

It could make eye tracking a lot more widespread and also be helpful as a way to let you play games or navigate your smartphone without having to tap or swipe.In an effort to make eye tracking instant heating tap Manufacturers cheap, compact and accurate enough to be included in smartphones, researchers are crowdsourcing the collection of gaze information and sing it to teach mobile software how to figure out where a person is looking in.7 centimetres on a tablet.

Hide Comments | Add Comment

The BEST has 3,367 buses in its fleet, out of which 1,329 buses are being run on diesel. Incidentally, the BEST is already facing a China wholesale electric water heater faucet loss due to the faulty Trimax machines, which are used for issuing tickets. As the prices of petrol and diesel are increasing day by day in last two-three months, how much financial burden will increase on the BEST?" Mr Patil asked. Shiv Sena corporator and BEST committee member Anil Kokil raised the issue of the 3,000 litres of petrol which is lying unused at the Dadar workshop after a wall collapsed more than a year ago.

Speaking to mediapersons, BEST General Manager Surendra Bagde said, "The prices of fuel are variable. The administration should look into it," Mr Kokil said.BEST chairman Ashish Chemburkar said that if the price of diesel remains at this level, the BEST would face an annual loss of Rs 26 crore due to diesel hike and Rs 13 lakh due to hike in petrol prices. Petrol is currently being sold at Rs 86. "As the prices of the fuel are rocketing, why is the administration not bothered about the 3,000 litres of petrol.23 per litre, while diesel is priced at Rs 73.According to the BEST, diesel was purchased at cost of Rs 137, 19,72,244 in 2016-17, while petrol was purchased for Rs 1,43,05,328 in 2016-17. He also asked if the administration would seek financial help from the state government to reduce its burden on fuel.

The Mumbai Congress general secretary and a committee member, Mr Bhushan Patil raised the issue of petrol and diesel hike in the committee meeting. We will look into it. The BEST has 3,367 fleets including 1,329 fleets of diesel, 2002 fleets of CNG and 31 electric.MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking is looking at a Rs 26 crore per annum loss due to the recent spike in diesel rates.78 per litre in Mumbai.".

The Congress and Shiv Sena have asked if the administration would seek financial help from the state government to reduce its burden on fuel. Later speaking to The Asian Age, Mr Chemburkar said, "The committee will write to the state government for an exemption in cess on diesel so that the loss will be curtailed

Hide Comments | Add Comment

 Meanwhile, there are chances that consultants from China, Japan, and Korea could be appointed as these countries have implemented this scheme in their country and it has been successful. Mumbai is a busy city and such a system will come in handy.The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) could appoint international consultants for the  ntegrated Ticketing System ?in Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).  ith a single smart card, a person can travel on Metro, Monorail (including the upcoming phase-2), Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, Thane Municipal Transportation and Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport buses, and the suburban local trains.It was earlier reported by The Asian Age that discussions were held in the first week of December, regarding the single ticket system under Unified Mumbai Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMMTA) and accordingly, a draft Request for Proposal (RPF) was prepared for the same. Easy access to various modes of transport, zero queues and skirmishes over change are few more  advantages of the system, ?said Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director, MMRDA.45 crore and this will be covered under the budget provision of UMMTA, ?said an MMRDA official. However, it is open for all companiesCurrently, commuters have to buy separate tickets to travel via the suburban railway, Metro and Monorail. he purpose is to ultimately rid the commuter of the daily cash transactions.he cost of the estimated cost of the project is about Rs 5.

The few responsibilities consultants are expected to fulfil are to review and update the earlier study reports and finalise System Architecture Specifications and Technology, prepare tender documents, manage the bid process, act as project management consultants (PMC) for successful implementation of the project, among others. Soon other modes of transport such as taxi, auto-rickshaw and parking slots will also be included in this system, ?said an MMRDA official. Meanwhile, there are chances that consultants from China, Japan, and Korea could be appointed as these countries have implemented this scheme in their country and it has been successful. Mumbai is a busy city and such a system will come in handy.The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) could appoint international consultants for the ntegrated Ticketing System ?in Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). ith a single smart card, a person can travel on Metro, Monorail (including the upcoming phase-2), Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, Thane Municipal Transportation and Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport buses, and the suburban local trains.

It was earlier reported by The Asian Age that discussions were held in the first week of December, regarding the single ticket system under Unified Mumbai Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMMTA) and accordingly, a draft Request for Proposal (RPF) was prepared for the same. Easy access to various modes of transport, zero queues and skirmishes over change are few more wholesale electric faucet advantages of the system, ?said Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director, MMRDA.45 crore and this will be covered under the budget provision of UMMTA, ?said an MMRDA official. However, it is open for all companies

Hide Comments | Add Comment

About 1,000 families living in the Kavla Bunder slum pocket get water daily from these pipes. They made 40 holes within a distance of 50 feet, with each hole located at a distance of around one foot from the next. The Sewri police has identified about 35 persons who are likely to be booked and arrested in the case. But after I was posted here earlier this year, I suspected something fishy was going on and decided to dig deep," added Mr Trivedi. The slum dwellers in turn sell about 5,000 litres of water to vessels and ships that come to the port. 

The BPT authorities were really troubled by this water mafia as they pay the BMC for this water." "The BEST had complained to Sewri police in the past after which the illegal electricity used to be cut off. Police sources also said that such a well-planned racket couldn’t be operated for years without the consent of some corrupt authorities, including policemen. Even if each was provided with 100 litres of water they were stealing around 1 lakh litres of water every day.The Sewri police earlier this week unearthed a water theft racket operating for an unknown number of years in Central Mumbai. 

The thieves had made 40 holes in a large BMC water pipeline, which provides water to Bombay Port wholesale electric tap Trust and passes through the Sewree area. As the water is sold cheap the sailors buy it from them for drinking purposes. We have no idea for how many years this water mafia has been operating. They then got 35 electric motors to pump this water out from the pipe line using electricity stolen from BEST.

Senior police inspector Rajendra Trivedi of Sewri police said, "We carried out the joint operation along with officials from BPT and BEST

Hide Comments | Add Comment