Thursday 9 August 2018

Telangana launches country’s First ‘Blockchain District’



The government of Southern Indian State Telangana is collaborating with a major IT firm to establish a district exclusive to blockchain startups in the state’s capital city.

The Telangana State Information Technology, Electronics and Communication Department (ITE&C) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IT services giant Tech Mahindra to establish what is being hailed as ‘India’s first Blockchain District’.

The Blockchain District will function as an incubator for domestic blockchain startups and companies to develop real-world applications of the decentralised technology. The state government has agreed to provide regulatory and policy support for companies and startups in the sector to promote the integration of blockchain technology.

Tech Mahindra has also announced it will launch a major blockchain project in the district, the Eleven01 Protocol, aimed at delivering a government-compliant platform for startups to build decentralised applications ‘capable of performing over 10,000 transactions a second’.

The blockchain district is part of a growing list of initiatives taken by Telangana to further blockchain technology. In 2017, Telangana and the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh began developing early pilots to record their land registries on a blockchain. State officials in Telangana are using blockchain technology to bring transparency and mitigate fraud within government bodies.

The Andhra Pradesh government is also a member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a working group of companies and organisations looking to leverage open-source Ethereum technology for enterprise applications.

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Wednesday 30 May 2018

Multicultural kids present Wizard of Oz to celebrate 20 years of the Children’s Festival


The Sydney-based Children’s Festival organisation will give everyone a lesson in cultural harmony when children from many different cultural backgrounds perform their version of Wizard of Oz on 3 June.

The occasion is the 20th anniversary celebration of the creation of the multicultural Children’s Festival in Sydney. “Whilst over these years we have faithfully portrayed cultural diversity through our on-stage performances, this year, to celebrate our success, we want to show the unified spirit of our children in this mass performance,” said founding president Thuat Nguyen.


He added that the 20th anniversary fundraising concert promises to be a spectacular entertainment program with performances by over a dozen children’s groups from various cultural communities, including Indigenous, coming together to re-tell the story of The Wizard of Oz in a multicultural setting. The show will be presented by 150 children from various communities and nationalities.


“The Wizard of Oz is a story about mateship, self-empowerment and a diverse group of people helping each other as they journey together. It embodies the spirit of the Children’s Festival—Play together and live in harmony,” said Mr Nguyen.


“This is not just about diversity and harmony this is about giving young performers an opportunity to learn about stagecraft, acting, playing to a theatre audience. Many of these young people are extremely talented and could certainly go on to work in the performing arts,” he added.

The concert also features an international costume display and will be truly a very special occasion where families can enjoy a fantastic show while contributing to a great cause.


The concert will be presented at the Revesby Workers Club, 2B Brett Street, Revesby, between 4pm and 6pm on Sunday, 3 June.

A new Children’s Festival will be staged this year in Campbelltown in August and the 20th annual festival in Bankstown will be held in September.

For more interesting news do visit: Indians in Adelaide, Investing in Cryptocurrency

Wednesday 23 May 2018

Record uptake of Active Kid vouchers


Fantastic to see parents taking advantage of sports program to help get kids active, says NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian

More than half a million parents in NSW have downloaded an Active Kids voucher since the program launching on 31 January, proving the programs overwhelming success.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was thrilled that parents were using the opportunity to download their $100 voucher to cover the cost of sports and active recreation fees.

“It is fantastic to see mums and dads taking advantage of this program to help get their kids active,” Ms Berejiklian said.

So far more than 500,000 vouchers have been downloaded since Active Kids launched 31 January which is a phenomenal result. More than 315,000 vouchers have been redeemed, meaning a collective saving of $31 million in sport registration fees for parents.

“We know the cost of kids sport and activities can often stretch the family budget. Active Kids is one of the ways the NSW Government is easing cost of living pressures on parents,” she added.

Sports Minister Stuart Ayres said parents can now register online with Service NSW to receive their $100 voucher to provide to their approved sport or physical activity club or organization.

“If we can change the habits of many kids, get them off their devices and out in the sunshine and kicking a footy or playing a sport they love then we are helping to give young people a healthier start in life,” Mr Ayres said. “Almost 9,000 sport and activity organizations have already registered, and we expect a range of sports to continue to sign-up across the state. Along with traditional sports, there are physical activities such as swimming, dance lessons, athletics, Scouts and PCYC that parents can use their vouchers on,” said Mr Ayers.

“Active kids are healthy kids and as long as their program is more than eight weeks long and involves a moderate to strong degree of movement—it will qualify,” he added.

Parents have until 31 December 2018 to claim and use their voucher.



Saturday 28 April 2018

Journey of dreams


Om Swami’s If Truth Be Told: A Monk’s Memoir recounts the life of a millionaire who gave it all up in search of spirituality

In the 1990s, an eighteen-year-old headed to Australia to realise his worldly dreams. With little money or support, he strived to make ends meet. Two years later, he was earning an annual income of $250,000; by the age of 26, he was a multimillionaire. Yet, worldly success was merely a way station on a journey that began years ago. As an eight-year-old, he saw a vision of God in a dream, an experience that left him with a sense of deep joy and peace. The dream triggered off his desire to meet God, to see a manifestation of the Divine.

He practised astrology, intense meditation and tantra, yet God was nowhere in sight. Deeply frustrated, he dived into materialistic pursuits to distract himself from the restlessness within. After years of living the good life, he found he could no longer ignore the old restlessness; worldly pleasures just couldn’t fill the void within. He moved back to India and finally did what he had always yearned to do: renounce the world and become a monk.

In the Himalayas, in terrifying silence and solitude, Om Swami practised intense meditation. Death was always close as he confronted starvation, the fierce elements and wild animals. Finally, his sadhana brought him to the ultimate realisation, ‘I am what I have been seeking.’ Om Swami recounts his life in If Truth Be Told: A Monk’s Memoir, an astounding memoir of the making of a spiritual life in today’s challenging and often confusing times.



Monday 17 April 2017

Upcoming Bollywood Movies 2017

Three months into 2017, it has been a quite start to this Bollywood Calendar Year with minimum major releases. Is 2017 going to be a disappointing year for Bollywood? Nope! A good load of high-profile movies are lined up for release this year and there is a lot to wait for.
For Australia, Indians in Sydney get to know a lot of Indian affairs from Indian Newspaper of Sydney and Indian events in Sydney that brings back memories and nostalgia about their country and culture they have left behind. The popularity of  Bollywood in Sydney and the movies released there helps them catch a glimpse of India and everything Indian in it.
Indian movies usually release in major cities like Sydney. So if you are from other parts of Australia, it is better to time your next trip to these cities with these movie releases. So what are the most anticipated Bollywood Movies of 2017 with releases in Australia?

Begum Jaan

Any Vidya Balan fans out there? She has turned into a lady superstar in Bollywood with some successful movies on a trot. People love her for her acting talent and amazing screen presence. And, Begum Jaan is a movie expected to ride on her solo performance power. This period drama had a dashing trailer release on YouTube which shot up the expectations sky high.

  
Half Girlfriend



Another Chetan Bhagat book finds itself adapted to the silver screen. If you loved 3 Idiots, Kai Po Che and 2 States, you are going to love this one too. It was simple movies like this that popularized Bollywood in Sydney and other parts of Australia. Half Girlfriend stars popular young actors ArjunKapoor and ShraddhaKapoor in the main roles


Baahubali 2 - The Conclusion



We all loved how it began and we are all waiting to see how it concludes! After the highly successful Baahubali – The Beginning movie, Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion is all set to come to the cinemas soon. Though filled with South Indian actors, the Hindi version of the movie was very well received. The visual effects and CGI used in the movie meets international standards.



Robot 2.0


Science fiction wasn’t a popular genre in Bollywood. But the first part of this Rajanikanth-starrer was another South Indian movie that got a pan-Indian appeal. The sequel to it is highly anticipated for its Hollywood style visual effects and CGI. Robot 2.0 also has National Award winning Akshay Kumar in a negative role. Isn’t that enough to wait and watch  this movie?



Sachin: A Billion Dreams



Sachin: A Billion Dreams has his billions of die-hard fans waiting for it. This movie should be a treat to watch for all the fans of this cricket God. This biopic directed by James Erskine is set for a May end release. It would release in Australia too around the same time.



Secret Superstar




An upcoming movies list is definitely not complete without an Aamir Khan movie in it. Secret Superstar would be Aamir Khan’s first release after the extremely successful Dangal. As of now, the movie is set for an August release


Apart from these major films, there are a few sequels lined up for release this year. Movies like Fukrey Returns and Golmaal Again are highly anticipated by the fans of the original films. So stay glued to the internet and an Indian newspapers or Indian Magazines of  Sydney to know the exact release dates of the above movies.


Saturday 7 January 2017

Great Adventures waiting for Indians in Australia in 2017


Indian in Australia 



One of the main and really attracting factors for many people who will travel to Australia in 2017 is the chance to ride the Indian Pacific Railroad, really amazing. The name comes from the fact that it makes every trip right across the continent from the very Indian Ocean to the Pacific. It can be said in fact to be one of the very few true transcontinental railroads in the world, most others stop short of going to whole distance. The result is that the route has become very popular with tourists who want to see a part of the country that few people travel to.


Showing how very little people actually travel by passenger train these days you would possibly expect that the Indian Pacific is just the very last of an older service; this is in fact not the case. According to record, the line did not exist before 1970 because of the odd history of Australian railroads. Up until then there was no transcontinental route so if you wanted to get from one side of the country to the other it required several changes of train. Many Indians Businesses in Sydney as been made much easier and faster by this trains the news about recent developments is always found in the Indians magazines of Australia.


One reason that there was no transcontinental route for much of Australia's history is that in the early recent days of trains each of the states set its own regulations. The result was that different gauges were used in each state which meant that trains could not travel across state borders. This seriously reduced the development of railroads in Australia. It was not until 1970 that the government finally got around to correcting the problem by introducing a standard gauge for the whole country.


These days the Indians in Australia always uses the great trains to see the interior of the country very interesting. And the reason is that more than ninety percent of the population of Australia lives along the coast which means that very little people travel to the interior. But the main reason for that is the fact that few Indians travel across the interior and it happens to be very hot and very barren; the train removes most of the discomfort.



There are quite a few special features of the Indian Pacific that make it popular for this 2017 with all train buffs. Besides being one of the longest and strongest train routes in the world and one of the few truly transcontinental ones it is also the straightest. Because the interior of the country is very flat and so barren the track could be built in basically a very straight line for much of its route. At a point as it enters Western Australia it runs dead straight for just under three hundred miles. No other railroad comes anywhere close to having a straight stretch that long.

Friday 18 November 2016

Globalization of Indian magazines: an Australian story



To begin with, we feel obliged to quote Carlos Santana - “One day there will be no borders, no boundaries, no flags and no countries and the only passport will be the heart”. What if we told you your favorite local newspaper and/or magazine is not just your or your society’s favorite or most followed but also is well renowned and appreciated around the world? An Australian story of the ever flourishing grandeur for a platform accommodating more and more space particularly for Indian magazines is a worth acknowledgement.

Before we continue, we would like to remind you that we encapsulate not just English magazines but also magazines and newspapers addressing in local languages from India – Gujarati and Telugu; the prior particularly spoken in the western state of Gujarat and the latter spoken in Andhra Pradesh and the newly formed Telangana covering aspects of news for Indians in Australia.

Indian magazines in Australia that print in English include chiefly “The Indian Sun”, “The Indian Telegraph”, “Indian Link”, “Indian Herald”, “Indusage”, “South Asia Times” and “India Down Under”. While “The Indian Sun” is a monthly read magazine that is currently considered to be the most rejuvenating and trendy magazine for the Indian community covering all aspects of Australian and Indian news. “The Indian Telegraph” claims to capture the attention of and accommodate the views of the eternally changing Indian diaspora about the sub-continent, thereby speaking up for Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma yaddayadda.

Founded by Pawan and RajniLuthra, “Indian Link” has penetrated deeper into the Australian Indian society, assisting Indians and other South Asian communities accustom to the way of life considered casual and welcoming in Australia. They have been awarded tokens of honor from time to time for their exceptional display of support and unity towards the Indian community. On the other hand, “Indian Herald” claims to be the one-step answer to all your “I have to know about this” queries. “Indusage”, “South Asia Times” and “India Down Under” fall on similar lines or categories of support and a profound touch of belongingness as responsible Indian magazines in Australia.

Widening our scope into Indian magazines in Australia printed in the more indigenous languages, “Gujarat Times” and “Satya Times”, printed and distributed in Gujarati leads in both sales and wide spread likability. Most readers and followers of the newspapers call it to be a souvenir they carried from Gujarat, as it seamlessly covers everything the community is interested to read and perceive along with a morning cup of tea, or a filling plate of Dhoklas over breakfast. “Satya Times” is a monthly Gujarati Indian newspaper that deals with a wide scope of subjects ranging from current affairs, International and national news, sports and several other specific threads that lure and engage the Indian Gujarati community in Australia.


Taking examples from further south of India to significantly explain the globalization of Indian magazines in the Australian general society, “PravasaBharati” treats the Australian Indian community natively speaking Telugu and its dialects, with a dessert from their homeland targeting on columns that site the latest Tollywood movie releases, Andhra or Telangana specific news, business and technology, and trends in food and fashion etc. All in all the voice of native Indian are restored and revitalized by the presence of these Indian magazines in Australia.



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