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Business Standard Fund Cafe 2015

Can The Mutual Fund Industry Continue On The Growth Spiral?




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Big Homes Are Back in Business

Homes are getting big again. As the economy slowly improves and some consumers' anxieties ease, buyers are upsizing again-though there is far less demand than before for huge houses loaded with upgrades. Robbie Whalen has details on Lunch Break. Photo: Chris Hardesty for The Wall Street Journal.




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Starting a Business When the Kids Are Around

School's out. So how do you start a business while the kids are around? Sarah Needleman on Lunch Break looks at how to avoid the guilt factor and even put the kids to work. Photo: Garik Gyurjyan.




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Indian rival slams Uber's business model

Uber's top rival in India has some unsolicited advice for the U.S. startup: Go local.




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CSB Bank IPO ends with robust subscription

Receives bids for 100.44 crore shares




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Meet the Business Standard Fund Managers of the Year

Global uncertainties and weak corporate earnings are enough to give any fund manager the jitters




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Steps To Take Before You Sell Your Business

There are plenty of financial and nonfinancial issues advisers need to address with their clients before they sell their business.




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How To Dress For Success in Business

The Fit and color of the clothes you wear to a business meeting have an impact on how you are first perceived. Get off on the right foot by watching our guide on how to dress for success in business.




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Tamil Nadu: Blow for Karunanidhi family's business interests?

Some with direct connections to political dispensations could face heat; others considered close to the winning party could expect good times




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365 Kashmiri students to return home from Bhopal in 18 buses

Over 360 Kashmiri students stranded in parts of Madhya Pradesh due to the lockdown will be sent back to their native places in air-conditioned buses from Bhopal on Saturday, an official said. As many as 365 Kashmiri students stuck in different districts of the state will return home in 18 AC buses from Bhopal, a public relations department official said. The students are currently accommodated in a private school in Gandhinagar locality of Bhopal, he said, adding that they will leave at around 2 pm on Saturday. District collector Tarun Pithode and other officials visited the private school on Friday night to take stock of the arrangements there. Sources said that another group of Kashmiri students will also leave from Indore. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had recently written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting him to make necessary arrangements for the nearly 400 Kashmiri students stuck in the state. He had said that as Jammu and Kashmir is under the .




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Migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students can hire buses for travel: K'taka govt

The Karnataka government has clarified that migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons can hire and use buses provided by state-run road transport corporations on payment basis for travel to other states with relevant permissions. Inter-State travel of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourist, students and other persons stranded in different states due to lockdown were recently permitted to travel through notified entry and exit points of Karnataka by the government. The Shramik special train services too have been ferrying migrant labourers stranded in the state to destinations like Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh among others. In a circular, Revenue (Disaster Management) Principal Secretary T K Anil Kumar said similar facility on payment basis be made available by state run road transport corporations- KSRTC/NWKRTC/NEKRTC/ BMTC to transport workers to industries permitted under the issued guidelines.




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Swedish Businesses Remained Open, but Are Suffering Too

Unlike many Western nations, Sweden didn’t order a strict coronavirus lockdown—still, its economy has taken a hit. WSJ’s Stu Woo reports from a country where shops and bars haven’t shut down. Photo: Stu Woo




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Breaking the silence on child abuse


Tulir, a Chennai-based NGO has been doing pioneering work in bringing to attention the widespread sexual abuse of children -- as high as 42 per cent in one Chennai survey. In 2006, Tulir was honoured with an International Award. Ambujam Anantharaman has more.




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Busy exploiting hunger


Around the developed world, GM crops are discredited, but in India, under the emotional tag of 'eradicating hunger', the industry is having a free run, says Devinder Sharma.




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Mass marriages to prevent abuse: 550 and counting!


Much has been written on the inhuman atrocities inflicted on women during the 2013 riots in Muzaffarnagar and the deplorable conditions in the relief camps. Saumya Uma draws attention beyond these to how the violence has robbed women of their basic rights and voices in myriad ways.




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How to Navigate a Business Trip

Many people in their 20s find themselves on the road for work but aren't sure how to behave. Emily Glazer on The News Hub discusses the protocol for work travel. Photo: Getty Images.




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Coronavirus Update: Small-Business Aid Deal, Americans Fear Early Restriction Lift

The Treasury and Democrats say they are close on a new rescue deal for small businesses, debate over lockdowns ramps up as the U.S. coronavirus death toll tops 40,000, and what to expect from earnings this week. WSJ’s Jason Bellini has the latest on the pandemic. Photo: David Poller/Zuma Press




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Casting couch vs workplace abuse: A thin line


The proverbial casting couch has been a reality over the years since women made their foray into the world of films and entertainment. As the industry joins in celebrating Women’s Day, Shoma Chatterji explores if  more of its women remain victims, rather than complicit 'sinners'.




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Business for benefit


infraSys, a development-driven enterprise that creates physical, financial, and knowledge infrastructure in rural areas.




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Bustling, struggling, progressing


Among the traders at the crowded Crafts Bazaar in Secunderabad, the struggle for survival and economic security seems to be the only noticeable thing. But in some ways, their worries are those of ordinary merchants everywhere, thanks in part to Mahila Sanatkar. Safia Sircar reports.




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India's investment opportunities in sustainable business


A new report from TERI, the first of its kind for India, argues that compliance with environmental, social and governance criteria would better differentiate Indian stocks in comparison to issuers from other emerging markets for high quality investors. Rajni Bakshi has more on why India must care.




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SEZs: A history of injustice and abuse


The origins of today's law for land acquisition for SEZs act can be traced to 1824, when the British colonial power felt the need to codify the undisguised forcible seizure of land. While colonial rule has long gone, the unjust application of the principle of eminent domain remains, writes Kannan Kasturi.




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Growing business at the bottom of the pyramid


It is tempting to take a rosy-eyed view of the future of successful entrepreneurship at the BOP. But what is the picture really? Richa Govil takes you through some recent stories and the lessons they may hold.




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An ambush loaded with meaning


The assault at the Line of Control appears to be a well-planned ambush. It comes at a time when India and Pakistan are tentatively inching closer. It is a message not only to India but also to the Pakistani civilians keen on better relations with India, writes Firdaus Ahmed.




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Ahmedabad takes the bus


While other cities in India are planning new Metro systems to address their transport woes, Ahmedabad has thrown its weight behind Bus Rapid Transit instead. And given the may advantages this enjoys over rail - cost, potential, flexibility - it may prove to be the wiser choice, writes Madhav Pai.




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Old or new, cars must make way for buses


The ban on old diesel vehicles in Delhi and the NCR is a first step towards addressing the grave air toxicity in the region, but a well-designed BRTS could go a long way in achieving the real end. Darryl D’Monte compiles notes from a recent conference.




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Policy indifference threatens to make the Great Indian Bustard extinct


A fragile grassland ecosystem combined with skewed thrust on conservation of forest lands vis-a-vis the arid dry grasslands paints a bleak future for the Great Indian Bustard, whose numbers are fast dwindling. Malini Shankar reports.




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The bus to Mumbai


P Sainath joins migrants fleeing the desperate conditions in Mahbubnagar, seeking a meagre living in faraway places
Part II : The wrong route out?

June 2003, Mahbubnagar bus depot, Telangana, AP - The mercury is coming up on 46°, maybe 47°C as the passengers arrive. It's the bus to Mumbai and its 58 seats will be more than full. Perhaps at the starting point itself.

It's a temperature at which you hate everybody and arguments driven by colourful prose ring out in the bus depot (and on the buses). The travellers, like lakhs of others in this poorest of Andhra Pradesh's districts, are voting with their feet. Most of them are tiny farmers and landless workers. The biggest group consists of Lambada adivasis. There are many poor dalits too. All getting out of a situation they find intolerable. In some estimates, close to a third of the district's populace could be working outside it just now.

Since they're doing so in May, the cliché of drought presents itself at once. The problem with that notion is that an even larger number of people migrate from here in the period from November to January.

There are three unusual passengers on the Mumbai bus today. Ramulu, Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Workers Union in this district. Venugopal, a reporter with Prajashakti, a Telugu daily. And yours truly. This way, the travellers are our captives. For some hours, anyway. Now we can check if they are "fleeing the drought" that's believed to be the sole cause of distress here.

Why check? And why Mahbubnagar? Because it's less than a hundred kilometres from the State capital. Which is where the country's most celebrated chief minister sits. The crisis in the State's agriculture — and governance — is real. It has gripped this district for some time now. But with a national media reluctant to see that Andhra Pradesh is somewhat bigger than Hyderabad, Mr. Naidu's policies have not faced the scrutiny they deserve.

The extent of the distress-driven exodus is not agreed on, though. "There have been migrations from Mahbubnagar for a long time," says District Collector Madhusudhan Rao. And in that sense, he's right. However, he sees no reason to conclude that they have been much worse this season. In fact, "more work and grain is reaching the villages in this period".

Are migrations no greater, really?

The bus is already full as early as an hour before departure. A couple of stop sfurther on, the vehicle will be packed. Children are among the passengers When I tried making it to Mumbai from here in 1993, I was told then there was one bus from the region weekly. Today, there are 32 to 34 buses a week going straight to Mumbai from here. If the two more routes the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation is planning come through, that number could cross 45 buses weekly.

Then there are the private bus services to Mumbai. And tens of thousands also take the trains each season. More have done so this year. All three trains going to Mumbai via Thandur are running full every day. "About 65 per cent of this village has gone out looking for work on those buses," Chennaiah had laughed. That was in Kanimetta village of the Kothakota mandal the day before. He himself was a low-level labour recruiter. "That route to Mumbai is our lifeline." "Mumbai" really means several stops in Maharashtra, including Pune and Thane.

People are leaving Mahbubnagar in very large numbers. Many do so each year, anyway, as the Collector points out. But the flow has been getting worse in recent years. And it's certainly heavier in this one.

A large part of the RTC's revenue here comes from the Mumbai route. And it's clear that there are often over 100 passengers on those 58-seat buses. Which means some people are standing for much of that 18-hour journey. And then there are the huge numbers from this district heading for Hyderabad. Also, to at least 30 other destinations ranging from Gujarat to Rajasthan, even Orissa.

What accounts for this desperate out-migration? "Without Mumbai and Pune, we cannot survive," says Pandu Nayak, a Lambada adivasi. In Perkiveed tanda (colony) of the Koilkonda mandal where he's from, "Our households are deep in debt. Our children, starving". Venkataiah, from the same tanda adds: "Any chance of agriculture here is finished. The costs are simply too high. If you are a labourer, it's worse. In a month, you cannot find more than three or four days of work. All this makes life too hard. And now there is no water either. The government does nothing." ("Venkataiah" is not at all a typical Lambada name. But many in that community adopt such "mainstream" names when they venture out. Letting people know you're an adivasi is asking to be exploited.)

What he's telling us pretty much matches with what we've already seen. In the villages of Gurrakonda, Kondapur or Vepur, for instance. People here are in deep distress. What little work there is, is in the hands of contractors who have cornered government projects. They prefer labourers from outside as such a group would be more submissive. Hence, not many from the district can find work here. Mahbubnagar's workers have been the backbone of some of the toughest construction projects in dozens of cities in other States. There, their labour is sought after. Here, they are kept idle. However, the same contractors of Telangana will use thousands of these men and women in Rajasthan or Orissa. Cut off and alone in those States, they are more dependent and pliant.

Countless households lie locked up. Thousands of others have just the oldest member of the family left behind. The mass migrations destroy any chance of education for the children who accompany their parents for months at a time. (This is A.P.'s worst district in terms of literacy.) While agriculture has done badly countrywide, it has sunk in this State. And that for some time now. Growth in agriculture last year was minus 17.06 per cent.

And it wasn't just the drought. Mahbubnagar has done badly in good monsoon years, too. Other States have faced worse droughts without agriculture caving in to the extent it has in Andhra Pradesh. Often, too, migrants are leaving from relatively water surplus regions of the State. The country has seen many policies hostile to small farmers and landless workers this past decade. But here, they've been extra harsh. This State leads in farmers' suicides.

There's a steely ruthlessness towards the rural poor. The year 2001 saw rice exported to overseas markets at Rs. 5.45 a kilogram. It was a time of widespread hunger and distress. Yet, the State sold rice to its own poor at Rs. 6.40 a kg. Some of the "exports" were rejected as "unfit for humans". It was after this that food-for-work programmes began here in that season. Huge power tariff hikes, soaring input costs, fake pesticides, all these brought small farmers to their knees. Massive corruption in the food-for-work-programme hasn't helped either. It's all added up to an awful crisis.

Labourers from Mahbubnagar travel to nearly 30 destinations across the country to find work. Meanwhile, contractors bring in workers from other States to work in Mahbubnagar.

Debt-driven small farmers and landless workers have left this district in larger numbers this season. About two lakh people migrating seasonally has never been seen as an issue. The estimates of those on the move now vary vastly. From six lakhs to eight to 10 lakhs, according to claims in the Telugu press. Where they are going, there is at least better money. "Yes, we earn more in Mumbai than here," says Venkataiah. "But the moment we are back we have to pay our creditors much of what we save." He could earn up to Rs. 250 in a single day in Mumbai as a carpenter. And he finds work on "maybe 15 days in a month. Twenty if I'm lucky". However "don't forget our loans here", he says. That lands them in an unending trap. Every single person going to Mumbai is also in debt. "Whatever we earn in Mumbai, most of that goes in repaying our loans."

We are on the road to Mumbai. Even as we sit in different parts of the bus, speaking to migrants, drivers Fashiuddin and Sattar prove a mine of information. They've done this route many times and know their passengers. Fashiuddin gives us a virtual disaster tour. He points to streams that have died, tanks that have dried. The lack of repairs to tanks and canals. The devastated fields, the impossibility of keeping your farm running. "These are really hard working people, sir. But who cares for them? They cannot find work here. There is nothing done to give them employment. They are poor and in debt. On top of all of that comes the drought." He's clear that there is a significant man-made element to the crisis. "If only there was an attempt to give them some work," he says. "That's why they go to Mumbai," he adds. "Most of them will go and work in building construction, brick making and roads."

Labourers from Mahbubnagar travel to nearly 30 destinations across the country to find work. Meanwhile, contractors bring in workers from other States to work in Mahbubnagar. Patterns change according to where more construction is taking place. "Eighty per cent of this bus will empty at Pune," predicts Sattar. He's speaking as he helps a young woman with a two-month old baby board the bus at a stop. There's a delay, with several tearful family farewells enacted at the same time. Sattar mixes sympathy with an ability to plug the farewell routines swiftly.

Our surprise find on board is M. Ganesh, a 20-year-old student. A Telugu whose family is in Mahbubnagar, he studies in Mumbai and stays there with his brother.

Ganesh is proud to be a card-carrying Shiv Sainik.

He is a bit bewildered when we ask him about Sena chief Thackeray's latest call for ridding Mumbai of "outsiders", especially poor ones landing up in the metro seeking work. "I've heard nothing about this," he says. "I've been away. But I will enquire about it when I get there."

In their destination towns, the migrants will live in appalling conditions. On the street, in soul-breaking slums or, at best, in filthy chawls. "Still, it's better than going hungry here," says Nagesh Goud on the bus. "At least we earn something." Increasingly, a large part of that something gets chewed up in medical costs. One of the biggest problems faced by the district's poor workers is rising health expenses.

Every migrant you speak to confirms he or she has had more than one episode of jaram (fever). "A visit to a doctor in Mumbai could cost between Rs. 40 to Rs. 100," says Nagesh. "That's not counting the medicines." The children fall ill very often. Most people cannot cope with the medical costs. And many have taken ailments from the cities back home to their villages. The general immunity of a population that's undernourished and overworked seems to be in decline. Yet, many more venture out to evade hunger and misery.

With a population of some 34 lakhs and perhaps close to a third of that ending up outside, Mahbubnagar is in big trouble. Some other districts, too, face similar hardships. Software is not the only thing A.P. exports. Nor hi-tech brains to the United States. Misery-driven migrations, hunger, and distress are among its other major products.

Part II : The wrong route out?




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Fewer jobs, more buses in Wayanad


It's no longer just landless labourers on the bus to Kutta. Many masons and carpenters are also crossing the border into Karnataka in search of work, spurred on by the collapse of employment in Wayanad. P Sainath continues his series on the agrarian crisis in Wayanad.




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Crisis drives the bus to Kutta


Prior to 1995, KSRTC did not have a single bus on this route, but nowadays there are 24 trips between Manathavady in Wayanad and Kutta in Kodagu, Karnataka. By the second stop on the journey, there is not a seat vacant. P Sainath continues his series on the agrarian crisis in Wayanad.




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NREGA hits buses to Mumbai


The rural employment guarantee programme is life-saving. This time round, the poor have slightly more money than they did earlier. But all prices are up. P Sainath reports.




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Helping businesses help society


The Companies Act 2013 has extended its scope to provide norms for the organisation and functioning of not-for-profit ventures. Why not, then, use the same or similar legislation to create a conducive environment for social enterprises, asks Shankar Jaganathan.




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Businesses, growth and the good society


Many believe that in business, environmental values and a pro-poor focus are liabilities. But a set of global factors are going to change the rules of the game, warns Stuart Hart, a leading authority on the implications of sustainable development and environmentalism for business. An India Together exclusive interview.




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No wasteful business this!


Varupi Jain traces the life of household and other waste in India and Germany, and finds both hope and apprehension.




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From Busway to BRT


Compared to other bus corridors world-wide, the Delhi effort is a very limited one. The current design is only a busway, and the government must push forward to build a full-fledged Bus Rapid Transit system, say Dario Hidalgo and Madhav Pai.




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Elder abuse at home


Elder abuse is on the rise in India even as most senior citizens remain unaware of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 and redressal mechanisms. Reshmi Chakraborty and Nidhi Chawla took a look at findings from a recent survey and spoke to elder helpline counselors to find a bleak picture.




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The business route to normalcy


A delegation of entrepreneurs from Pakistan decided to spend Id in India, exploring opportunities for their businesses and forging friendly ties at the same time. Surekha Sule reports that there are many areas where the strengths of the two nations in global trade can be mutually beneficial.




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The bus that brought in transparency in J&K flood relief


The RTI-on-Wheels, an initiative of Gujarat-based organisation Janpath and the Association for India's Development, has inspired the people of J&K to press for their right to information and to a government that works for them. L S Aravinda reports.




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Arifa shows how business is done


In conflict-stricken region of Kashmir where women are sheltered and house-bound, it's next to impossible for a woman to be an entrepreneur. Making it possible are women like Arifa, who overcame various challenges to start her own crafts store in Srinagar. Renu Agal meets Arifa to write her inspiring story.




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AIDS: Abuses against children rising


Children Affected by HIV/AIDS are facing sustained discrimination and exploitation, finds a new Human Rights Watch report.




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The business case for informed consent


A recent publication from the World Resources Institute shows that the informed consent of those affected by large projects can be an asset to those projects, rather than an obstacle. Shripad Dharmadhikary reviews Development Without Conflict: The Business Case for Community Consent.




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Business with humanitarian goals


Kris Herbst profiles how David Green has propelled Aurolab into a model corporation that manufactures 'expensive' medical products at rock-bottom prices.




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Five in bus from Ajmer carrying 43 test Covid +ve in Assam

Forty-three returning pilgrims in a single bus from Ajmer Sharif, which falls in the red zone, has become the latest worry for the Assam government after five of them tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.




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Bus from Ajmer Sharif shoots up Assam Covid-19 tally




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Global Business Summit 2020: Day 1, Full video

Global Business Summit 2020: Day 1, Full video





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COVID-19: Facebook to give USD 100 million in cash grants, ad credits to small businesses

COVID-19: Facebook to give USD 100 million in cash grants, ad credits to small businesses





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E-scooters, e-bus unveiled at Auto Expo 2020

E-scooters, e-bus unveiled at Auto Expo 2020





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Call centre racket busted in Noida, seven arrested for cheating US citizens

Seven persons were arrested in Noida’s Sector 105 for allegedly duping US citizens by informing them about non-existent violations on their social security number (SSN).




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Thai businessman convicted of selling fake bomb detectors

Many millions of dollars of the devices were sold to the Thai army and other security forces around the world. A court in Thailand has convicted a local businessman of fraud for selling fake bomb detectors to the Thai government, five years after a court in the United Kingdom sentenced the British head of the company that supplied them to seven years in prison in a scandal that was worldwide in scale




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Over 1,500 stranded in city sent to J’khand, Raj by buses