Treeduck

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations of the railways.
Contents 1 Services,1.1 Catering,1.2 Online ticketing,1.3 Tourism,2 Awards and achievements,3 References,4 External links,Services
Catering
IRCTC is in charge of catering services on trains and railway stations across India. Depending on the distance covered by the train and average passenger load factor, the railways either equips trains with their own pantry cars or provides meals at select stations en route.
Online ticketing
IRCTC is better known for changing the face of railway ticketing in India. It pioneered Internet-based rail ticket booking through its website, as well as from mobile phones via GPRS or SMS. Ticket cancellations or modifications can also be done online. In addition to E-tickets, IRCTC also offers I-tickets that are basically like regular tickets except that they are booked online and delivered by post.
Commuters on Mumbai's suburban railway can also book season tickets through the IRCTC website.
IRCTC has also recently launched a loyalty program called "Shubh Yatra" for frequent travellers. Through this program, passengers can avail of discounts on all tickets booked round the year by paying an upfront annual fee.[1]
Tourism
IRCTC also organizes budget and deluxe package tours for domestic and foreign tourists. A popular tourism package for budget tourists covering important tourist destination across India is Bharat Darshan.[2] Luxury tourism packages are also available, that involve special luxury trains such as:
Palace on Wheels
Royal Orient Express
Golden Chariot
Deccan Odyssey
Royal Rajasthan on Wheels
One may log on to Rail Tourism India.[3] and book Rail Tour Package, Holiday Package, Hotels, Cabs, Tourist Trains online.
Apart from conventional tourism, IRCTC also offers adventure tourism packages that include water sports, adventure and wildlife treks, etc. A provision for customising tours as per specific requirements is also an added attraction.
Awards and achievements

Within a short span of its going online, the IRCTC website had become the largest and the fastest growing e-commerce website in the Asia-Pacific region, with about six lakh registered users in 2003.[4]
Some of the other awards won by IRCTC are:
Awarded the National Tourism Award of Excellence by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.
Awarded the National Award for E-Governance, 2007-08 jointly by Department of IT, Govt. of India and Govt. of Haryana.
Awarded the Genius of the Web Award 2007 for being the "Best E-Governance PSU Site" by CNBC.
IRCTC Tourism Unit of West Zone declared winner for the category Best Value Leisure Product in Travel and Tourism Fair of India (TTF & OTM 2008) held in Mumbai from 9 to 11 February 2008.
Won National award for E-Governance for being "Best Citizen Centric Application" for the year 2007-08.
IRCTC Tourism Unit declared winner for the category Most Innovative Product in Travel and Tourism Fair of India (TTF & OTM 2007) held in Mumbai from 10 to 12 February 2007.
Won CSI-Nihilent E-Governance award for "Best E-Governance Project" in 2007.
Won the ICICI Bank Retail Excellence Award in 2005.
Won Path Breaker Award from Dataquest in 2003 and 2004.

IRCTC website

This post is going to make some major allegations. I realize this is not completely buttoned down, but I believe there is sufficient veracity in what I have right now to publish. I am expecting to be able to provide further proof as the story unfolds.

Yahoo collaborated with the Iranian regime during the election protests, providing to the authorities the names and emails of some 200,000 Iranian Yahoo users. This is according to a post on the Iranian Students Solidarity (Farsi) blog. My sources indicate the information comes from a group of resisters who have infiltrated the administration and are leaking out important information.

These sources say that Yahoo representatives met with Iranian Internet authorities after Google and Yahoo were shut down during the protests and agreed to provide the names of Yahoo subscribers who also have blogs in exchange for the government lifting the blocks on Yahoo.

Here’s the translation I received of the Iranian post:

On 27th of Shahrivar (Day of Qods) when Iranians demonstrated again on the streets, the Iranian authorities in addition to blocking many internet sites, all over Iran, blocked or severely limited access to Yahoo and Google. Google did not react and its problem was resolved with 48 hours, but Yahoo sent a representative to Iran’s telecommunications ministry, to resolve the issue.

During the meeting with Iranian Internet authorities and telecommunications authorities, Yahoo representatives were asked to provide Iranian authorities with the names (data) on all Iranian Internet account holders in exchange for removing the block/filter on the Yahoo website.

The Yahoo representative subsequently expressed that currently there were more than 20 million email accounts and providing such a list will be a very time-consuming process. To which the IRGC (Islamic Republic Guardian Council) replied by asking the representative to provide email accounts of those individuals who have Yahoo accounts and are publishing blogs.

Apparently this made Yahoo’s task a bit easier and the Yahoo representative agreed to provide such a list within a matter of hours. Upon the receipt of such a list, which included approximately 200,000 emails, by the Iranian authorities, the regime immediately unblocked access to the Yahoo.com website. The list went back as far as five years and included active and inactive accounts and blogs.

It is necessary to mention here that the Iranian Yahoo is managed by Yahoo Corporation in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur).

If true, this is a deeply troubling development and exposes Yahoo as determined to cooperate with repressive governments, regardless of who they might be. China, Iran, who else?

The country's largest two-wheeler maker, Hero Honda Motors, on Monday launched a new version of its premium segment bike Karizma

priced at Rs 91,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The new Karizma ZMR comes with a 225 cc fuel injection engine and is fitted with digital ignition system, Hero Honda Motors said in a statement.

"One of the key pillars of our winning strategy has been to consistently keep introducing new, advanced products and maintaining a balanced product portfolio. The ZMR is set to further augment our steadily growing presence in the premium segment," Hero Honda Motors Managing Director Pawan Munjal said.

Hero Honda's product range includes several successful motorcycles that have redefined the Indian motorcycle market across segments, he added.

The new bike will go on sale across the country by the end of this month and the company will target youngsters within the age group of 18-24 years as its potential customers.

Hero Honda is also planning to undertake an integrated marketing campaign involving the print, electronic and on-the-ground activations to promote the new bike.

The new ZMR is the fifth model from Hero Honda in the premium segment. It currently sells Hunk, Achiever, CBZ Xtreme and Karizma.

Top Engineering Colleges In India 2009

Engineering is one of most sought after courses among the students pursuing sciences at class 12th level. India alone produces approximately 5 lakh technical graduates each year and doing well among this pool of graduates, you need a head start and a good knowledge of engineering colleges all over India. The list given below however contains some of the colleges in India but all the colleges are in top 100.

Directory of financial services companies and information on the financial services industry. Review providers offering small business financial services and corporate financial business services. Find online financial services for your business.

The 2009 Wimbledon Championships begin on Monday, June 22. Five-time champion Roger Federer will open Centre Court play at 1pm local time in London. In the United States, nearly 100 hours of live coverage will begin at 7am ET on ESPN2 and continue through the fortnight.

For the first time on ESPN2, Wimbledon coverage will be produced in high definition and presented in ESPN2 HD’s 720p format.

NBC will begin its broadcast of Wimbledon on the first Saturday and conclude with live coverage on the East coast of the women’s and men’s singles final the last weekend.

ESPN’s live match coverage will be supplemented by Tennis Channel’s evening program, with highlights, interviews and features Monday, June 22 – Wed., July 1, from 7 – 11 p.m EDT.

At this time official live stream from Wimbledon is not offered. The complete Wimbledon TV schedule for the U.S. is below (subject to change, from the Wimbledon website).

(all times EDT)
MONDAY 22 JUNE
ESPN2 0700-1700 Early Round Coverage Day #1

TUESDAY 23 JUNE
ESPN2 0700-1700 Early Round Coverage Day #2

WEDNESDAY 24 JUNE
ESPN2 0700-1700 Early Round Coverage Day #3

THURSDAY 25 JUNE
ESPN2 0700-1700 Early Round Coverage Day #4

FRIDAY 26 JUNE
ESPN2 0700-1700 Early Round Coverage Day #5

SATURDAY 27 JUNE
ESPN2 0800-1500 Early Round Coverage Day #6
NBC 1500-1800 Wimbledon

SUNDAY 28 JUNE
NBC 1300-1600 Wimbledon
ESPN 1600-1800 Highlights - Week #1

MONDAY 29 JUNE
ESPN2 0700-1000 Round of 16
NBC 1000-1300 Wimbledon
ESPN2 1300-1900 Round of 16
NBC 2335-2350 Wimbledon Update

TUESDAY 30 JUNE
NBC 1000-1300 Wimbledon
ESPN2 1300-1700 Ladies’ Quarterfinals
NBC 2335-2350 Wimbledon Update

WEDNESDAY 01 JULY
NBC 0700-1000 Men’s Quarterfinals
NBC 1000-1300 Wimbledon
NBC 1300-1700 Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals
NBC 2335-2350 Wimbledon Update

THURSDAY 02 JULY
ESPN2 0700-1200 Ladies’ Semifinal
NBC 1200-1700 Wimbledon Ladies’ Semifinal
ESPN 2000-2200 Highlights - Ladies’ Semifinals
NBC 2335-2350 Wimbledon Update

FRIDAY 03 JULY
ESPN2 0700-1200 Men’s Semifinal
NBC 1200-1700 Wimbledon Men’s Semifinal
NBC 2335-0005 Wimbledon Update

SATURDAY 04 JULY
NBC 0900-1400 Wimbledon Women’s Final
ESPN2 1400-1500 SportsCenter at Wimbledon
ESPN2 2000-2300 Highlights: Men’s Semifinals

SUNDAY 05 JULY
NBC 0900-1500 Wimbledon Men’s Final
ESPN2 1500-1600 SportsCenter at Wimbledon

Watch True Blood Season 2 Episode 2 S02E02 Keep This Party Going Online. True Blood Season 2 Episode 2 S02E02 with title “Keep This Party Going” airs on June 21 2009 Sunday 9:00 PM on HBO. Episode 1 aired on june 14 2009.
True Blood Season 2 Episode 2 S02E02 Spoiler Review

On True Blood Season 2 Episode 2 S02E02, Sookie is forced to babysits Jessica, as well as the romantic inconveniences the teen vampire’s presence creates. At the Light of Day leadership conference, Jason makes an impression on its ambitious leaders, Steve and Sarah Newlin. Maryann casts her spell on Merlotte’s patrons.
True Blood Season 2 Episode 2 S02E02 Synopsis

Sookie is forced to cope with Bill’s obligations to Jessica, as well as the romantic inconveniences the teen vampire’s presence creates. At the Light of Day leadership conference, Jason makes a favorable impression on its ambitious leaders, Steve and Sarah Newlin, though not on his jealous roommate Luke. Maryann casts her spell on Merlotte’s patrons, and Sam proves helpless to stop the revelry.
Watch True Blood Season 2 Episode 2 S02E02 Youtube Trailer Video

Volvo, world's second largest heavy duty truck makers expects to have flat growth for its premium truck segment in India this year, a top company official has said.

"We were growing about 20 to 25 per cent annually.

This year we expect very flat growth although we don't expect negative trend. This is despite the fact that the heavy duty truck market in India has declined by 50 per cent in first five months," Somnath Bhattacharjee, President, Volvo Trucks India, said.

Bhattacharjee, who was in Goa yesterday to inaugurate, Svenska Technologies, a new dealership for Volvo Trucks, said that Volvo had a marginal dip in the first five months this year.

"The marginal dip was in April and May this year. Till March and then in April-May, due to the general elections, our growth was low because most of our sales are for large corporate and contract driven," Bhattarcharjee said.

He said that the condition during general elections was not of a slowdown.

"The award for the contracts before general elections was deferred. It was not a slowdown but deferment of purchases which are now catching up in June and July," he said.

IT firm Tech Mahindra (TECHM.NS : 783.9 +28.25) said it has received approval from the US anti-trust authority regarding its Rs 1,154 crore open offer for the purchase of an additional 20 per cent stake in Satyam (SATYAM.BO : 79.1 +1.7) Computer.

In a filing to the stock exchanges Tech Mahindra said "our request for early termination of the applicable waiting period relating to the offer has been granted under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976...".

Tech Mahindra further said that "the condition to the offer with respect to anti-trust approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act has been satisfied."

The anti-trust approval in the US was needed as both the companies -- Satyam and Tech Mahindra -- have technology outsourcing work in the United States, and also because Satyam is listed on the NYSE.

The open offer has already got anti-trust approval from Germany's competition regulator, the Federal Cartel Office, and India's tow premier bourses Bombay Stock Exchange (^BSESN : 14265.53 -257.31) and National Stock Exchange (^NSEI : 4251.4 -104.75).

NEW YORK – Billy Joel and wife Katie Lee are confirming a split.

In a statement, the pair said that they remain "caring friends with admiration and respect for each other." They got married five years ago at Joel's mansion on New York's Long Island.

A representative for Joel did not immediately respond to the question of whether the couple were getting a divorce.

This was the Piano Man's third marriage, her first.

The 60-year-old Joel is one of pop's most successful singer-songwriters; Katie Lee Joel hosted the first season of Bravo TV's "Top Chef."

He recorded the song "All My Life" as an anniversary gift to his 27-year-old wife two years ago.