One of world's largest temples to be inaugurated in New Jersey

August 4, 2014

Washington, Aug 4: One of the world's largest Hindu temples, built completely of Italian marble at an estimated cost of USD 18 million will be inaugurated next week in New Jersey, which has one of the biggest population of Indian Americans in the US.

Indian Temple The temple constructed by Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), is 134 feet long and 87 feet wide, comprises of 108 pillars and three "garbha gruhs" or inner sanctums.

The entire temple, the sixth traditional stone Swaminarayan mandir in North America has been covered by a permanent structure to increase the structure's life and accommodate darshan and worship during the region's harsh winter.

Located in the Robbinsville township of New Jersey, the temple has been built according to the "Shilpa Shastras" or ancient architectural texts following a tradition of temple building through the millennia.

The intricately hand-carved mandir is built to last thousands of years, a BAPS media release said.

The inauguration of this traditional stone temple on August 10 marks the completion of the second phase of the Swaminarayan Akshardham complex that is currently planned for the site, it said.

Inauguration ceremonies will begin with a Vedic Yagna for world peace and will be followed by a Shobha Yatra of the deities.

After the inauguration ceremonies on August 9 and 10, the temple complex would be open for public on August 16 at a special dedication ceremony hosting community leaders from within the Indian-American community and from around the region.

The BAPS head Pramukh Swami Maharaj will be travelling to New Jersey to be a part of the inauguration ceremonies and festivities. He will be joined by a delegation of 40 sadhus and priests from India to officiate the rituals of the installation.

The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha inaugurated its first traditional stone temple (and the first traditional stone Hindu Mandir in North America) in Stafford, Texas, a suburb of Houston, on July 25, 2004.

This was followed one month later by the opening of the second such temple in Bartlett, Illinois outside of Chicago.

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Amazon deforestation hits highest level in 5 years

Agencies

June 13,2020

The Brazilian government said that the Amazon rainforest witnessed deforestation of a record 829 sq km in May, the highest monthly level since 2015.

On Friday, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said that deforestation in the Amazon increased by 91 sq km compared to the same period last year, reports Xinhua news agency.

Between January and April, destruction of the forest by illegal loggers and ranchers rose 55 per cent, or a total of 1,202 sq km was wiped out, it said.

The Real-time Deforestation Detection system, a federal project created to monitor human activity in the Amazon, alerted authorities to the increase in the rate of destruction of the rainforest.

A recent study by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) warned that deforestation in 2020 could reach 11,900 sq km if the pace of May, June, and July follows the historical average.

Deforestation in the region has soared since President Jair Bolsonaro took office last year, according to conservation groups.

He has argued that more farming and mining in protected areas of the forest were the only way to lift the region out of poverty.

Bolsonaro's environmental policies have been widely condemned but he has rejected the criticism, saying Brazil remains an example for conservation.

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Maruti hikes select model prices by up to Rs 10,000

News Network

January 27,2020

Mumbai, Jan 27: The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday said it has increased prices of select models by up to Rs 10,000 with immediate effect to offset the impact of rising input costs.

The price change varies across models and ranges up to 4.7 per cent (ex-showroom Delhi) and are effective from January, 27 2020, MSI said in a statement.

The price of entry level model Alto range has gone up in the range of Rs 9,000-6,000, S-Presso between Rs 1,500 to 8,000, WagonR between Rs 1,500 and Rs 4,000.

The company has also increased the price of its multi purpose vehicle Ertiga between Rs 4,000-10,000, Baleno by Rs 3,000 to 8,000 and XL6 by up to Rs 5,000 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).

Currently, the company sells a range of vehicles starting from entry-level small car Alto to premium multi purpose vehicle XL6 with price ranging from Rs 2.89 lakh to Rs 11.47 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

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Will not roll out payment services without compliance: WhatsApp tells SC

Agencies

May 14,2020

Social media platform WhatsApp assured the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it will not roll out its payment services without complying with all payment regulations and norms in the country.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and Hrishikesh Roy took up the matter through video conferencing. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the social media platform, said "WhatsApp Inc makes a statement on behalf of his client that they will not go ahead with the payments' scheme without complying with all the regulations in force."

The statement was made during the hearing of a petition seeking a ban on payment through WhatsApp, as it does not conform to the data localization norms. The top court took the assurance made by WhatsApp on record.

WhatsApp made the statement during the hearing of a plea seeking a ban on its payment service, for not being in line with data localization norms.

In 2018, WhatsApp was granted a beta licence to launch its payment service, but a dedicated and separate app is yet to be launched. A petition was moved in the apex court that WhatsApp's existing model for its payments service should be declared inconsistent with the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) Scheme, as a separate dedicated app has not been offered by the company.

The petitioner NGO, Good Governance Chambers, argued that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) must change its model on the lines of the UPI payment scheme, and its operations may be suspended until these conditions are met.

The apex court today asked the Centre, Facebook and WhatsApp to file their replies within three weeks and it will take up the matter thereafter. The court noted that the government may process the applications filed by WhatsApp in accordance with the law and there is no stay on the same. Facebook was represented by senior advocate Arvind Datar.

The petitioner argued that lapses have been found in relation to WhatsApp's claims of having a secure and safe technological interface for securing sensitive user data.

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