Thursday, April 21, 2011
he himself led the ministers in ensuring transparency in public life by declaring assets that was later extended 2 d officials& employees upto Grade-3
by making the system transparent," Kumar said,adding that he himself led the ministers in ensuring transparency in public life by declaring assets
"Bihar has earned laurels at the national and international level for being a role model in the direction of making the state corruption-free
Nitish asks all depts to convert agenda into programmeApr 21,2011
Nitish asks all depts to convert agenda into programme
PTI | 09:04 PM,Apr 21,2011Patna, Apr 21 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today directed all departments to convert the NDA government's agendas of governance for 2010-15 into actionable programmes and ensure implementation of these programmes as soon as possible, official sources said. It was high time that the NDA government's agendas of governance for the ongoing five-year term be converted into actionable programmes for its speedy implementation and monitoring from time to time, principal secretary (Information and Public Relations) Rajesh Bhusan said quoting Kumar as having told at a review meeting. Bhushan said that all departments should set up a mechanism for speedy implementation of the government's development and welfare agendas and ensure the review of the progress of work on the ground from time to time. Kumar directed for a change of the criteria for implementation of the Central and state government's development and welfare schemes from the revenue village to habitation so that the people should benefit from the schemes under implementation. All departments should according plan their schemes to benefit the people in the human habitations, Kumar said, adding that a mapping of same should be carried out throughout the state for the purpose of better implementation of various schemes for the intended beneficiaries. With the state facing acute shortage of power, the Chief Minister stressed for self-reliance in the power sector and directed the officials to monitor the progress in the construction of various power projects in the state. Amid divergent view of the centre and the state government over the number of BPL families in the state, Kumar reiterated his government's commitment to provide food security of all BPL families in the state and said that it will ensure food security of the poor sections of the society with its own resources. He further expressed the state government's resolve to go ahead with its crusade against corruption by carrying out speedy trial of those facing corruption charges. "Bihar has earned laurels at the national and international level for being a role model in the direction of making the state corruption-free by making the system transparent," Kumar said, adding that he himself led the ministers in ensuring transparency in public life by declaring assets that was later extended to the officials and employees upto Grade-III.
Kate 'will omit obey vow at Abbey'- instead promise to "love, comfort, honour and keep" Prince William/Diana pledged 2 Prince Charles similar way 1981
(GOOD WISHES FOR THEIR MARRIAGE.THEY BELIEVE IN CONTEMPORARY VALUES.....GREAT,WE REALLY LIKED HIS PARENTS MARRIAGE...STILL HAVE THAT VIVID MEMORY....THOUGH VISUAL MEDIUM DIDN'T HAD THAT IMPACT OR REACH THEN.NOW WORLD IS SMALL,MORE CONNECTED AND HAVE THAT ATTACHMENT FOR EACH OTHER.WE STILL HAVE THAT CONNECTION AND BOND BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES.OUR HEARTY WISHES TO BOTH OF YOU AND FAMILY AND ENTIRE COUNTRY.EVEN SMALL PART OF INDIA STILL LIVE THERE,SO WE ALL INDIAN WISHING GOOD FOR YOU BOTH!!!......VIBHA TAILANG)
Kate Middleton is set to follow in the footsteps of Princess Diana by omitting the word "obey" from her wedding vows, according to reports.
She will instead promise to "love, comfort, honour and keep" Prince William, according to the Daily Mirror. Diana pledged herself to Prince Charles in a similar way during their wedding ceremony in 1981.
The revelation comes as the future king, 28, and his bride-to-be finalise their preparations for the much-anticipated event, which is now just one week away.
Second-in-line to the throne William has already had his last shift as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot before the ceremony on April 29. Next week, he will spend the last few days before the ceremony mostly in London at wedding rehearsals.
Miss Middleton, 29, has been spotted doing some pre-wedding shopping in the capital, amid speculation that she has been stocking up on summer outfits for her honeymoon.
On Sunday, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will attend the traditional Easter Matins at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. They will be joined by other members of the Royal Family, but William and his fiancee will not be among them.
As the nation begins enjoying the first of its two bank holiday weekends, the couple will be spending their last weekend before they become husband and wife together privately.
The Archbishop of Canterbury - the man who will marry them - has spoken of the "courage and the clarity" they will need to live out their marriage "in the full glare" of the public eye.
Dr Rowan Williams said the couple "knew what the cost of that might be" and urged people to support them. He described them as "deeply unpretentious people" who were clear about what mattered about their wedding day.
The Queen has signed her historic formal consent to the marriage. Under the Great Seal of the Realm, the monarch put her signature on an elaborate notice of approval which proclaimed, in transcribed calligraphy, consent to the union of "Our Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, K.G. and Our Trusty and Well-beloved Catherine Elizabeth Middleton".
Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.
William and Kate plan modern wedding-"It's a wonderful balance, they're not rejecting tradition and they're embracing modern trends."
William and Kate plan modern wedding
By Maria Puente, USA TODAY
The wedding hats are trimmed, the horses and carriages have been shod and shined, the cakes and flowers and canapés soon will be pouring out of Buckingham Palace's kitchens and perfuming Westminster
Months of carefully staged-managed preparations conclude next Friday when Prince William of Wales and his fiancé, Catherine "Kate" Middleton, wed in a ritual blending tradition, pageantry and modernity under the gaze of a billion eyes and in a likely flood of a zillion tweets.
It's been a little more than five months since the couple announced their long-awaited engagement — 22 weeks and three days for the PR-canny couple and the palace news operation to dribble out day by day the myriad details of a ceremonial state wedding. Add to that the tidbits British reporters wormed out of their sources, and the countdown to this wedding has driven the anticipation level to dizzying heights. Especially in the American and British celebrity media, among the 7,000-strong mob prepared to invade London to cover the nuptials.
The worldwide public interest is understandable: He is a future king, she a future queen. For the British, that's enough.
Yet, Americans also are riveted — even The Weather Channel is covering the wedding —despite only a handful of well-known-in-America celebrity guests, such as Elton John and Rowan "Mr. Bean" Atkinson.
Reporters and commentators, such as Barbara Walters, have gone on endlessly about the "fairy-tale" aspects of this wedding and its potential to rival the grand 1981 nuptials of William's parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.
Still, what stands out about this multimillion-pound spectacle (paid for by the royal family and Middleton's millionaire parents) and $32 million security challenge (paid for by British taxpayers), is its unprecedented modernity, unlike any before in royal history. No longer are stuffy royal bureaucrats solely in charge; the couple themselves have taken significant control.
"Prince William and Miss Middleton are firmly at the helm. The wedding will reflect (their) wishes," Nick Loughran, a press officer for the prince, explains in a statement.
"(They) have made it quite clear, right from the start, that they would like their wedding day to strike the right balance between intimacy and providing an occasion that can be enjoyed by everyone," he adds.
There are only a few important secrets left to learn, probably on the day of the wedding: What will she wear, where will they honeymoon and what will the new royal couple be called? Will they be duke and duchess or Prince and Princess William of Wales? Queen Elizabeth II, if she grants a gift of a new title for her grandson, would likely do so on the morning of the wedding.
Same goes for the wedding dress designer, who will be revealed only when Middleton steps out of her Rolls Royce at the door to Westminster Abbey shortly before 11 a.m. local time. The palace plans to issue a press release on the designer soon after, surely prompting armies of knockoff artists to rush to their workrooms.
As for the honeymoon, reports on where they will go emerge daily. The latest, according to The Sunday Telegraph, is they're considering a tour of southern Jordan to see the famous ancient ruins of Petra, despite recent unrest in the country where Middleton spent a part of her childhood.
The couple's way
The prince and princess-to-be just might get their way, as they have throughout much of the planning of their wedding, whether it's the decoration on their cake, the choice of charities to benefit from donations in lieu of gifts, Middleton's choice of younger sister Pippa as her maid of honor, or the music and performers at the service.
Dickie Arbiter, a former press secretary to the queen who will be commentating on the wedding for Sky News, says Will & Kate are unlike previous royal couples. "They're running it and they're doing what they want to do within reason," he says. "They've been together for eight years, which is unprecedented, they've lived together on and off, which is unprecedented, they've both been to university — they are a very much their own people, a very modern couple."
Middleton decided on the cake and who would make it, choosing a classic English fruit cake by pastry chef Fiona Cairns, cake maker to the likes of U2's Bono and Paul McCartney, whose concoctions had been enjoyed by the couple at other weddings. It will be multi-tiered and the cream-and-white frosting will be decorated with a British floral theme using a traditional technique of intricate piping to create 3-D scrollwork, leaves and flowers.
"She is very much the inspiration behind the cake," says Cairns, who met with Middleton after she was chosen in February. "She gave us her ideas and pictures, drew the list of the flowers. She is in charge and has been guiding us. She's quite hands on and that's good."
William, who turns 29 on June 21, is a strong-minded young man. Middleton, 29, exudes self-confidence as the first middle-class commoner to marry a future king in more than three centuries, and the first college-educated bride to marry a future king. According to Arbiter and scores of other royals watchers, the palace minders have relaxed, having learned lessons from the semi-arranged marriage of William's parents.
"He appears to have quite strong views about what he wants and how he thinks things should be done, and it appears to be that things should be more modern and open and accessible," says Rosalind Coward, a British academic and journalist, author of a Diana biography, and a visiting researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. "If he had chosen someone based on all the usual royal protocols, well, she's not from the usual gene pool."
William 'chose' Kate
Indeed, that is the biggest difference — and authentic fairy-tale aspect — between this wedding and Diana's wedding and so many other royal weddings dating back hundreds of years: He chose her, says Hugo Vickers, a royal historian (latest book: Behind Closed Doors about the final years of the Duchess of Windsor) who will be commenting on the wedding for Associated Press TV. "He has complete freedom of choice about whom he marries. This is not a dynastic or arranged marriage, there's nothing arranged about it," Vickers says.
Another major difference, he says, is the palace media operation, which has embraced the digital world by opening Facebook and Flickr accounts and launching multiple royal websites filled with pictures, interviews, speeches, video, interactive maps and other details. The palace even plans to live-stream the wedding on YouTube.
"They've been Twittering!" Vickers says, amused. "What the palace has done since the Princess of Wales was killed (in a 1997 Paris car crash), when they were (called) out on PR, is that now they are much better at releasing information, staging things, feeding the press. They're not covering anything up" as was done at some previous royal weddings.
Of course, the couple are not totally in charge —their wedding is a state event, after all, says Brian Hoey, a veteran royals correspondent and biographer (latest book: We Are Amused: A Royal Miscellany), who will be covering the wedding for BBC Radio. For instance, he says his royal household sources told him William wanted a semi-private wedding in the more intimate St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Prince Charles married his second wife, Camilla, in 2005.
"But the queen wants her grandson and future king to have a state-occasion wedding and William has gone along," Hoey says. "The queen has the final say in everything."
Still, Hoey says the queen, too, has adapted to modern times, hosting the midday reception luncheon for about 650 at Buckingham Palace after the wedding. "Normally at a royal wedding, only about 60 people are invited back for what was called the wedding breakfast, just immediate family and other visiting royalty," Hoey says. "(This) is a much more democratic, informal wedding than they've ever had, far less stuffy."
One signal of the couple's approach: They invited leaders of some of the charities William is involved with, such as the Tusk Trust, to the wedding. Charlie Mayhew, founder and CEO of the trust, which aims to conserve African wildlife in a way that sustains local human communities, and his wife, Caroline, will be among the guests in the abbey.
"It's a huge honor — it's the first time I've been to a royal wedding and probably my last," jokes Mayhew. He says the prince is genuinely passionate about his charity work, and about Africa. "He is hugely popular and rightly so," he adds. "He's got a wonderful sense of humor, a quick wit, he puts you at ease immediately. He engages in conversation completely effortlessly. He's a pleasure to work with, not stuffy at all."
He and Middleton also are aware of appearances in a time of economic distress in Britain. "One thing they need to do, which is incredibly difficult, is walk a fine line to being sensitive to (the economy) and displays of excess," says Leslie Carroll, an American author of books about royal history (Royal Pains). "But they're damned if they do and damned if they don't, plus pomp and pageantry is fabulous for tourism and morale."
The couple are following some traditions: He gave her Diana's sapphire engagement ring, and she will wear a wedding ring of Welsh gold, a royal family custom dating back nearly a century. He will not wear a ring, a custom among the men in his family, who prefer signet rings.
Another sign of the couple's personal touch: The groom's cake, which has not been customary in Britain. The chocolate biscuit (or cookie) cake, based on a royal recipe and a tea-time favorite of William's, will be made by Paul Courtney for McVitie's Cake Company, famous for its tea biscuits and wedding cakes for royals.
An older bridesmaid
Also a departure from royal custom: An adult maid of honor. Usually royal brides choose young royal relatives as bridesmaids and page boys, as the couple have done, but Middleton also wanted sister Pippa to be part of the bridal party, opposite brother Prince Harry as William's supporter or best man.
"Her sister would have been part of the wedding if she had married anyone else in the country," says Carley Roney, editor-in-chief of TheKnot.com, a wedding website. "It's a wonderful balance, they're not rejecting tradition and they're embracing modern trends."
Modern it may be but this wedding won't lack pomp and circumstance. After all, tradition-minded Brits are acknowledged masters of pageantry.
So there will be antique coaches and hundreds of horses mounted with military riders in scarlet-and-gold uniforms, parading down The Mall as an estimated 1 million people line the street and millions more watch on giant screens set up in major parks.
The BBC's three dozen cameras inside the abbey will capture every moment as the bride glides down the aisle with her father toward the high altar, as trumpets sound and boy choristers warble. The 75-minute ceremony will feature blessings, hymns and readings, and the couple will recite the traditional Anglican vows from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. (Their vows will be instantly available online for download.)Then they return to Buckingham Palace to wave from the balcony and (probably) exchange a kiss, as two formations of Royal Air Force aircraft roar overhead in what the British call a fly-past.
Then it's time to party: First, politely, at the reception hosted by the queen for about 650 at Buckingham Palace, and then "knees up," as the Brits say, at a dinner/dance gala hosted by Prince Charles at the palace for about 300 of the couple's younger friends and relatives.
