What’s happening with Vaaranam Aayiram?

Surya's next release, Vel, directed by Hari, is shaping up very well with the shooting going on without any hitches and as planned. When Hari was quzzied about Vel, he said: "The story is very strong and the outcome is in perfect sync to the script. Surya has come up with a power packed performance and the movie is sure to be one of the landmark movies in Surya's career".

Talking about the storyline, he said: "the story cannot be disclosed now, but will be filled with sentiments; action and comedy in right proportion something similar to my earlier films, and would definitely be a blockbuster".

After hearing that Vel is shaping up well the next question on everyone's lips is about Goutham Menon's Vaaranam Aayiram. It’s old news that Surya wants some changes in the script and would participate in the shooting once Vel is completed. It seems that Goutham Menon is now changing the original script. And sources say that the new script would be racier and crisper that before. Goutham Menon, termed as the Alferd Hitchcock of Kollywood, is very optimistic that Vaaranam Aayiram will send the audience on a thrill ride.

Nasser vents out his anger on Sivaji

Sivaji has managed to garner as much publicity as it could, which in fact no other movie was ever successful in. But one man’s nectar is another man’s poison. How else can we explain Nasser’s attack on Sivaji while speaking at a function organized by the Rotary Club, Tanjore. Nasser lashed down that Sivaji’s release badly affected many low-budget films and small time movie producers.

He said that initially the guessing game with the release date of Sivaji had many of the movie producers developing cold feet due to which they shelved their projects paving way for The Boss. Later on, when Sivaji’s release date was announced, they found it impossible to get a decent theatre to showcase their movie. Nasser, further added, that these small time production houses produce movies by obtaining loans at high interest rates. This leads to a lot more confusion if their movies are not released on time and as a consequence they have to bear the brunt of paying the interest rates.

But then, the story has a happy ending. Mauritius’ President, Anirudh Jagannath, on an official visit to Chennai, came up with a unique request. Guess what? What could it be when the most happening thing in the city is Sivaji. Yes. The President desired to view the movie. When this was conveyed to the Mauritius embassy in Chennai, the officials over there contacted Abirami Ramanathan the distributor of Sivaji. Immediately, an exclusive show was arranged at the Four Frame Theatre where the President along with his wife Sarojini enjoyed the show. Is it not evident that Sivaji is still the hot favorite?

Kerala to bring law to save paddy fields

legislation to stop reclamation of Kerala's fast dwindling paddy fields is to be brought in by the state government, Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran informed the Assembly on Wednesday.

The proposed legislation would also have powers to act against encroachment and degradation of rivers, backwaters and marshes causing serious threat to ecological balance, Rajendran told the House in reply to a question. The issue would be discussed with farmers and people's representatives before giving final shape to the legislation. Recent studies have shown that the state's paddy cultivation base had been dangerously declining to touch a meagre 2.76 lakh hectares posing a serious threat

to food security and environment. Paddy fields are mostly converted into cash crop gardens or reclaimed for building purposes across the state. Of late, conservationists have been pressing for effective laws to save the remaining paddy fields as the real estate boom in the state have brought it (paddy fields) under severe selling pressure.

BBC correspondent Alan Johnston released

Nearly four months after he was kidnapped at gunpoint, BBC journalist Alan Johnston was released on Wednesday in Gaza following an agreement between his abductors and the Islamist Hamas movement.

The BBC reporter was handed over to officials of the Hamas administration in the early hours on Wednesday. Describing his abduction as an "appalling experience", Johnston, 45, said it was "fantastic" to be free. "He was freed following an agreement with his kidnappers and he is in good health," a Hamas statement said.

Johnston, an award-winning journalist, was the only Western reporter still based permanently in the Gaza Strip when he was snatched at gunpoint on March 12. The Army of Islam, the extremist group which claimed to have kidnapped the reporter, had threatened to kill him if any rescue attempt is made. On June 24, Johnston appeared in a video, saying he was wearing a bomb-belt that his captors would detonate if there was any attempt to rescue him.

The kidnappers had demanded the release of prisoners held in Britain and Jordan, have accused Hamas of exerting undue pressure for Johnston's release in spiralling tensions between the two groups. Appearing outside the house of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, Johnston said he had been unable to see the sun for three months, and was once chained for 24 hours. "I literally dreamt many times of being free and always woke up back in that room," he said.

Copa America: Brazil enter quarters

Defending champions Brazil [Images] beat Ecuador 1-0 to complete the quarter-final line-up at the Copa America on Wednesday after Chile had also advanced to the last eight by holding Mexico to a goalless draw.

The results mean that United States and Colombia, who each lost their opening two matches, were eliminated before meeting in their last game in Group C on Thursday.

Robinho, the only player to have scored for Brazil in the first round, notched his fourth goal of the tournament as his penalty gave his side a fortuitous win.

Earlier, Chile and Mexico were booed off the field after opening the Group B double-header with a dismal match.

Mexico topped Group B with seven points, followed by Brazil on six and Chile with four. Ecuador propped up the table after losing all three of their games.

Chile qualified as the best of the two third-placed teams in the three groups and will meet Brazil again in their quarter-final in Puerto La Cruz on Saturday.

Hosts Venezuela will meet Uruguay, who finished as the second third-placed team, in San Cristobal the same day.

MEXICO WORRY

The only issue to be sorted out is the order in which Paraguay and Argentina finish in Group C.

The teams each have six points from their first two games and meet on Thursday with Paraguay needing a draw to finish top.

The winners will play Peru in Barquisimeto on Sunday and the losers take on Mexico in Maturin.

"Whoever it is, I'm sure they'll be worried about facing Mexico," Mexican coach Hugo Sanchez told reporters after his team's result.

Mexico, already qualified, and Chile, needing a point, produced the tournament's second goalless stalemate in match devoid of goalmouth action.

However, there were no apologies from either coach afterwards.

"We didn't want to get caught in their trap and play the type of game they wanted," Sanchez added.

"We qualified and that's what is important. Football depends a lot upon the moment," Chile coach Nelson Acosta said.

They were followed by Brazil and Ecuador, who both played to win but failed to create many chances.

The breakthrough came as Brazil were awarded a 56th minute penalty when Robinho fell theatrically under a challenge from Giovanny Espinoza.

The Real Madrid player took the kick himself and scored with a low shot into the right hand corner.

"It's very difficult for Brazil because the other teams close up against us," coach Dunga said.

Billionaire gives US$100 million to WI cricket

Texas billionaire Allen Stanford has given West Indies [Images] cricket US$100 million over three years in what he described on Wednesday as a bid to bring the game into the 21st century.

Stanford told a news conference that most of the funding would go towards grassroots development to prepare for the second Stanford 20/20 tournament early in 2008 after the launch of his Caribbean regional tournament last year.

Cuba will join the January 25 to February 24 tournament along with Turks and Caicos. The 21 teams will compete for a top prize of $1 million with the losing finalists getting US$500 000.

• Also read: Chanderpaul ton helps Windies to win

The overall prize money is US$2.9 million -- one of the largest purses for a domestic competition in the history of the game.

Last year Stanford invested over US$30 million in a similar project.

"This won't be just cricket, this will be a life-changing experience," he said.

"We can't wait two decades to regain the golden era of West Indies cricket. We are stuck in the 1950s and 60s. We can't allow ourselves to stay stuck forever. We have to come into the 21st century," added Stanford.

The glory years of West Indies cricket were between 1980 and 1985 when they were undefeated in a Test series.

WORLD BEATERS

The 21 teams in Stanford's tournament will each receive monthly grants of US$15,000 with Cuba's funds distributed to the cricket council for government sporting programmes.

"I'm investing a lot of money in this thing and at some point I expect to make a profit -- something that needs to happen for the longevity of the programme and will provide essential funding for West Indies Cricket," Stanford added.

"I have committed my resources and I believe that within those five years we'll have a world-beating West Indies team again.

"The Stanford 20/20 programme we're creating is going to be the instrument that brings about that success, the catalyst that takes us back to the glory days of West Indies cricket."

The Stanford 20/20 project is run by a board of directors, all former West Indies cricket greats, including Garfield Sobers, Viv Richards [Images], Curtly Ambrose and Michael Holding.

Tea, world's 2nd most popular beverage

Tea is the second most popular beverage in the world, after water. It is estimated that somewhere between 18 and 20 billion 6 oz. cups of tea are drunk daily on our planet.

An extension of numbers would indicate that the United States only imports enough tea annually to keep world usage rates going for 2 days.

India is the country with the most tea consumption in the world - an average of 651,000 metric tons per year.

Do you want to know how tea evolved over the centuries? If not, read on:

2737 BC: The Second Emperor, Shen Nung known as the Divine Healer first discovered tea in China.

350 AD: The first description of drinking tea is written in a Chinese dictionary.

400-600: The demand for tea rose steadily. Rather than harvest leaves from wild trees, farmers began to develop ways to cultivate tea. Tea was commonly made into roasted cakes, which were then pounded into small pieces and placed in a china pot. After adding boiling water, onion, spices, ginger or orange were introduced to produce many regional variations.

618-906: Tang Dynasty. Powdered tea became the fashion of the time. Nobility made it a popular pastime. Caravans carried tea on the Silk Road, trading with India, Turkey and Russia.

780: Poet Lu Yu wrote the first book of tea, making him a living saint, patronized by the Emperor himself. The book described methods of cultivation and preparation.

805: The Buddhist monk Saicho brought tea seeds to Japan from China.

960-1280: Sung dynasty. Tea was used widely. Powdered tea had become common. Beautiful ceramic tea accessories were made during this time. Dark-blue, black and brown glazes, which contrasted with the vivid green of the whisked tea, were favoured.

1101-1125: Emperor Hui Tsung wrote about the best ways to make whisked tea. A strong patron of the tea industry, he had tournaments in which members of the court identified different types of tea. Legend has it that he became so obsessed with tea he hardly noticed the Mongols who overthrew his empire. During his reign, teahouses built in natural settings became popular among the Chinese.

1191: Eisai Myoan, the monk who brought Zen Buddhism to Japan, returned from a trip to China with tea seeds, which he planted on the grounds of his temple near Kyoto. Eisai experimented with different ways to brew tea, finally adopting the Chinese whisked tea.

1206-1368: Yuan Dynasty. Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan conquered Chinese territories and established a Mongolian dynasty in power for more than a century. Tea became an ordinary drink, never regaining the high status it once enjoyed. Marco Polo was not even introduced to tea when he visited.

1368-1644: Ming Dynasty. People again began to enjoy tea. The new method of preparation was steeping whole leaves in water. The resulting pale liquid necessitated a lighter color ceramic than was popular in the past. The white and off-white tea-ware produced became the style of the time. The first Yixing pots were made at this time.

1422-1502: A Zen priest named Murata Shuko, who had devoted his life to tea, created the Japanese tea ceremony. The ceremony is called "Cha No Yu," which means "hot water for tea."

1610: The Dutch brought tea to Europe from China, trading dried sage in exchange.

1618: Chinese ambassadors presented Czar Alexis with a gift of several chests of tea.

1657: Tea was first sold in England at Garway's Coffee House in London. The East India Company operated out of several sites in the City of London, the first in Philpot Lane, Fenchurch, then it took a lease on Lord Northampton's mansion, Crosby Hall, Bishopsgate and then in 1658 another move before it finally leased Lord Craven's House in Leadenhall Street. Under the terms of a charter granted by Elizabeth I, The East India Company owned all trading rights and controlled the sale of those imported goods back to Britain.

1661: The Taiwanese began to drink wild tea.

1662: Charles II took Catherine Braganza of Portugal as his wife. They both drank tea, creating a fashion for it. Its popularity among the aristocracy causes alcohol beverages to fall from favour.

1669: Close to 150 pounds of tea were shipped to England. Until 1669, most of the tea drunk in Britain was bought from the Dutch.

1689: Traders with three hundred camels traveled 11,000 miles to China and back in order to supply Russia's demand. The trip took sixteen months.

1697: In Taiwan, settlers of Formosa's Nantou County cultivated the first domestic bushes. Dutch ships carried the tea to Persia, the first known export of Taiwanese tea.

1705: The yearly importation of tea to England grew to approximately 800,000 pounds.

1706: The first auction dedicated to tea took place in Craven House, which became known as East India House. These East India Company auctions were held quarterly. Such early auctions were "Sold by the Candle," a system whereby a candle was marked off in inches, it was lit when the bidding began, the hammer was brought down as the first inch line was reached and so on down the candle for each lot.

1710: Wealthy American Colonists developed a taste for tea.

1773: The Tea Act of 1773 giving the East India Company control of trading in the Americas imposed the same taxes and levies on the colonists as paid by the British. Objection led to an act of rebellion known as the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, which is commonly viewed as a first step towards the American War of Independence. Under cover of night, colonists dressed as Native Americans boarded the East India Company ships in Boston Harbor. They opened chests of tea and dumped their contents into the water. This was repeated in other less known instances up and down the coast.

1776: China was the main tea source of eighteenth century. Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), Central and Eastern African countries were sending teas to the London Auction.

1833: The East India Company enjoyed its monopoly for two and a half centuries. Independent merchants campaigned for change and modernization, which was achieved in 1833.

1834: An imperial edict from the Chinese Emperor closed all Chinese ports to foreign vessels until the end of the First Opium War in 1842.

Royal Assent was given to the Bill who rescinded the charter given to the East India Company; this came into force on 22nd, April 1834. The brokers began to look for new premises and found a dancing studio in Exchange Alley, City of London. In November 1834 the tea auctions were moved again to the newly built London Commercial Salesrooms, Mincing Lane and remained there until 30th January 1937 when they moved down the lane to Plantation House.

1840s: Clipper ships, built in America, sped-up the transportation of tea to America and Europe, livening the pace of trade. Some ships could make the trip from Hong Kong to London in ninety-five days. Races to London became commonplace; smugglers and blockade runners also benefited from the advances in sailing speeds.

1870: Twinings of England began to blend tea for consistency.

Tea companies began to blossom in Britain by the late nineteenth century blending, branding and packaging were giving the public a wide variety of choice.

1900: Trans-Siberian railroad made transport to Russia cheaper and faster. Java became an important producer as well.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the London Tea Auction had grown in importance. Most working days of the week were allotted to a particular country's sale with minor suppliers being herded together on convenient days.

1904: Richard Blechynden created iced tea for the St. Louis World Fair.

1909: Thomas Sullivan invented tea bags in New York, sending tea to clients in silk bags, which they began to mistakenly steep without opening.

1910: Sumatra, Indonesia grows and exports tea. Soon thereafter, tea is grown in Kenya and other parts of Africa.

1918: A National Tea Control was brought in, tea was split into three grades and sold at a fixed retail price of two shillings and eight pence, the equivalent of three and a half modern pence.

1919: The London Tea Auction resumed on 5th May 1919.

1920-1930: The tea trade suffered a slump like most other industry in Britain. However the tea trade found export markets to fill the gap.

1940: As Britain recovered, so did the UK tea trade, but again the economy collapsed with World War II. In 1940 tea was rationed, this remained until October 1952.

1952: The London Tea Auction resumed and took place in Plantation House until it moved to Sir John Lyon House on 8th, February 1971. Since then the tea trade has seen the introduction of the off shore auction, tea sold by the container whilst on route for the UK and the growth of the producer countries' own auctions due to increased volumes.

1970: The Taiwanese government encouraged its population to drink tea, revitalising tea culture on the island.

1998: In the last twenty years the frequency of and volumes sold at the London Tea Auction have declined. In 1990 the auction moved to The London Chamber of Commerce where it closed in 1998.

2006: India is the country with the most tea consumption in the world - an average of 651,000 metric tons per year. China is second, and consumes about 463,000 metric tons per year. The United States is number one consumer of iced tea, with between 80% and 85% of our total tea consumed that way.

Basmati brand: Pakistan to sue India

Pakistan is planning to take legal action against the Indian government for illegally announcing Super Basmati rice as an Indian product.

Newspapers quoting a senior Pakistan's government official said India wants to increase Super Basmati's exports to European Union by declaring as an Indian product and we would contend this move.

"We will fight for our right. Trading Corporation of Pakistan and Rice Export Association of Pakistan will represent Pakistan in India to proceed with the case in an Indian court," the official said.

"A lawyer has been hired in Delhi and as per his suggestion, we would send a notice to Indian government before filing the case in the Delhi High Court or the Supreme Court of India," official added.

The official said it is crystal clear that under the Geographical Indication, the Super Basmati rice is the product of Pakistan. "It is the total failure of Pakistan's trade and economic managers that New Delhi managed to deceive Islamabad by getting Super Basmati registered based on Geographical Indication," he said.

He further alleged that by this act India was intending to divest Pakistan from exporting Super Basmati rice to the European Union, the world' largest market.

The European Union block of 27 countries recently imposed a condition for other countries that in order to exporting food items to EU, traders should need a registration based on GI.

This registration will establish that the exported item belongs to that particular country.

In the case of Super Basmati rice, Pakistan failed to register in EU and India who first showed interest to register Super Basmati in EU along with Pakistan based on GI.

Later India unilaterally registered it in EU, divesting Pakistan from exporting the Super Basmati to European Union countries.

Basmati rice is primarily cultivated in India and Pakistan. The Himalayan foothills are said to produce the best basmati. The Super Basmati, a premium variety from Pakistan and Dehradun from India, are the most prized of the basmati varieties.

India is the largest producer and exporter of basmati rice in the world. The annual production in the country hovers at around 10-15 lakh ton a year, of which around two-thirds is exported. The remaining is consumed, within the country.

Pakistani exporters blamed Islamabad's failure to timely contest Indian registration of super basmati for export nine months ago as the main reason for the latest problem on exports.

Bhupathi-Sania bow out

Mahesh Bhupathi [Images] and Sania Mirza [Images] went down tamely in the second round of the mixed doubles at Wimbledon on Thursday.

The Indian pair was beaten by ninth seeds Marcin Matkowski of Poland and Cara Black of Zimbabwe 6-4, 6-4.

• Images: Mixed day for Sania

The defeat ended both Sania and Bhupathi's campaign in the grass court Grand Slam.

In the first round, Bhupathi and Sania got the better of David Skoch of Czech Republic and Janette Husarova of Slovakia, winning 6-3, 6-4.

Sania had earlier bowed out of the singles and doubles, while Bhupathi, winner of ten Grand Slams, only played mixed doubles after withdrawing from the men's doubles.

Grilling leaves released Indian doc 'petrified'

The Australian police have said that Indian doctor Mohammed Asif Ali, who was released on Wednesday after being held in connection with the failed United Kingdom terror attacks, made an "unfortunate acquaintance" with his fellow doctor and compatriot Mohamed Haneef and almost ended up being branded a terrorist.

The police said Ali attracted the investigators' attention because he had agreed to mind some things for his friend, Haneef, also arrested in connection with the blasts.

Soon after his release, the media staked out his apartment, which is just two blocks from the Gold Coast Hospital where he worked.

When reporters managed to get Ali on his mobile phone, he begged to be left alone, saying he was extremely tired and just wanted to sleep. "I don't know anything," he said. The manager of his apartment block said the doctor was petrified.

He was unwittingly caught up in a manhunt after the police detained Haneef at the Brisbane Airport late on Monday on suspicion of having been in contact with members of a group involved in a British car bomb plot.

The police kicked in Ali's door the next morning, and spent the next day rifling through his apartment, and combing Haneef's car.

It was almost midnight before the police finished questioning Ali. Police sources described him as a man who had simply made an unfortunate acquaintance.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty had said Ali had not committed any crime, and was free to go about his business.

But the damage had already been done to Ali's reputation, his face plastered on tabloid newspapers, under headlines such as "the enemy within" and "terror link on our doorstep".

The manager said the apartment was left in shambles by the police, with fingerprint dust scattered over everything.

"The unit's a mess," he said.

After the ordeal, the Queensland Government offered Ali support. Premier Peter Beattie suggested it could be difficult for Ali to return to work at the hospital.

"Bearing in mind the amount of media focus on this and the attention on the hospital, Queensland Health will need to talk to him about whether this is an appropriate place for him," Beattie said on Wednesday.

The acting district manager of the Gold Coast Health Service, Brian Bell, said Ali was free to return to work. "The district will do everything it can to assist at this difficult time," he said.

Queensland's Health Minister Stephen Robertson said Ali's return to work would have to be handled sensitively.

"The problem is, unfortunately, this person has been named. It now appears he has had nothing to do with the allegations that have been bouncing around.

Nadal finally disposes of Soderling

Rafael Nadal [Images] needed 20 minutes and five match points on Wednesday to finally dispose of Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6, 7-5 in a rain-hit third round match that spanned three days.

The players resumed at 4-4 in the final set in a match that started on Monday and was hit by five rain breaks, with only 20 minutes of play possible on Tuesday.

Nadal saved a break point at 5-5 and then held on to his serve. The players looked up in disbelief during the changeover when the familiar drizzle started falling but the umpire told them: "Let's play, it's stopping."

The world number two seemed to want to prolong the agony for himself, squandering four match points before forcing Soderling to hit a shot long to claim the match.

French Open champion Nadal had already had match point on Monday in the third set tiebreak, having smoothly taken the first two sets. But the miss allowed Soderling to get back into the match.

The Spaniard will face Russian 14th seed Mikhail Youzhny in the fourth round.

Sania-Bhupathi enter second round

Sania Mirza [Images] and Mahesh Bhupathi [Images], teaming up in a Grand Slam event for the first time, advanced to the mixed doubles second round at Wimbledon with a straight sets victory over David Skoch of Czech Republic and Janette Husarova of Slovakia.

Sania and Bhupathi overcame the challenge of Skoch and Husarova 6-3, 6-4.

The Indian duo will next play Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Marcin Matkowski of Poland.

Sania's campaign in both the singles' and doubles' category has already ended while compatriot Bhupathi, winner of ten Grand Slams, is only playing mixed doubles after withdrawing from the men's doubles.

Indian engineering degrees now accredited in the US

In a significant development, Indian engineering degrees will now be accredited in the United States and will be internationally recognised.

This follows India's induction into the prestigious Washington Accord, an international agreement between registering bodies of member countries accrediting academic engineering programmes, at the university level, leading to the practice of engineering at the full professional level.

Arguing the case successfully on behalf of India at the 8th biennial meeting of the International Engineering Meetings 2007 in Washington, DC last month was a delegation led by Prof Damodar Acharya, chairman of the Delhi-based All India Council for Technical Education, who, on July 1, assumed the directorship of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur; Ravi Mathur, joint secretary (technical), ministry of human resource development; and Prof Prasad Krishna, member secretary, National Board of Accreditation.

They were joined by Kamal Kant Dwivedi, counselor at the Indian Embassy and the government of India's point man for science and technology in Washington.

Comprehensive reviews of the Washington Accord are performed at intervals of not more than six years and in terms of the agreement, each registering body accepts the accrediting processes of the other member countries.

The founding signatories of the Accord in 1989 were: Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology, USA; Canadian Council of Professional Engineers; Engineering Council, EC, UK; Institution of Engineers of Ireland; Institution of Engineers, Australia; and Institution of Professional Engineers, New Zealand.

Currently, the Washington Accord member countries are: The US, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong, Japan, with Germany, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan being provisional members.

This year India's National Board of Accreditation of the All India Council for Technical Education was elected a provisional member, along with Russia and Sri Lanka.

The Accord recognises substantial equivalence of programmes accredited by those organisations and recommends that the graduates of accredited programmes in any of the signatory countries be recognised by the other countries as having met the academic requirements for entry into the practice of engineering.

The NBA is the only authorised body in India entrusted with the task of undertaking accreditation of technical education programmes and all programmes on technical education, including those offered by university departments are accredited by the NBA.

The NBA, as criteria for such accreditation, evaluates the quality of these programmes offered by educational institutions from diploma to the post-graduate levels in technical education including engineering.

India's entry to the Washington Accord would necessarily facilitate mobility of engineering graduates and professionals at international levels and the graduates from NBA-accredited programmes would be automatically accepted for education and employment purposes in member countries.

A provisional member is given two years to bring its academic programmes, curricula and syllabus, examination and evaluation system to the international level and revise its accreditation system to make it fully outcome based, with credit system for flexibility and continuous evaluation for improved learning being the basis of such programmes.

This will include and increased focus on design, research and innovation that will be supported by signatory member countries with mentoring programmes and the like.

In this regard, the NBA will also participate in the accreditation activities of member countries, and at the end of the two-year period, India will be accorded full signatory status.

Thus, membership in the Washington Accord is considered recognition of the quality of engineering education offered by a member country and hence an avenue to bring it into the world-class category of other member nations.

Dwivedi told rediff.com: "All thanks go to Prof Acharya and his team of experts for making a superb and convincing presentation of the national profile of technical education in India and the process of quality assessment and accreditation by the NBA, which was catalytic to this landmark achievement."

"It is of major significance and a path-breaking development because now all of our engineering degrees will be internationally accredited," he said.

"Hitherto, when an Indian engineer came over to the US or went to any of the Washington Accord member countries, only a course-by-course accreditation is done and the assessment, etc on whether they are equivalent only follow after this protracted and stringent accreditation."

"But now," explained Dwivedi, "what will happen after India's membership to the Washington Accord is that automatically all of our degrees -- and not only those from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) -- because IIT has become such an internationally renowned brand -- but others like the 20 National Institutes of Technology and the 1,520 other engineering institutions, their degrees will also be recognised."

Thus, he said, the Indian engineering degree from all of these institutions -- and not just from the IITs -- will be held on par with US degree as well as other engineering degrees from the countries that are a party to the Washington Accord "and there would be reciprocity where these degrees are concerned."

"So unlike in the past, all of the protracted and stringent requirements and time-consuming course-by-course accreditation will be done away with," he added.

Dwivedi said, "The really great significance of this is what we call credit transfer and mobility."

"Like in the US, if you do two years at one institution, two other semesters somewhere else and graduate from a different university or college or institution, all of these credits will be accepted by all of the member countries that are a party to this accord."

He acknowledged that "in India, so far, this mobility was not there, but this accord brings into play the mobility and credit transfer."

Haneef to be questioned by UK officer

A British counter-terrorism expert will, on Thursday, interrogate Indian Mohammed Haneef who has been detained in connection with the UK terror plot as the medico was granted consular access.

The officer, a chief inspector with Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Unit, arrived in Brisbane airport on an early morning flight from London [Images] via Singapore and was immediately whisked away by Australian Federal Police officers.

The lady officer is expected to interrogate Mohammed Haneef, the Indian medico detained under Australia's anti-terror laws at Brisbane international airport on Monday.

The Australian and British counter-terrorism officials will have about 12 hours of interview time with Haneef under a court order, which will have to be completed by Friday, the Herald newspaper said.

Meanwhile, the doctor has been granted consular access.

A consul met Haneef, who was detained at Brisbane international airport on Monday, Deputy High commissioner Vinod Kumar told PTI but declined to give further details.

He said further details will be disclosed through Indian government back home.

Haneef, who has been working as a registrar at the Gold Coast Hospital, is one of the eight persons -- one in Australia and seven in the UK-- being detained by police in connection with the failed terror plots. All of them are medically trained.

However, according to Queensland-based Indian diplomat Sarva-Daman Singh no further information about Haneef was received from Australian government.

Singh said Haneef had earlier contacted the consul to contact his wife in India.

There had been only one communication from Haneef -- when he was allowed to contact the consulate some hours after his arrest on Monday night, Singh told PTI on Thursday.

Another diplomatic source said Haneef's family had proclaimed their son's innocence, but there were fears that he might have fallen in with 'the wrong crowd' while in Britain last year.

AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty has said there was a lot more evidence to justify the arrest of Haneef than just mobile phone records.

He said police had gathered a considerable amount of material from search warrants executed across south-east Queensland.

Health authorities have confirmed Haneef had emergency leave from the hospital to visit his ill wife and newborn daughter in Bangalore.

Federal police are highly unlikely to seek an extension of time to detain Haneef without charge, according to sources quoted by The Age newspaper.

He cannot be extradited without having been charged.

If charges are not laid by Friday, it is expected he will be released by the weekend.