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Language teachers’ salary hiked
BJP march against torch relay
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3 criminals killed in Noida encounter
Hectic lobbying on for NRI university
Parsi population on the decline
DUTA seeks faster pay revision
Metro bus service for IPL matches
CAIT demands action against corporate retailers
SP leader seeks action on hoarders
Computer training centre at Deepalaya
Seminar on insurance
4 held for cheating
Son’s friend rapes woman
Power thief gets 4-yr RI
DPCC announces candidates for ward elections
Nitish Katara case: Verdict next week
Businessman shot at
Employees’ demand turned down
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Language teachers’ salary hiked
New Delhi, April 17 Apart from this the cabinet has approved certain relaxations for the implementation of assured career progression (ACP) scheme for teachers and has also granted full-time teacher status to part-time language teachers appointed by three language academies by sanctioning 128 to 139 per cent increase in their remuneration. Talking to media Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit stated that her government would allow the citizens of Delhi to have access to a clean-fuelled vehicle to ensure improvement in the air quality of the Capital. The cabinet has decided to grant 29.5 per cent concessional facilities to purchasers of two, three and four wheel battery-operated vehicles in the city. The Chief Minister added that her government was committed to ensure that zero pollution vehicles are given encouragement and support. For making battery-operated vehicle to become attractive to the consumers, certain concessions are necessary to be provided to the customers to motivate them to go for cleaner vehicle option. She stated that the cabinet had given its nod for signing of an MoU with INTACH to prepare for declaration of Delhi as World Heritage City. The government is committed to make Delhi a heritage city by undertaking conservation-orientation development works. The INTACH would provide the expertise and consultancy and facilitate applying to UNESCO for getting the World Heritage City status for Delhi. It would also bring heritage awareness among the citizens. The government has decided to grant full-time teacher status to all 231 part-time teachers deployed by Punjabi, Urdu and Sanskrit academies in the government schools. It has also decided to grant consolidated remuneration at par with the enhanced remuneration proposed for Kashmiri migrant teachers. The part-time teachers are being paid a consolidated amount of Rs.5500 fixed for PGTs and Rs.5000 fixed for TGT with effect from 1st April, 2007. The consolidated remuneration for TGT would be increased to Rs.11,140 and PGT to Rs.13,160. The part-time teachers are being offered full-time status keeping in view the large number of vacancies of language teachers in government schools. The government would, however, continue its efforts to fill vacant posts. The government has granted concessions to large number of teachers in implementing the ACP scheme. |
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BJP march against torch relay
New Delhi, April 17 Harsh Vardhan said that Olympic torch relay is organised for the world’s goodwill. India has very old relation with Tibet. By supporting the Olympic torch relay race, the UPA government has surrendered before the Chinese repression in Tibet. It is against the self-respect of the country, he alleged. A large number of women too participated in the march. The marchers broke the barricades. They raised slogans like – ‘Tibetans struggle – BJP is with you’, ‘Give autonomy to Tibet’, ‘Give independence to Tibet’, ‘UPA government is worthless, it is to be changed’ and ‘Stop the murder of Hindus in Tibet”. Vardhan said that Tibetans have been fighting for the autonomous status of the country since 1950. “The Chinese forces have killed more than 200 Hindus in Tibet. Bodh maths have been destroyed. The Chinese government is bent upon destroying the culture of Tibet.” The UPA government under the duress of communist parties has forgotten Indo-Tibet relations, Vardhan added President of Youth Morcha Anil Sharma, president of Mahila Morcha Vaishakha Shalani and Pawan Sharma, Sahib Singh Chauhan, Rajiv Babbar, Jai Prakash also participated in the march. ABVP protest in JNU
To draw attention of the international community towards the alleged tragedy of the Tibetans, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) observed a black day today. “On the day of reception of the Olympic Torch in our national Capital, the ABVP appeals to the government of China to end the occupation of Tibet,” said Manoj, vice-president, Delhi unit of the ABVP. “China should also apologise to the people of India for the 1962 aggression,” he added. The ABVP organised a candle march on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus to extend solidarity towards the Tibetan people and their cause. |
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Olympic torch run throws traffic out of gear
New Delhi, April 17 The two-kilometer radius around the India Gate was closed for several hours before the run. It added to the commotion. The area acts as a corridor between the North and the South, which being cut off, added to traffic confusion. There were no auto rickshaws, comparatively less buses and security personnel were trying to maintain order on road while people could be seen taking huge detours for reaching their destinations. The government offices lying within the premises of the radius were sealed from 12 p.m. and people working there were under virtual house arrest with no movement allowed. |
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3 criminals killed in Noida encounter
Noida, April 17 Talking to the press today, Noida SSP A. Satish Ganesh said the police teams constituted for nabbing the criminalswere flashed a message by the police control room that some criminals in white Maruti car (No. HR 51 F- 9580 ) were out to commit a big crime around Sector-71 last night. The SSP identified the slain criminals as Sanjay Garg, s/o late Damodar of Dadri, Zahir S/o Ajmeri of Nai Abadi, Dadri and Birju s/o Bharat Singh of Loha Ghat, Champan, Uttarkhand - currently living in Khora colony, Ghaziabad. Some weapons, including the fake of Italian pistols, 9mm Verretta, were found on the criminals. SHO Anil Somanya and Shushil Kumar from Sector-58 with their force were already in Sector-71 looking for wanted criminals Ashok Yadav and Mukesh Yadav involved in recent crimes . According to the SSP, these three most wanted criminals had gone to collect ransom from a Dadri trader. All the three were wanted in a number of criminal cases by various Noida police stations. On the basis of this information, SHO Anil Somanya and SO Sector-58 police station Sushil Kumar Dubey, started looking for the white Maruti in Sector-37, Amarpali and in Sector-126. While vehicles from Pari Chowk were being checked, the white Maruti car (No. HR-51 F-9580) was flagged to stop, but the driver turned the car on the service road. When the police chased the car, its occupants opened fire at them. Police vehicles overtook the Maruti and Anil Somanya’s jeep blocked Maruti’s path which as a result jumped over the road side railing. The occupants continued firing. In return fire three of them were wounded. They were rushed to the district hospital in Sector-30 ,where doctors declared them dead. SSP Ganesh said all the three were dreaded criminals who had spread a terror in Ghaziabad, GB Nagar, Bagpat, Meerut districts of UP and Delhi. They were all wanted in numerous cases of murders, loots, dacoity, kidnapping. In recent months all the three had gained notoriety in extortions in Noida, Ghaziabad, and
Meerut. |
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Hectic lobbying on for NRI university
In another three months, some NRIs may be thinking of sending their children for higher education in India. The NRIs in different countries have different reasons for preferring Indian higher education.
In some countries of Africa, South East Asia and the Middle East, NRI children cannot get admissions as these countries do not have enough seats for them and prefer sons of the soil to NRIs. In Western countries, the excellence and financial success of Indian professionals in IT, engineering and management make learning at Indian universities and institutes desirable. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are two groups of centres for higher learning that are the touchstone for excellence. In some cases, the NRI parents would like the Indian ‘dimension’ in the education for their children so that they have strong roots to grow high. Finally, in humanities subjects like Indian languages, and fine arts like classical music and dancing, Indian universities impart more authentic learning in the right cultural ambience than similar courses in the West. At present, while NRIs have a small quota in internationally reputed Indian institutes although they pay higher fees than Indian students. The problem is the shortage of seats. The situation in India is very critical as more and more Indians seek seats in the very same universities and there are not enough of them. Starting with 20 universities at the time of independence in 1947, India has 367 universities today, of which about 100 are private institutions. “India needs to revamp the education system,” said Sam Pitroda, chairman of the National Knowledge Commission and an NRI himself, while presenting its annual report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January this year. The Commission has recommended increasing the number of universities to 1,500 in the next eight years. The Commission parades some startling figures. Of the 17,700 colleges in India, only 4,300 are government-run. Of the rest, 7,650 are under unaided private managements and 5,750 under aided private managements. Significantly, private professional colleges account for the majority of the students who have entered the portals of higher learning in the last 10 years. A substantial number of these private institutions bother very little about the quality of education they offer at exorbitant prices. This crass commercialisation makes higher education the preserve of the rich, creates an imbalance in the courses offered and leads to a fall in standards. NRIs fall victims to these shortcomings in private colleges that charge exorbitant fees for admission. Thus, no wonder they pressed for an exclusive NRI University in India and the government agreed to it at the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in 2007. “Our aspiration would be to impart quality education at par with the best universities in the world,” declared Manmohan Singh. The Indian Cabinet approved the policy framework for a Non-Resident Indian/Person of Indian Origin (NRI/PIO) university in India. Under the Indira Gandhi National University, it would draw on the expertise of the NRI doctors, engineers, and many qualified professionals. Located in an education special economic zone in a special economic zone under the University Grants Commission Act, it would be set up by overseas Indian trusts or societies with credibility and experience in education under the overall supervision of the government. Tenders were floated to invite suitable overseas trusts. Any state that gets to establish the NRI University will reap considerable economic benefits. Construction of the campus over hundreds of acres will bring in massive capital investment.
— IANS |
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Parsi population on the decline
New Delhi, April 17 The NCM intends to encourage timely marriages and the joint family spirit among Parsis as non-marriage, falling fertility and separation are some of the leading causes behind the decline in their population. “We want to help them in checking the decreasing numbers,” NCM chairperson Mohammad Shafi Qureshi told IANS. He said that Mehroo Dhunjisha Bengalee, a Parsi commission member, was coordinating with community leaders. The panel took this mission upon itself after its survey found that only 99 childbirths took place in the community last year till August 2007. In 2002, 206 births were reported across the country and the figure came down to 174 in 2006. History has it that around 18,000 Parsis, who are Zoroastrian by faith, fled to India from Persia during the Arab-Muslim war over 1,000 years ago and settled in Gujarat. Over the years, the community made a name for itself in entrepreneurship. But not all is well with them today. “Our number is steeply going down, and the trend has to be reversed. The panel is willing to join community leaders in saving them from almost extinction in India,” said Bengalee, who is a former vice-chancellor of the University of Mumbai. The survey commissioned by the minority panel found that late marriage or none at all, fertility decline, emigration, out marriages and separation are the main causes behind the declining numbers of Parsis in India. As per Census 2001, Parsis number 69,601 in the country, while other minority groups are much higher in number like Jains 4.2 million, Buddhists 7.9 million, Sikhs 19 million and Christians 24 million. Muslims being the largest minority community in India accounts for 13.8 per cent of the total population of over one billion. During 1991-2001, the growth rate was 36 per cent among Muslims, 24.5 per cent among Buddhists and 22.6 per cent among Sikhs, while the Parsi population declined by 8.88 per cent, says the census report. The NCM intends to encourage the minority community to foster the spirit of joint family, encourage timely marriages, check divorces and increase intensive post-marriage family interaction countrywide, particularly in Mumbai, where a sizable number of Parsis live. While they are mainly concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat, they also have a presence in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
— IANS |
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IDTR to train 65,000 drivers
New Delhi, April 17 The Delhi government and Maruti Suzuki set up the IDTRs in 2000 to promote safe driving practices in NCR and Delhi. Till date over four lakh drivers have been trained at the two IDTR facilities at Loni and Sarai Kale Khan. The IDTR has also trained drivers of the Delhi Metro feeder line mini coaches and DTC’s high -capacity -low -floor buses. The Delhi government has made it mandatory for the commercial drivers to undergo periodic skill training and evaluation at the IDTR. The curriculum has been drawn from experiences of many advanced nations. The test tracks and simulators provide real life driving conditions based on experiences of countries like the UK, US and Singapore. The IDTRs have caught the attention of many state governments and public. Many other state governments have approached Maruti Suzuki to set up similar training institutes. These include Haryana and Gujarat, which have already signed MoUs with MSIL to set up similar facilities in the states. In 2000 the Delhi government invited Maruti Suzuki to manage the IDTR and start driving training courses. Regular research in road safety and safe driving was also started at the institute. In 2006, the second IDTR was set up for non-commercial drivers. |
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DUTA seeks faster pay revision
New Delhi, April 17 Arjun Singh assured that UGC would expedite the process of pay revision. The teachers’ organisations have communicated their blueprint on pay revision to attract and retain talent in the profession and strengthen the academic standard. However, the committee has not yet interacted with teachers’ organisations like — Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Association (FEDCUTA) and DUTA. The delegation included Aditya Narayan Misra, president,Vinay Kumar Singh, vice-president,Dinesh Adlakha, secretary and Sanjay Kumar, joint secretary. |
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Metro bus service for IPL matches
New Delhi, April 17 The route will cover AGCR Building, IIPA, Rajghat, Ambedkar Stadium, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Ferozshah Kotla Ground. The buses will be available at a frequency of 12 minutes on match days. Meanwhile, routes of feeder buses from Mahendra Enclave to Vishwa Vidyalaya metro station and Rani Bagh main bus stop to Netaji Subhash Place metro station have been slightly changed. Buses from Mahendra Enclave to Vishwa Vidyalaya metro station will pass through Patel Chest Institute, Shri Ram College, Daulat Ram College, Maurice Nagar, Roop Nagar/Kamla Nagar, Rana Pratap Bagh, Guru Nanak Piao, Flyover Ashok Vihar, Satyawati College and Sawan Park. Whereas, those from Rani Bagh main bus stop to Netaji Subhash Place metro station will pass through the Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital, Kesav Mahavidyalaya, Road No. 43, Shri Guru Harkishan Marg, Rani Bagh, Mahindra Park, Rajdhani Enclave, Maharana Pratap Enclave, Raj Nagar, Samrat Enclave, Shakurpur and Britannia Chowk. |
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CAIT demands action against corporate retailers
New Delhi, April 17 The CAIT has demanded investigation into large warehouses of corporate retailers, who are the real hoarders. Action should be taken against them under the Anti-Hoarding Act and other legal provisions, if found guilty, CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal alleged that big corporate houses having interest in retail trade maintained large warehouses across the country for smooth supply to their stores. This has led to artificial scarcity of commodities and is one of the main reasons for price rise. The CAIT also sought an inquiry into the functioning of commodity exchanges, which also play a major role in price rise. |
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SP leader seeks action on hoarders
Faridabad, April 17 The memorandum has urged the President to give a direction to the governments at the Centre and the State to take effective measures against hoarders and black
marketeers. The party alleged that the governments were not showing any sense of urgency in conducting raids on the such cold storages which have stored commodities in Haryana. According
toBhati, about half a dozen cold storages in the district were filled with vegetables and other edible
items. The stockists are preparing to go for the kill in the black market. Petrol and diesel were being sold in the
district at higher prices for the past four days. |
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Computer training centre at Deepalaya
New Delhi, April 17 The inaugural ceremony started with traditional lamp lighting followed by an audio-video presentation of pictures of Deepalaya children and their activities. Differently-abled students sang songs and danced with other students from the school, which was followed by an informal interaction between the guests and the students. While concluding the ceremony, TK Mathew, secretary and chief executive, Deepalaya, thanked IOCL for supporting the project costing Rs 7.5
lakh. |
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Seminar on insurance
New Delhi, April 17 |
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4 held for cheating
New Delhi, April 17 Ashok Kumar, a resident of Shastri Nagar had complained about the theft of two bank drafts and crediting them to an account in his name in Central Bank of India, Subzi Mandi. It was found that an account had been opened in Ashok Kumar’s name in Central Bank of India, Subzi Mandi, with the help of fake ID proof and documents. Although the documents were in the name of Ashok Kumar, the photograph on the documents was of Umesh Sharma. The photograph was shown to vendors, rickshawpullers and shopkeepers under the Eyes & Ears Scheme. Umesh Sharma was arrested. Umesh runs a business. He revealed that his accomplice Ajit and Babloo lived in the same locality and worked in Fly King Courier Company, Paharganj. While sorting out envelopes, they stole the one containing two bank drafts worth Rs 99,560. Later, with the help of Banarsi Dass, a grocery shop owner, they prepared fake documents in the name of Ashok Kumar and applied for opening an account in Central Bank of India, Subzi Mandi. |
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Son’s friend rapes woman
New Delhi, April 17 The incident took place when Sakina (name changed), 40, was returning home from her sister-in-law’s place in
Gokulpuri. Three men dragged her in the Maruti van in Seelampur market and allegedly raped her as they went around the area. According to the victim, she was later thrown out of the van in the Seemapuri area of North East Delhi. She, then, called the PCR and was taken to the Guru Tegh Bahadur
Hospital. Sakina alleged that Arif, a friend of her eldest son, was among the tormentors. However, Arif was not found at home. A rape case has been registered. But the police is not convinced with the victim’s statement. “The area where she claims to have been dragged in the car is crowded till mid-night. Three men raping a woman on busy road seems unlikely,” said a police official. |
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Power thief gets 4-yr RI
New Delhi, April 17 Puran Singh, who runs a mid-sized plastic-moulding factory in West Delhi’s village Ranholla, has been convicted for the second time in less than a month. He is already serving a two-year sentence in an earlier power theft case. Both the sentences will run concurrently.
The court ignored all his pleas, including the one asking for leniency citing his age. On January 20, 2007, a BRPL enforcement team had caught Singh stealing 102 KW by directly tapping a nearby BSES LV mains for his factory. The raiding team found no power meter in his factory. Subsequently, in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Electricity 2003, a penalty of Rs 75 lakh was imposed on him. But when the accused failed to pay the penalty within the stipulated time, the BSES filed a case in the Special Court. |
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DPCC announces candidates for ward elections
New Delhi, April 17 |
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Nitish Katara case: Verdict next week
New Delhi, April 17 Wrapping up the arguments on behalf of the accused Vikas Yadav before additional sessions judge Ravinder Kaur, counsel raised objection to the victim’s DNA report, claiming that A.K. Sharma, the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) expert, had prepared his report using incorrect methodology. The court is likely to announce the final verdict in the case next week.
— IANS |
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Businessman shot at
New Delhi, April 17 Two shots hit Sahu’s stomach. He was rushed to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital where his condition was stated to be stable. |
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Employees’ demand turned down
Noida, April 17 Mohinder Singh said a committee, including representatives of citizens and associations would be asked to judge the best – green lawns, best roads, best premises, industrial achievements. |
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