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NSG Waiver
ULFA call for I-Day boycott
Home ministry in a tizzy over fake currency notes
Indian Mujahideen not on US terror list
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Govt move for better justice delivery
BJP MLAs demand Khanduri’s ouster
Sub-grouping of SCs
SC reverses acquittal of murder convicts
Indian diaspora second largest in world
India to host first-ever army exercise with China
SIT raids suspended cashier’s house
2 quakes rock Andaman & Nicobar
Pune Rape Case
Doctors hold protest
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NSG Waiver
New Delhi, August 10 With the crucial NSG meeting in Vienna scheduled for August 21-22 to consider the waiver for India, New Delhi has also intensified efforts to bring on board countries perceived to be opposed to the 45-nation grouping making an exception for India. Switzerland, New Zealand, Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands are seen members of the opposing camp because of their strong views on non-proliferation. Key officials of the external affairs ministry have been sent to those NSG countries which are yet to commit themselves on supporting the waiver for India. However, what is comforting India is that the number of countries opposed to the NSG giving exemption to New Delhi is reducing gradually. Official sources said New Delhi was hopeful that the NSG members would arrive at a consensus on allowing India to join the international community in nuclear trade, despite not being a signatory to the NPT. “Our non-proliferation record is impeccable despite the fact that we are surrounded by countries which have indulged in clandestine proliferation activities,’’ the sources said. They noted that it was because of India’s non-proliferation record that the founding members of the NSG, including Russia, France and the UK, favoured the waiver to India and were lobbying for it. Even Japan, which has again asked India to sign the NPT, has indicated that it would support India’s case at the NSG. The sources said reports from Vienna suggested that there could be two NSG meetings, the second being in early September. At the first meeting, those opposing exemption for India would be allowed to air their views. At the second, the opposing countries were expected to come on board. The idea is to allow the opposing countries to deal with domestic non-proliferation pressure groups in their respective nations by the time the NSG holds the second meeting. The US has launched a major diplomatic offensive in support of the NSG waiver for India. President George W Bush has written to all NSG countries and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and other key administration officials have personally contacted each of its members to convince them that granting exemption to India would help consolidate the non-proliferation regime rather than weakening it. US under secretary of state for political affairs William Burns is coming to India on August 18 to brief the Indian leadership on the progress made in the efforts to evolve a consensus ahead of the August 21-22 NSG meeting. The US has already circulated the draft of the proposal for exemption to India among the NSG members. Washington has deleted a contentious paragraph about full-scope safeguards which could have had a bearing on India’s strategic programme. However, the US has told India not to insist on ‘clean unconditional waiver’ as that could complicate matters at the NSG. “We are not into semantic quibble. We are looking for clean exemption and we are hopeful of getting it,’’ a US official has been quoted saying.
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ULFA call for I-Day boycott
Guwahati, August 10 Meanwhile, the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), along with three other banned militant organisations from the northeastern region, has called for the boycott of celebrations of the Independence Day and a general strike the same day. The other three militant groups, which have joined hands with the ULFA, are the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), the Manipur People’s Liberation Front (MPLF), and the Tripura People’s Democratic Front (TPDF). ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa in an e-mailed statement said, “We call upon the entire people of our region to boycott and prevent the celebration, in any manner, of India’s Independence Day in our region on August 15, 2008, to consolidate our solidarity in the struggle for liberation from Indian colonial occupation. On this day, a general strike shall be observed throughout the region from 1:00 am to 6:00 pm. Meanwhile, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has cancelled the night running of trains throughout the region from August 12 to 16 fearing attacks. The Assam government has alerted all its districts against possible strikes by the ULFA and Islamic fundamentalist groups in the run up to the Independence Day. A police source informed that a group of explosive experts from across the border had sneaked into the state with a motive to carry out subversions.
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Home ministry in a tizzy over fake currency notes
New Delhi, August 10 Seizures of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) from time to time show that most of the security features in various denominations have been replicated. This has rung alarm bells in the home ministry which apprehends that the counterfeit notes recovered recently could be just the tip of the iceberg. Against this backdrop, union home secretary Madhukar Gupta chaired a high-level meeting recently to review steps being taken to deal with the menace and favoured setting up of a nodal cell in all states. A senior home ministry official said there was a need to streamline various processes related to detection and seizure of fake currency notes, reporting, analysis, information sharing, monitoring, registration and investigation of cases. Besides the latest recovery of fake notes of the face value of Rs 1.5 crore from an SBI branch at Dumariyaganj in Uttar Pradesh, some high-value seizures made in the recent past were in Hyderabad, Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu. These notes are smuggled from the UAE, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh and Nepal, both having highly porous borders, sources said. Interestingly, forensic examination of the seized notes indicate uniformity of replication of security features from which it can be inferred that the notes originated from the same source and there is a strong suspicion that it could be from one of the neighbouring countries of India. At a workshop of state police nodal officers, Central security agencies, Central economic intelligence and enforcement agencies and RBI, use of indigenous paper for printing currency notes was recommended. The workshop, organised by the CBI, felt printing ink and machinery too should be indigenous. The recommendation was made in the backdrop of the fact that most of the paper used for printing currency was being imported and could be easily procured by counterfeiters. The CBI favours elaborate measures to check the trend as it feels that organised crime syndicates have developed widespread networks for smuggling as well as circulating of fake currency notes once they reach India. The Centre has instructed the top police brass to hand over cases of circulation of fake currency to the CBI, which has been nominated as the nodal body to monitor investigation and tackling the crime of fake Indian currency notes. The magnitude of the problem can be gauged from an official estimate in which the investigating agency has put the figure of circulation of FICNs at 61,000 million pieces of different denominations with a face value of Rs 1,69,000 crore till the year 2000. Figures suggest that currently the highest number of counterfeiting was found in 10 and 500 rupee notes. The government is examining records of more than 600 financial transactions it believes could be linked to terror funding and other suspicious activities in the country and the region. Meanwhile, the RBI has instructed all banks to equip their branches with ultraviolet lamps to detect counterfeit notes. RBI has also installed Currency Verification System in its various offices. To combat crimes like counterfeiting of currency, India has also entered into Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters (MLAT) with 21 countries including the UK, Canada, UAE, South Africa and Mauritius.
— PTI
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Indian Mujahideen not on US terror list
New Delhi, August 10 The name of “Indian Mujahideen” does not figure in the list of 42 global terrorist organisations, which were recently identified by the US State Department in its 2007 Country Reports on Terrorism. The Indian intelligence agencies suspect that the blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad and in some other cities earlier are the handiwork of a “known” terrorist group, which floated a new body and inserted “Indian” in its name to confuse investigators and hide its foreign connections. The needle of the suspicion has also moved towards a banned organisation - Students of Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) — which has a history of operating across India under various names. The central intelligence agencies suspect SIMI to be working in close cooperation with Pakistan’s foreign spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and terrorrist organsiations like the Taliban and Al-Qaida, and many Pakistani and Kashmiri terrorism groups. However, SIMI also does not figure in the US list of global terrorist organisations. “Global terrorism is like an octopus, with so many tentacles. The US is still have to learn more about inter-linking of global Islamic terrorist organisations. They ban one organisation, and another one rise to operate very next day under a new name. Members of the banned SIMI are operating under new front organisations,” said an intelligence bureau officer. Designation of a group as a foreign terrorist organisation results in the US government blocking assets held in American financial institutions, denying visas to the terrorist group members and making it a crime for the US citizens or others within US jurisdiction to provide the group with support or resources. The US list contains the names of mostly Islamic and the Left-wing terrorist groups; most of them are operating in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq and Israel. Surprisingly, the Taliban, which has started “regrouping” in Afghanistan, Pakistan and recently extended its wings in India, also does not find its name in the US list. Sri Lanka’s dreaded terrorist organisation - the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - also figures in the US list. The LTTE, which, for decades, has been fighting for a “free Tamil state” within the island-nation, is the only terrorist organisation in the world which has its own air force. Following is the list of “designated foreign terrorist organisations” which is determined by the US Secretary of State: The Abu Nidal Organisation (ANO), Abu Sayyaf Group, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Ansar al-Sunnah, Armed Islamic Group (GIA), Asbat al-Ansar, Aum Shinrikyo, Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA), Communist Party of Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA), Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA), Gama'a al-Islamiyya (IG), HAMAS, Harakat ul-Mujahadin (HUM), Hizballah, Islamic Jihad Group (IJG), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), Jemaah Islamiya Organization (JI), Al-Jihad, Kahane Chai (Kach), Kongra-Gel (formerly Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK)), LeT, Lashkar- i -Jhangvi (LJ), (LTTE), Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM), Mujahadin-e Khalq Organisation (MEK), National Liberation Army (ELN), Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), Al-Qaida, Real IRA (RIRA), Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Revolutionary Nuclei (RN), Revolutionary Organisation 17 November (17N), Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), Shining Path (SL), United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). “The US must take into account the other major terrorist organisations also, which are operating in our part of the world,’’ said a senior officer of the Union home ministry.
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Govt move for better justice delivery
New Delhi, August 10 To curb inordinate delay and clear the backlog, the government has recognised effective alternative methods of dispute resolution like conciliation and mediation.These methods are less formal, more effective and offer a speedy resolution mechanism. These methods form part of the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism. The International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) at the initiative of the Union ministry of law organised the first of its kind week-long “mediator training course” here. The programme was inaugurated by Union finance minister P. Chidambaram. The week-long training course was conducted by the London-based Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) with the aid of the World Bank. Justice Madan B. Lokur, Judge of the Delhi High Court, awarded certificates to twelve successful candidates, who would be mediating in disputes, last evening. B.S. Saluja, secretary-general of the ICADR, said the CEDR had given a formal accreditation as “mediator” to 12 participants, including an ICADR governing council member Praveen Agarwal, a practising advocate. Others who have received this accreditation include Manju Goel, a retired Judge of the Delhi High Court, Deepak Jindal, an assistant advocate general of Haryana and member of the Task Force of the Union Commission on Centre-State Relations, Mandira Mitra, a practising advocate, I.P. Vashisht, a retired high court Judge, and Rajendra S. Rathore, a retired Indian Foreign Service official.
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BJP MLAs demand Khanduri’s ouster
Dehra Dun, August 10 It was for the first time that former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari led the party legislators to demand the ouster of Khanduri. Interestingly, senior party leader L.K. Advani had been praising Khanduri as a star CM and even eulogised him in his speech in the Lok Sabha on the nuclear deal issue. However, the open rebellion against Khanduri by party legislators has come as a bolt for the party leadership and for Khanduri himself. Khanduri took over the reigns of the state following the defeat of the Congress government in the February 2007 assembly polls. Although former CM Bhagat Singh Koshiyari commands the support of more party legislators, Khanduri was preferred by the party high command to head the state government mainly due to his performance as union surface transport minister in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre. The election of Khanduri as CM was also marked by acrimonious scenes between supporters of Khanduri and Koshiyari in March 2007. Since then, Koshiyari has been cribbing and even refused to be part of the state cabinet under Khanduri. On the other hand, Khanduri also did not try to placate the Koshiyari camp and by his brash ‘no nonsense’ style annoyed more and more party legislators. Meanwhile, Vishwas Dabur, spokesperson of the Uttarakhand BJP, confirmed that party legislators have met senior party leaders. “They have met party president Rajnath Singh but I cannot say what transpired,” he said. A party legislator on conditions of anonymity told The Tribune over phone that the delegation led by Koshiyari demanded a change in the leadership. The party legislators and ministers apprised the leadership about the unpopularity of Khanduri among party cadres. Some of the ministers, namely Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, were annoyed with the CM following inauguration of the Srinagar Medical College. Khanduri had not bothered to wait for the return of Nishank who was abroad for a day. The latter took it as an attempt to politically undermine him in the Garhwal region. The party legislators were also scheduled to meet senior party leader L.K. Advani to apprise him of the ground realities in the wake of panchayat polls next month and Lok Sabha elections next year. Khanduri is also camping in New Delhi.
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Sub-grouping of SCs
New Delhi, August 10 In its report submitted here to the ministry of social justice and empowerment, the commission observed: “In order to give effective representation to castes, races or tribes of the SCs, the Constitution be amended to provide for sub-categorisation and micro-classification of the SCs included in the Presidential list under Article 341 (1) and (2).” The existing provisions of Article 341 allow only the Parliament to include or exclude any caste from the Presidential list. It was on the basis of this constitutional provision that the Supreme Court in November 2004, struck down the special act passed by Andhra Pradesh assembly in 2000, to enable sub-classification of the SC to ensure judicious distribution of benefits. Consequent upon the SC judgment, Andhra Pradesh passed a unanimous resolution in December 2004, recommending to government of India to examine the matter of sub-categorisation of the SCs in the Parliament. It was in the wake of this demand from Andhra, where 60 communities are listed as the SCs in the Presidential Schedule, that the government constituted Usha Mehra national commission to look into the demand and examine its legal ramifications. Meanwhile, during the two years of its inquiry, the national commission visited 11 districts of Andhra and found that Malas and its allied castes - the most dominant SC grouping in Andhra had garnered most of the benefits in matters of enrolment in educational institutions, job recruitments and promotions. In fact, Malas and Madigas occupied all key positions in government offices in gross disproportion to their population percentage, the commission observes in its report, supporting Andhra’s attempt to remove the anomaly by passing the Andhra Pradesh Castes Act, 2000. On the basis of an extensive survey, the commission, while recommending a constitutional amendment to allow sub-grouping of castes, argues: “The aim of rationalisation of the SC reservation is to allow all castes of the SCs to equally develop by receiving the reservation benefit in proportion to their population.” By such amendment, the Parliament may by law provide for categorisation of castes upon receiving a resolution from legislature of a state or UT, passed unanimously,” the report states, presenting what it calls unimpeachable evidence in support of micro-classification of the SCs.
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SC reverses acquittal of murder convicts
New Delhi, August 10 A Bench of Justices R.V. Raveendran and P. Sathasivam, however, reduced the life imprisonment imposed by the trial court to 10 years rigorous imprisonment on the ground that the offence fell under Section 304 Part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). The convicts, Kishanpal Singh, Suresh Singh, Mahendra Singh, Neksey Singh, Jaivir Singh, Sheodan Singh and Bahar Singh, have been asked to surrender and serve their remaining part of the sentence. The case of the prosecution was that the accused, along with 10 others, armed with firearms killed Kaptan Singh, Raj Mahesh and Maya Devi on June 21, 1978, owing to previous enmity. On the basis of various eyewitnesses who happened to be relatives of the deceased, the trial court in 1980, convicted the six accused along with main accused Onkar Singh. But on an appeal by the accused, the Allahabad High Court while upholding the conviction of Onkar Singh acquitted the remaining accused on the ground that the eyewitnesses were all “interested” witnesses, following which the UP government, appealed in the apex court. Upholding the appeal, the apex court said the testimonies of eyewitnesses even if they were related to the deceased could be relied upon as along as they were credible and cogent. “This court (Supreme Court) has repeatedly held that if the testimony of prosecution witnesses was cogent, reliable and confidence inspiring, it cannot be discarded merely on the ground that the witness happened to be relative of the deceased. A witness, who is a natural one and is the only possible eyewitness in the circumstances of a case cannot be said to be interested,” the Bench observed. According to the apex court in the present case, the prosecution had been able to establish beyond reasonable doubt the involvement of the accused. “Their acquittal resulted in grave miscarriage of justice. The paramount consideration of the court is to ensure that miscarriage of justice is avoided. The miscarriage of justice, which may arise from the acquittal of the guilty, is no less than from the conviction of an innocent,” the apex court said while reversing the acquittal. However, it reduced the sentence of life imprisonment to 10 years.
— PTI
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Indian diaspora second largest in world
New Delhi, August 10 Officials said number of India’s overseas citizens was about to touch 3,00,000 figure. Grant of such a status to the overseas Indians has taken place within less than three years. The overseas citizenship of India (OCI) facilitates life-long visa-free travel to India and certain economic, educational and cultural benefits. Giving figures, they said the exact number of people granted the overseas citizenship status till July 21 was 2,85,611. Out of them, 1,20,000 are from the US. Other countries where sizeable numbers have been given the overseas citizenship of India are UK, Canada, Australia and Sri Lanka. The scheme came into operation from December 2, 2005 in response to a long and persistent demand for "dual citizenship" particularly from the overseas Indians in North America and the western world. The decision was also based on the government's deep commitment towards fulfilling aspirations and expectations of the overseas Indians. Any overseas Indian applicant, who is comfortable with his present citizenship status in the country of his residence, can apply for the OCI. The OCI is not to be construed as “dual citizenship” since it does not confer political rights. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2005 held in Mumbai, the grant of the overseas citizenship of India to all persons of Indian origin in those countries where local laws permit "dual citizenship" in some form or the other, except Pakistan and Bangladesh. The overseas Indians, comprising people of Indian origin (PIO) and non-resident Indians (NRI), are today amongst the best educated and successful communities in the world. In every part of the world, the overseas Indian community is recognised and respected for its hard work, discipline, non-interference and for integrating with the local community. Meanwhile, the ministry announced that the overseas Indian students wanting to avail Indian government's scholarships for pursuing under graduate courses in India will have to take a common entrance test on October 26. The test will be held in 40 selected countries where there is a large concentration on persons of the Indian origin and the NRIs. The last date for receipt of applications is September 9. This is a major change from the schedule followed in the previous years when the entrance test used to be held in April-May. The ministry of overseas Indian affairs has brought in the change to make it possible for the selected students to join their educational institutions from the academic year beginning July/ August, 2009. The ministry has decided to complete the whole selection process for the scholarship by November 2008.
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India to host first-ever army exercise with China
New Delhi, August 10 The exercise, slated to be held anytime in October or November, is the follow-up of the first-ever joint exercise between the two armies held in December last year at Kunming in Yunnan province located in the south-western part of China. This area of China borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. For India, this is a major diplomatic step. The two nations are developing relations independent of the US and also despite China’s military support to Pakistan. Soaring trade links and areas of mutual cooperation have added to the need to know each other. On the other hand, for decades the Himalayan border has seen eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation and this joint exercise is seen as a tension reducer. A special team of the US army is at present getting training at Jungle Warfare School in Manipur that will culminate on August 29. In the past, the navies of Germany, the UK, the US, Australia, Japan, France and Russia have held joint exercises with the Indian Navy. Just last month, India was the partner country at the Berlin Air show in Germany. Meanwhile, on the forthcoming China-India exercise, sources in the officialdom, said the China was yet to indicate its preference for the joint exercise, its overall composition and needs. The details will be worked out after the Beijing Olympics. Last year, China and India held the first joint exercise in China and about 100 troops from both countries participated. The focus then was counter-terrorism measures. The terrain was hilly. Now, the two countries would sit down and decide if they wanted another one in the “hilly terrain” exercise or not. Maybe, the Indian Army would prefer the desert exercise. China and India conducted a naval exercise in November 2003 off Shanghai on the China’s eastern front.
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SIT raids suspended cashier’s house
Siddharthnagar, Aug 10 The raid was conducted to get further links and evidence into the scam, official sources said. The probe team reached the district and took the related documents from the police late last night. The team began its work by grilling the SBI officials in the Dumariyaganj branch and interrogating Abid, another accused in the crime. The team had also raided his residence. Meanwhile, the screening of fake notes was still underway at the SBI Dumariyaganj chest where so far currency of over Rs 1.50 crore have been detected as fake. Besides, more machines have been pooled in to speed
up the screening of notes. The UP government had ordered the SIT probe into the SBI fake currency racket on August 7.
— UNI
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2 quakes rock Andaman & Nicobar
Port Blair, August 10 While the second shock of 5.2 magnitude on the Richter scale was felt around 2.57 pm and also lasted for a few seconds, the sources said. The epicentre of the quake was located in the sea, about 145 km southwest of Port Blair, the sources said. Although no damages were reported immediately. The islands were earlier rocked by strong earthquakes on June 27 and 28.
— PTI
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Pune Rape Case
Mumbai, August 10 Police officials said initial investigations indicated a number of holes in the claims made by the youth, Hansraj, also a call-centre employee. The police said the victim was in hospital under sedation and unable to speak to investigators. He told the police that the girl had claimed to be raped by 10 men contracted to transport the employees of the call centres between their homes and their workplaces. While the boy is said to have stated that the incident happened while the victim was returning home, managers at IBM, where she was employed, told investigators that she had finished the shift in the afternoon itself and was not due to return to work till the next morning. Reports from Pune say that the victim’s residence was within walking distance of her workplace and she did not need to take the cab at all. Some of her colleagues have also told the police that the victim was at home when the incident occurred.
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Doctors hold protest
Lucknow, August 10 Government and some private doctors in the district struck work completely yesterday.Unknown assailants barged into the CMO’s residence and knocked him down to death with a heavy object. While the police has taken injured guard Gopiram into custody , it is believed that a drug mafia in the district could be behind the murder. Dr Chimbha, originally from Rajasthan, was responsible for busting a fake medicine racket in the district recently.
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Lalu launches 1st Bhojpuri TV channel Japan eyes N-business in India 2 Assam Rifles jawans drown 40 feared drowned in AP Chennai metro rail work from Oct 
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