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Telecast of Op Black Tornado
2 held in Gujarat, maps of Saurashtra seized
Pak should not be let
off the hook: Cong
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Law to de-bureaucratise R&D funding gets LS nod
Pension of Generals less than Colonels’
Renuka defies PMO
Retire incompetent: CJI
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Telecast of Op Black Tornado
New Delhi, December 12 The Rajya Sabha Committee on Petitions, headed by BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said live feed of commandos being air-dropped endangered the success of operations and safety of hostages as also the security forces. “The committee apprehends that the live footage shown by TV channels to the viewers could also have been used as free intelligence input by the perpetrators sitting far away from the place of incident who allegedly guided the attackers to take appropriate emergent measures against the positions of the security forces through satellite/mobile phones,” the committee, in its report tabled in Rajya Sabha on Friday, said. The petition was submitted to the Council of States by Patiala resident Gurjit Singh with the prayer to check growing tendency among the police officials to pose with the alleged accused for photographs before the media which led the society to treat his as an accused even if he is declared innocent by the court of law by the due process of law. He further said the trend within the media offering judgment on such arrest of alleged accused prejudicially affected the administration of criminal justice system. Singh had prayed for Constitutional amendment to Article 19(2) to ensure reasonable restrictions on the pre-publication of photographs of the alleged accused. The petition was admitted by the Rajya Sabha chairman on October 1, 2006. Members of the committee held consultations with the Press Council of India, officials from the ministries of I & B, home and law and justice besides senior journalists and representatives of regional print and electronic media. The committee has come out with a set of recommendations for “the police and the seemingly enthusiastic media”, who, it said, “may have to share the responsibility for the irreparable damage caused to the character and career of the accused who is yet to be convicted by the court of law in fair trail.” “The police must desist themselves from exposing the alleged accused to the media before conviction, where the media is present prior to the arrest of the alleged accused, it is the police which should remind the alleged accused of his right to be protected from the glare of the media. He may be provided a piece of cloth to cover the face during his/her arrest in presence of the media,” it said. The committee has, however, also included a wide spectrum of recommendations based on concerns arising from live coverage of the recent Mumbai seize. The committee said it expected the media to treat information of sensitive nature carefully and endeavoured to ensure that the interest of nation and lives of the security forces and hostages in such type of operations was not jeopardised by live telecasting.
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2 held in Gujarat, maps of Saurashtra seized
Ahmedabad, December 12 Mahesh Parab and Anil Jagtap, apprehended on suspicion from the Khambaliya town in Jamnagar on December 6, were arrested today by the state ATS, the police added. “The two persons apprehended from Jamnagar have been arrested this afternoon for violation of the Official Secrets Act,” G. L. Singhal of the ATS said. The duo were formally put under arrest after being grilled for over five days by the ATS, he added. “They will be produced in a local court in Jamnagar, where we will seek their remand for interrogation,” he said. The two, who had come to Khambaliya town early this month in a taxi with Mumbai registration, were stopped for questioning by the local police who had found their movement suspicious. On searching their vehicle, they were found in possession of a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a laptop and maps of various places in Saurashtra region. The local police in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, had beefed up security in the region as a precautionary measure. Both Parab and Jagtap claimed that they are employees of a software company in Mumbai and were in Jamnagar to survey the region for developing GPS bases software for their clients, which happen to be major telecom companies, Singhal added.
— PTI
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Pak should not be let
off the hook: Cong
New Delhi, December 12 In fact, the Congress urged the international community to not let Pakistan off the hook by this tokenism and also not be fooled by the its attempt to confuse the world by rhetoric on permanent and temporary terrorist camps. “If Pakistan needs evidence of permanent terrorist training camps it needs to look no beyond than reports appearing in its own media,” party spokesman Manish Tewari said on Friday. Quoting a study based on information culled from newspapers and magazines in Pakistan by a Delhi-based organisation, Tewari said there was ample proof of Pakistan’s schools of terror based on open source information. “In the report, a newspaper reveals how there is official funding for these camps. Another one talks of ISI linkages with these training groups. Yet Pakistan continues to be in complete denial,” he said. Tewari said the country was only pretending to act because of the UN resolution. The resolution had been issued under the Chapter which dealt with threats to international security. Pakistan was only pretending to fulfil its international obligations because if it flouts the resolution it would invite sanctions as a rogue state, he said, adding that the international community should look at the behavioural pattern of Pakistan.
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Law to de-bureaucratise R&D funding gets LS nod
India poor in
hardware research Sibal today stole a chance to laud the recent Indo-US civil nuclear deal when Rup Chand Pal of the Left mentioned that India fared poorly in hardware research. The minister blamed the scenario on lack of access to hardware technology due to nuclear sanctions. “Now that there are no sanctions, we will fare well,” Sibal said.
New Delhi, December 12 But that is passé. The Science and Engineering Research Board Act 2008 provides for the constitution of an autonomous body for promoting research in science and engineering and financing those interested in research. The law ensures that all 50 per cent extramural research funding in India, which comes from the science and technology department, is taken off bureaucratic hands and made available immediately. “We can no longer be bogged down by procedures that prevent speedy funding of research projects. It is time to de-bureaucratise science,” union science and technology minister Kapil Sibal said today. Although, the priority areas listed in the law include information technology, biotechnology and pharmacy, there is no bar on funding other sectors or institutions. Sibal said the autonomous funding mechanism “with a corpus of Rs 3,000 crore for the 11th plan -- could finance all institutions and sectors, including agriculture.” He was responding to concerns of stagnating food production in India, and the fact that the new law did not mention agriculture as a thrust area. The highlight of the day was science minister’s admission that unless India invested in R&D, it would fail to compete with advanced countries. Right now, India spends a poor 0.8 per cent of its GDP on R&D and of this, the private sector contribution is just 0.1 per cent “a fact that bothers the government immensely and explains the new law that seeks to reverse pathetic trends, including a meagre human resource engaged in R&D. India has only 156 persons per million engaged in research, whereas the number in the developed world is over 5,000 per million. As against China, which produces 40,000 Phds annually, India produces just 5,000. The new law aims to push research and voices the government’s concerns as explained by Sibal. “We need momentous changes in our environment in science and technology. We can’t look for returns of this investment. Science is built on failures. And we must remember that.” In recent times, there have been reports of junior scientists committing suicide due to bureaucratic hurdles to funding. During the debate on the legislation today, Left party leader Rup Chand Pal voiced the frustration of Indian scientists, who never get the required support for research in competitive times. Sibal assured the House of the hitherto missing support. But whether he succeeds remains to be seen. The draft legislation does not paint a very happy picture with respect to the constitution of the funding board. It mainly has government secretaries on board, something Sibal explained saying “we involved secretaries to avoid duplication of funding. Several ministries and institutions are currently funding research projects.”
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Pension of Generals less than Colonels’
Chandigarh, December 12 A perusal of the latest government letter on pension issued by the ministry of defence reveals similar disparities exist in the pensions of armed forces personnel down the line who had retired at different times. These disparities are now not expected to be resolved anytime soon with the defence minister A.K. Antony ruling out implementation of the “one rank-one pension” scheme. “The government has not found acceptable, the demand of ex-servicemen for one rank one pension,” Antony stated in a written reply to MP Kalraj Mishra in the Rajya Sabha yesterday. The pension of a pre-1996 major fixed at Rs 14,464 is now almost Rs 1,500 lower to that of a lieutenant, the Army’s junior most officer. Similarly placed lieutenant colonels would draw Rs 17,063 while recently retiring captains would get Rs 17,865. Disparities also exist in the ranks. To cite an example, a havildar retiring before 1996 after having put in about 18 years’ service would get Rs 5,008 whereas a post -2006 retiree sepoy, the lowest in the rung, would get Rs 6,860. The crux of the disparities lies in differences in pay scales fixed by successive pay commissions. One Rank-One Pension had been a major demand by ex-servicemen over the years and the several defence ministers in the past had announced that it would be implemented. Following the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations in 1998, the pension of some major generals was fixed at rates lower that that of brigadiers. They had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking higher pension and the court had ruled in their favour. The Supreme Court upheld the HC decision a few months ago. According to informed sources, the ministry of defence is yet to implement the court orders.
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Renuka defies PMO
New Delhi, December 12 Snubbed already by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Planning Commission for pushing her micronutrient fortification proposal, defiant Renuka Choudhury today repeated her long-standing belief in Parliament. “Micronutrient fortification is the answer to malnutrition in the country,” Choudhury said, replying to special discussion on malnutrition problem in India. As many as 50.8 per cent of India’s children are malnourished - something Choudhury admitted was a “national shame.” Having said that, she returned to her micronutrient fortification agenda, which earlier placed her in confrontation with the PMO and the Planning Commission. The PMO had rejected her proposal of ready to eat foods for children under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), so had the Planning Commission. For long, however, the WCD ministry has been pushing the proposal to cover eight crore children and women under ICDS. But the Planning Commission had termed the idea as “retrograde” and said it was in violation of the Supreme Court’s directive that ready to eat food should be served under ICDS. Choudhury, however, continues to be defiant despite being accused of trying to promote the biscuit lobby. But that bothers her little, as she clarified late this evening while taking questions in the Lok Sabha on malnutrition and possible solutions. “We have to move with the modern times, embrace new technologies to address the problem of hidden hunger,” Choudhury said, adding that citing international and native intelligence which proves that micronutrients in optimal levels help people. Meanwhile, the WCD ministry has written to the panchayati raj ministry to provide land for setting up more anganwari centres. The minister also pitched today for more wages for anganwari workers and helpers who, she said, “Were the key to development.”
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Retire incompetent: CJI
New Delhi, December 12 In a communique with chief justices of all high courts, the CJI said, “With a view to providing that a judicial officer who is unfit, ineffective, incompetent or has doubtful integrity may be retired from service even before his continued utility is assessed in terms of directions of the Supreme Court in the All India Judges Association case”. Minister of law and justice H.R. Bharadwaj in a written reply informed the Lok Sabha today that in a letter dated October 14 this year, Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan had said that if implemented in right earnest “such a provision will keep deviant behaviour in check, besides getting rid of those who are found to be indolent, ineffective or with doubtful integrity”. “A review on the lines of the provisions contained in Rule 56(j) of the Fundamental rules, be carried out firstly when judicial officers attain the age of 55 years. This would be in addition to the assessment being carried out at the age of 58 years in terms of the direction of the Supreme Court in the All India Judges Association case,” the minister said. He also informed the Lok Sabha that the CJI in his letter dated April 7 had also requested the government to set up 69 additional special courts for trial of corruption cases investigated by the CBI, a request which he said was under consideration.
— PTI
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