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Obey immigration laws,
Hong Kong tells Indians
India Post airlifts food, medicines to Manipur
Azad seeks flexible generic drug regime
Political uncertainty in J’khand continues
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Where have Centre funds gone, Sonia asks Maya
HRD Ministry okays annual work plan
11 chargesheeted in Goa blast case
Army orders 124 Arjun tanks
IAF to train Malaysian Sukhoi pilots
Dawood Forbes’ 3rd most-wanted
Nothing new about corrective measures
Scrutinise dying declarations minutely: SC
Health, HRD ministries vie to regulate medical education
Soon, Army to have eyes in sky
Ash returns, flights hit
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Obey immigration laws,
Hong Kong tells Indians
New Delhi, May 17 Addressing mediapersons here this evening, Corrado Chow, Assistant Director of the Immigration Department of Honk Kong, said: “We welcome all sorts of visitors (from India) but we would like them to respect our laws so that we can maintain and strengthen the long-standing friendship between India and Hong Kong.” He pointed out that Indian nationals presently enjoyed a visa-free concession in Hong Kong up to a period of 14 days and those who wished to stay beyond the entitled visa-free period could obtain visa before coming. His administration has no immediate plan to change the visa policy on Indian nationals and the Immigration department would keep providing facilities to bona fide Indian visitors and businessmen as far as possible. “However, the Government of the Special Administrative Region will keep reviewing the visa policy from time to time with a view to striking a balance between providing travel convenience on the one hand and maintaining effective control and safeguarding the security of Hong Kong on the other.” Reeling out figures of foreigners overstaying in Hong Kong, he said nearly 75 per cent of them were from South Asia, particularly Pakistan and India. Some 600 Indians had violated the immigration laws of Hong Kong in 2007 and about 460 each in 2008 and 2009 out of a total number of 3,36,000 Indian visitors in 2007, 3,68,000 in 2008 and 3,93,000 in 2009. Most of the Indians unlawfully overstaying in Hong Kong were either working as labourers in rural areas or selling spices. Chow warned that Indians or other foreigners must not pick up employment in Hong Kong while visiting the special administrative region. “If they are still found taking up employment, they will be prosecuted and imprisoned for jailed for a period ranging up to three years and a fine of about 50,000 Hong Kong dollars (about USD 6,410).’’ The official also said that the Indians, who possess special skills, knowledge or experience not readily available in Hong Kong might apply to come to work there under the general employment policy. Furthermore, people who have a good educational background or proven professional abilities and were in a position to make substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong might apply for entry by investing or joining business ventures in Hong Kong.
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India Post airlifts food, medicines to Manipur
Guwahati, May 17 Notably, the ANSAM has blocked the highway in protest against Manipur government’s opposition to the proposed visit of NSCN-IM leader Thuingaleng Muivah to his birthplace at Somdal in Ukhrul district of Manipur. India Post senior manager (business development) Pallab Hazarika said 10 tonne of essentials and medicines were airlifted from Guwahati to Imphal today on a special cargo flight in view of the emergency situation prevailing in Manipur. India Post operates a freighter aircraft for North-East states along Kolkata-Guwahati-Imphal-Agartala-Kolkata route six days a week, barring Monday, in view of remoteness and surface communication bottlenecks in the hilly region. “The freighter operated between Guwahati-Imphal to carry medicines, essentials and other items booked here by different parties. More parties have knocked on us to book various items for Imphal,” the India Post official said. Notably, a kg of rice now costs about Rs 150 in the remote areas of Manipur, the situation being better in Imphal city though. Also, petrol is being sold in black market at Rs 150 to Rs 200 per litre. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ibobi Singh has drawn flak for the prevailing situation in the state, with Food and Civil Supplies Minister Y Erabot Singh accusing him of not putting up sufficient efforts to open an alternative supply line along the NH 53 by providing forces to escort oil trucks.
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Azad seeks flexible generic drug regime
New Delhi, May 17 Addressing the Commonwealth Health Ministers’ Conference in Geneva today, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said India was concerned about recent attempts to confiscate in transit legitimate exports of the generic drugs from India. “Affordable diagnostic kits and cheap, but good quality generic drugs hold the key to any meaningful progress on the prevention and control of NCDs. We are clear that unless our people can afford and access treatment, their health seeking behaviour would not change. There would be no meaningful impact on the NCDs and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will continue to be an uphill task,” Azad said, calling upon 54 Commonwealth nations to facilitate the availability of the generic drugs. In another development, the minister said it would be too early to conclude that India would meet the MDG target five, which required countries to reduce the maternal mortality rate between 1990 and 2015, by three quarters. Azad claimed today that India had managed to reduce its MMR from 301 per 1,000 live births in 2003 to 254 per 1,000 live births in 2006. “This shows a decline of 47 points during the three years. We are implementing a conditional cash transfer scheme covering poor pregnant women for promoting safe motherhood. Under this scheme about $ 30 is given to women, who have their delivery in public hospitals,” Azad said, claiming the coverage of 70,000 pregnant women in 2005-2006 and of 10 million pregnant women last year. He also cited “Lancet” to claim that India was one of the five countries recording the highest decline in maternal mortality. “Therefore, it may be too early to say that India will not be able to achieve the MDG-5 target,” he added. It may be recalled here that some demographers had expressed apprehensions that India’s MMR of 254 per 1,000 live births (based on the Registrar General of India’s Sample Registration System) could be deflated. The Tribune had earlier reported how some experts questioned the determination of MMR on the basis of the government’s SRS data. They said it was not fair to assess the progress of the government programmes (like NRHM) on the basis of government’s own statistics like SRS data. They sought more objective studies and larger samples than taken in the SRS.
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Political uncertainty in J’khand continues
Ranchi, May 17 Munda, who met Chief Minister Shibu Soren last night soon after his party gave him the responsibility, went to Soren’s residence again during the day. However, it was not known whom he met, Soren or his son Hemant, a member of the JMM legislature party. A senior JMM leader and close aide of Hemant said a section of the party still wanted the JMM supremo to continue as the Chief Minister. “Let us see what is in store,” said the leader, whose statement corroborated party vice-president and MLA Champai Soren’s remark. “We still want Guruji (as Shibu Soren is popularly known) to continue as the Chief Minister and there is no need to oust him midway,” Champai Soren said in Jamshedpur. Asked whether Munda met AJSU president and Deputy Chief Minister Sudesh Mahto, party vice-president Pravin Prabhakar said Mahto was out of station. “We hope for an early solution to the political uncertainty,” he added. Meanwhile, the Opposition has accused the BJP of indulging in horse trading and making a mockery of the democratic system. — PTI
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Where have Centre funds gone, Sonia asks Maya
Lucknow, May 17 On the first day of her three-day visit to her constituency Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi questioned the Mayawati government on the utilisation of millions of rupees sent by the central government for various development projects. “I know that the common people of the state were struggling for fertilisers, seeds, power and water. Thousands of crores are sent by the central government for various welfare schemes but that money is not used properly”, she charged. “This government’s attitude towards Rae Bareli and Amethi is not hidden from anyone. However, if the people here unite and raise their voice for the implementation of development schemes and monitor it themselves no one can deny them what is rightfully theirs,” she observed. Earlier, the Congress president inaugurated a sub-post office at Saraini and paid homage to the martyrs of the 1942 Quit India movement at the Shaheed Samarak.
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Mid-day meal Scheme
New Delhi, May 17 During the first month of the financial year 2010 i.e. April 2010, Rs 2,267.06 crore has been released to states/UTs for the MDM programme. This amounts to 24 per cent of the total budget estimates of Rs 9,440 crore for this year. On March 5 this year, five lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains (wheat/rice) for the first quarter (April-June) and 8.28 lakh MTs for the second quarter (July-September) was allocated. On the intervention of HRD Ministry, the FCI instructed its regional offices to release the foodgrains for the first quarter. The ministry has, on its part, also written to all states and UTs, advising them to lift the foodgrains from the FCI. The Food and Public Distribution Ministry has been requested to continue to release the foodgrains for the MDM scheme on post payment basis, as has been the practice since the inception of the scheme.
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11 chargesheeted in Goa blast case
Panaji, May 17 In the chargesheet filed before the district court in Margao town about five-and-a-half months after it took over the probe from the Goa Police, the NIA said the conspiracy was hatched at the sanstha’s ashram in Ramnathi village, about 40 km from here. —
PTI
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Army orders 124 Arjun tanks
New Delhi, May 17 The fresh order is over and above the existing order of 124 tanks. The development follows the success of the indigenous MBT Arjun in the recent gruelling desert trials, the Defence Ministry said. The project for the design and development of the MBT Arjun was approved by the government in 1974 with an aim to give the required indigenous cutting edge to our mechanised forces. After many years of trial and tribulation it has now proved its worth by its superb performance under various circumstances, such as driving cross-country over rugged sand dunes, detecting, observing and quickly engaging targets, accurately hitting targets, both stationary and moving, with pin pointed accuracy. Its superior firepower is based on accurate and quick target acquisition capability during day and night in all types of weather and shortest possible reaction time during combat engagements. Meanwhile, addressing the army commanders meet, Antony said the defence forces need to work in unison to combat computer-based external attacks, reflecting the government’s worries over the complex world of cyber warfare. “The paradigms of security in the age of information technology are seldom constant. The evolving security matrix is complex and calls for co-operation and coordination of the highest level,” he said. The minister said cyber attacks were “fast becoming the next generation of threats” and as such, no single service could work in isolation. “We need to make our cyber systems as secure and as non-porous as possible,” he said. Antony’s statement came amid frequent attacks and the subsequent alerts sounded by Army authorities over China and Pakistan-based cyber spies peeking into India’s sensitive business, diplomatic and strategic records. He made a strong plea for synergy among the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, saying the “future security matrix calls for a high-degree of cooperation and inter-dependence among the services”. “The primary area of focus should be to develop a force capable of operating in a joint network-centric environment,” the minister said. “Though significant progress has been made towards accomplishing jointness in various operational training and administrative facets among the three services, there are a number of areas of congruence that need to be strengthened further,” he said. Referring to the modernisation plans of the armed forces, the Defence Minister said it was in the government’s long-term national interest to become self-reliant in the field of critical defence equipment.
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IAF to train Malaysian Sukhoi pilots
Kuala Lumpur, May 17 “The fact that a foreign country is permitted to groom, train and equip your frontline pilots is by itself a testament of the confidence and faith they have in us. This is a strong demonstration of a high-level of friendship and diplomacy which is very commendable,” IAF’s chief flight instructor Gp Capt KVR Raju was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times. Russia and India are committed to bolster Malaysia’s air defence and combat capability, so far as the Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flanker squadron is concerned, Russia’s warranty team leader Vladimir Konnov and the IAF’s team chief Group Captain Raju has asserted. Meanwhile, defence superpowers like China, Britain and France are reportedly providing supporting roles via various transfer-of-technology and offset deals to enhance Malaysia’s defence prowess, local news reports said. Raju is leading an Indian contingent of four instructor pilots, one weapons systems officer, two engineers, 22 technicians and two administrative servicemen. The IAF pilots would be retained until August, while their colleagues would return after the completion of their two-year tour of duty in July. The trilateral Russian-Indian-Malaysian collaboration was something unique as it provided a stepping stone for the country to groom its next generation of airmen, the IAF officer said. — PTI
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Dawood Forbes’ 3rd most-wanted
New York, May 17 The list, carried in the latest edition of the Forbes magazine, also has Mexico’s most powerful drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman in No. 2. The magazine, which has been releasing a list of most wanted fugitives for the past three years, pointed out that Dawood, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, possibly had a hand in aiding LeT execute the 2008 Mumbai attacks and also shares smuggling routes with Al-Qaida. “Though Pakistan denies it, Ibrahim is probably in Pakistan, where he has important ties to the powerful intelligence service,” it said. The article described Dawood as “the most wanted man in India” has for years led a 5,000-member criminal syndicate known as D-Company. “The organised crime group has engaged in everything from narcotics to contract killing, working mostly in Pakistan, India and the United Arab Emirates,” the magazine said. Bin Laden and Guzman hold their top ranks from Forbes’ Most Wanted Fugitives list that first came out in 2008 but Dawood, the most wanted man in India for his suspected role in the 1993 Mumbai bombings that killed 257 persons, has moved up from the fourth spot to the third. Hector Gonzalez, an FBI supervisory special agent, told Forbes: “Many of these criminals are hiding behind governments for protection.” The article pointed out that since the 2008 list was published not a single one of the world’s most notorious criminals has been brought to justice “The world has gotten smaller, and there has been globalisation of everything, including crime,” said Bradley Bryant, the FBI’s violent crimes unit chief. — PTI
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Station Stampede
New Delhi, May 17 Apparently, the more things change, the more they remain the same: Railways said it was stopping sale of platform tickets from immediate effect to check crowds at the station but that’s exactly what it did after the 2004 tragedy. The decisions not to change platforms at the last minute and keep a watch on passenger movement by installing more CCTVs are also nothing brand new. Northern Railways spokesperson Anant Swarup admitted that they had decided to stop sale of platform tickets during rush seasons - like summer holidays and festivals — after 2004 but said the measure would now be enforced. “No platform tickets would be sold till June end,” he said. That summer vacations have begun is common knowledge but a stampede was needed to remind the authorities. Both station officials and passengers said that rules existed but were not enforced. Meanwhile, the 10-year-old unidentified child victim was today identified as Govind Rai by his father Anil Rai, who had also suffered injuries and got separated from his son in the melee.
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Scrutinise dying declarations minutely: SC
New Delhi, May 17 The apex court said courts should scrutinise such declaration with a “microscopic eye” to find out the truthfulness as the victims, at times, are bound to be influenced by relatives to implicate innocent persons. “The court has to examine a dying declaration scrupulously with a microscopic eye to find out whether the dying declaration is voluntary, truthful, made in a conscious state of mind without being influenced by the relatives present or by the investigating agency who may be interested in the success of investigation or which may be negligent while recording the dying declaration.”— PTI
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Health, HRD ministries vie to regulate medical education
New Delhi, May 17 Union Health Secretary Sujatha Rao (currently in Geneva to attend the World Health Assembly) has sought time between May 25 and 30 from her HRD counterparts to discuss the matter. The HRD Ministry is anchoring the draft law on an overarching regulator in higher education, the NCHER, with the bill already altered to accommodate concerns expressed by state governments. If consensus between Health and HRD ministries on the regulation of medical education fails to emerge, the final call on the matter will be taken by the Prime Minister’s Office. The Health Ministry has conveyed to the HRD Ministry its concern on treating medical education as part of higher education in general. The view is that a teacher in a medical school is also a practitioner and de-linking of medical practice from medical education would be impossible. Post the Medical Council of India fiasco, Rao has already announced the Health Ministry’s intention to prepare a draft law on an overarching regulator in health.The HRD Ministry think tank believes that de-linking of medical education and practice, for purpose of regulation, is possible and even desirable to improve standards of medical education and research in India. “The current status of medical research and education leaves much to be desired though we are producing quality doctors. We have the logic to convince the Health Ministry that a single higher education regulator can regulate all streams of higher education, including technical and medical education,” said HRD Ministry sources. Both, the National Knowledge Commission and the Yashpal Committee for higher education reforms, refer to higher education as a whole and don’t draw distinctions between various fields of knowledge.
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Soon, Army to have eyes in sky
Chandigarh, May 17
The radar in this configuration is expected to detect ground targets up to 150 km, while the observation systems -- which generates video and infrared images of the ground ahead -- would be able to cover distances up to 60 km during day and night. For the past few years, the Army has been using radars and observation systems, feeds from which have been integrated into its command and control network, to provide field commanders with near real-time information and intelligence to facilitate prompt decision-making during operations. These systems have been deployed in some sectors along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir to help check cross-border infiltration. Initially, Israeli Battlefield Surveillance Radars were inducted but now Bharat Electronics Limited is indigenously manufacturing such systems. The Long-Range Reconnaissance and Observation Systems is also Israeli, a truck-based system with surveillance gadgets mounted on a telescopic mast to give it the required height to see over treetops and obstructions. Aerostats are widely used by world militaries and made their debut in India with the IAF initially acquiring two EL-M2083 systems from Israel in 2007 with a follow-on order for six. These have been deployed in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and along the Tamil Nadu coast. The IAF has projected a requirement of 13 Aerostats. After the IAF procured Aerostats, Pakistan also went in for similar systems from Lockheed Martin, an American firm which is supplying six advanced special operations transport aircraft to the IAF. Following the Mumbai 2008 terror attack, the Navy is also procuring two Aerostats from Israel for coastal surveillance.
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London, May 17 The black clouds also shut other major airports in Europe including Schipol and Rottredam in Holland, and Gatwick and London as well as flights to and fro from Ireland and Scotland. Around 1,000 flights out of 28,000 were disrupted according to Eurocontrol. London’s Heathrow which is the busiest airport in Europe and Gatwick reopened at 1300 GMT (1730 IST) after being closed down for seven hours. Air India cancelled its Heathrow-bound flights from Delhi and Mumbai today. Jet airways, however flew scheduled flights from Delhi and Mumbai as their flights land at Heathrow in the night. The closures came at the beginning of the week as travel was expected to be disrupted due to five-day strike called British Airways crew. Air India sources said here that its Amritsar-London-Toronto flight is airborne and expected to land here tonight. The Heathrow-bound flights from Mumbai and Delhi are expected to fly as per schedule tomorrow. Jet Airways sources said their flights from Delhi and Mumbai are flying as per schedule and expected here tonight. — PTI
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Lucknow, May 17
New York, May 17
Many measures announced by the railways to prevent the reoccurrence of tragedies like the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station yesterday that left two dead have a familiar and distressing echo. Officials had made similar announcements after a deadlier stampede at the same station on November 13, 2004 in which five persons had died.
