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Siddaramaiah takes charge of K’taka
Aspirant’s suicide: UPSC says he never cleared prelims
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‘Ratify’ Hague Treaty to help separated kids
Digvijaya attacks judiciary over parrot remark
Andhra lawyer held for FB remarks against Cong MLA
Foreigners to get 15% seats in tech institutes
Major General points out ‘discrepancies’
China for redoubling efforts to push for framework settlement
Rahul stamp on new Congress chiefs in
Odisha, Jharkhand
Apex court rejects Talwars’ plea for summoning 14 witnesses
Food Bill: BJP in catch-22 situation
SASE to tap wind energy in snow-bound areas
Sibal: Laws should fuel, not impede, growth
‘Ratify’ Hague Treaty to help separated kids
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Siddaramaiah takes charge of K’taka
Bangalore, May 13 Apparently, while the election of chief minister could be carried out in a smooth and swift manner with AICC observers overseeing the process of choosing the CLP leader, forming of the ministry is turning out to be a tricky affair. MLAs such as DK Shivakumar and RV Deshpande were contenders for the CM’s post and are expecting plum portfolios as a compensation for the denial of the CM’s post to them. Union minister Mallikarjun Kharge and KPCC chief G Parameshwara also lost out in the race for the CM’s post to Siddaramaiah. Both Kharge and Parameshwara are Dalits. It is assumed that a Dalit leader will have to be given an important portfolio to placate the hurt feelings of the Dalits. Caste and communal considerations of ministry-making will also necessitate giving important portfolios to a representative of religious minority and to someone from the Lingayat community. Siddaramaiah today garlanded BR Ambedkar’s statue and a portrait of Jawaharlal Nehru and then reached the venue of swearing-in function at around 11.25 am. He took the oath 15 minutes later. The stadium was brimming with people including a large number of them from Siddaramaiah’s native Mysore district. KPCC president G Parameshwar, AICC general secretaries BK Hariprasad and Oscar Fernandes, Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, Congress leader and in-charge of Karnataka affairs of the party Madhusudan Mistri, Union ministers Veerappa Moily, Mallikarjun Kharge and KH Muniyappa, were present at the function. SM Krishna, former external affairs minister who was also Karnataka chief minister, was also present. No important leader from the BJP, which headed the last state government, could be seen at the function. Sriramulu, MLA, who floated the BSR Congress after breaking away from the BJP, was present. Former chief minister Yeddyurappa, who floated the Karnataka Janata Party after bidding adieu to the BJP, did not turn up. Siddaramaiah, who first entered the Assembly in 1983 as a member of Lok Dal, is a science graduate who also obtained a law degree and practised law in Mysore for a while.
Rs 4,400-cr bonanza for poor
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Aspirant’s suicide: UPSC says he never cleared prelims
Bangalore, May 13 After Manjunath’s body was discovered hanging at a construction site in the Madikeri area of Bangalore, his family members claimed he committed suicide as he was upset over “goof” by the UPSC in announcing the results. The UPSC today clarified in a statement that Manjunath had failed to clear even the preliminary examination, let alone appear in the interview for which only those candidates are called who have cleared the mains examination. “VY Manjunath had applied for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2012. He was allotted roll No. 538950 and was allotted Bangalore centre for the examination.... However, he failed to qualify the Civil Services (Prelims) Examination, 2012.... Manjunath, having not qualified the CS (P) Examination, 2012, was not a candidate for the Civil Services (Mains) Examination and accordingly could not have appeared for the CS (Mains) Examination and Interview as claimed in a section of the Press... no candidate with this roll number (538950) or with this name had appeared for the CS (Mains) Examination or the interview,” the UPSC statement said. Further, the commission received a fax on May 7 from GS Pradeep Kumar, who claimed to be Manjunath’s friend. He stated that in the result list announced by the commission the name of B Ashwin against roll No. 538745 had been indicated instead of VY Manjunath’s. The commission clarified that B Ashwin, having roll number 538745, did clear all three stages of the UPSC exam and figured on the list candidates recommended for recruitment. “The result announced by the commission is correct and correctly indicates the name of B Ashwin having roll No. 538745,” the statement adds. Manjunath’s parents had been under the impression that he had cleared UPSC prelims and mains examinations and had done well in the interview.
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‘Ratify’ Hague Treaty to help separated kids
New Delhi, May 13 Organised by the British High Commission, the symposium was attended, among others, by Justice Vikramajit Sen from the Supreme Court, Justice Mathew Thorpe, Head of International Family Justice for England and Wales, Chief Justice Diana Bryant of the Family Court of Australia, former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee and British Deputy High Commissioner Julian Evans. Addressing media persons, Justices Thorpe and Bryant said pending ratification of the Hague convention India should at least nominate a judge to the international judicial network set up under the convention to expedite cases relating to abduction of children by either of the separated couples, uprooting them from their familiar environment - home, school, friends, language and country. At present, there was no international treaty between India and the rest of the world providing for a mechanism for swift resolution of such cases. Parents often had to initiate court cases in both the countries, India and abroad, facing grave financial and logistical problems. In the process, the affected children also faced a prolonged uncertain future, they said. On the occasion, Justice Thorpe and Sorabjee released the first legal text book on “Surrogacy in India: A Law in the Making” by Malhotra brothers, Anil and Ranjit, Chandigarh-based lawyers. India had announced its intention to ratify the Hague Convention in 2007, but had unfortunately failed to push through an enabling law in Parliament so far, the participants at the symposium regretted. Justices Thorpe and Bryant said India should become part of the international judicial network on the subject without any further delay. The one-day symposium was also attended by representatives from the US State Department, Hague Permanent Bureau, National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, National Judicial Academy, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Reunite International and the National Law School of India.
No international treaty
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Digvijaya attacks judiciary over parrot remark
New Delhi, May 13 “The CBI is a parrot in a cage, a bench calls IB (Intelligence Bureau) a chicken... Now, I ask people in general - Are we not belittling our institutions?” the Congress general secretary said. The Supreme Court had dubbed the CBI a “caged parrot” last week, while making observations after the investigation agency submitted an affidavit on the government’s interference in its probe report on coal block allocations. The Bangalore bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had on Sunday said the IB was like a “chicken”, while hearing a petition of a woman IPS officer. — IANS
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Andhra lawyer held for FB remarks against Cong MLA
Hyderabad, May 13 Following a complaint by Krishna Mohan, MLA from Chirala in the coastal district of Prakasam, the police arrested the senior civil rights leader from her residence in Hyderabad. Vindhyala, who is also an advocate, was booked under Section 66A of the IT Act and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. She had also made some rude comments over the Congress legislator’s connections with Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah. The police said a case was registered on April 18 following a complaint by Krishna Mohan, who is also the District Congress Committee president, alleging that she had distributed some pamphlets in Chirala town making baseless allegations against him. “During the course of investigation, it came to light that Vindhayala had posted objectionable comments against the MLA", the police said. Earlier, Vindhyala had filed a petition in the High Court, alleging that the local legislator was acting a like a goon and depriving the local people of their rights. She also alleged that the legislator was misusing his proximity with Rosaiah and was playing an active role in the land mafia. However, in his police complaint, Krishna Mohan alleged that the civil rights leader’s posts on Facebook caused damage to his reputation and mental trauma. He also said that Vindhyala had been threatening him to support a local contractor who was blacklisted by the government departments for irregularities and misappropriation. He alleged that she had warned him of serious consequences if he did not bail the contractor out of troubles. "The situation has become unbearable as Vindhyala launched a vicious campaign against me. Her posts on Facebook caused me a lot of mental agony," he said. The police said that a request would be sent to Facebook authorities, seeking deletion of the comments. However, the rights activists flayed the police action and alleged that they were acting as henchmen of the local legislator.
Landing in trouble
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Foreigners to get 15% seats in tech institutes
New Delhi, May 13 All annual vacancies in AICTE-approved colleges will also be thrown open for recruitment of students of foreign origin, who did not hitherto have any structured mechanism to enter the Indian education system. This had led to disenchantment among foreign students seeking to pursue technical courses such as engineering and management in India. The UAE has emerged as a preferred destination among foreign students. AICTE-approved institutions in India currently take around 1.25 million students annually. Of these, barely 2,500 are foreign students. “There exists a fair amount of demand among foreign students to seek Indian education but so far there was no mechanism or incentive for them to enter the system. We will allow all our approved colleges to open 15 per cent of their seats in all streams to foreigners and also allow them to seek admission against vacancies that exist at the end of the admission process,” AICTE chairman SS Mantha told the TNS today. The AICTE move is also rooted in the fact that the annual rate of vacancy in all AICTE-approved institutions is around 22 per cent. “Seats remain vacant as there are no takers,” say insiders adding that the decision to open the sector to foreigners will allow college managements to make their engagement viable and in the process earn money. Any foreign student who seeks entry into an AICTE-approved college currently pays five times the fee an Indian student pays. But in the new system, which the government plans to introduce from 2013-14, the fee chargeable from foreigners will be twice the amount charged at home. The annual fee structure across AICTE institutions (depending on the stream of courses they offer) varies from Rs 30,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh. “The foreign students will be charged two times this amount,” Mantha said. AICTE chairman said the council was in the process of finalising an entrance test that will be conducted across the world to allow foreigners to take the exam for admissions in India.
Current stats
* AICTE regulates 90 per cent of all technical institutions in India *
These institutions take around 1.25 million students annually; of these, barely 2,500 are foreigners
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Rectification of pension anomalies Vijay Mohan/TNS
Chandigarh, May 13 A retired senior Army officer from Panchkula, Maj Gen K Khorana, has questioned the legitimacy of the rectification of pensionary anomalies with effect from September 24, 2012 rather than from January 1, 2006, the date of inception of the said anomalies. The Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has issued a notice of motion to the Centre, asking it to reply to the officer’s plea. The officer has also stated that the Centre has calculated the revised SPC pension for the rank of Major General and equivalent by basing it on the bottom of the pre-revised Fifth Central Pay Commission scale at Rs 18,400 whereas the said amount already stood upgraded and implemented to Rs 20,000 after the Supreme Court’s 2008 judgment in the Union of India vs SPS Vains case. The SPC had recommended the fixation of pension at 50 per cent of the minimum of pay in the pay scales introduced by the commission, corresponding to the last held rank, plus grade pay, plus military service pay for military officers, which was duly notified by the government. The government, however, had later clarified that the pension would not be calculated at the minimum of pay scales for separate ranks but the minimum of pay band itself, thereby clubbing ranks from Lieutenant to Major in pay band-3 and Lieutenant Colonel to Major General in pay band-4. Each pay band contains a group of different pay scales for different ranks. The AFT had later held that the pension would be calculated on the basis of minimum pay scale within the pay band for each rank separately. An anomalies committee was then constituted under the Cabinet Secretary which agreed to rectify the anomaly but the said anomaly was removed with effect from September 24, 2012, that is, the date from which the committee’s report was accepted by the government, rather than January 1, 2006, the date for the implementation of the SPC and the date from which the anomaly had arisen. The petitioner has contended that the rectification of the anomaly has to go back to the date of inception of the anomaly and not any future date “chosen out-of-the hat” and has cited various Supreme Court judgments in this regard. On a similar analogy, even for civilian pensioners, the Delhi High Court had recently held that arrears for the anomalies were to be released from January 2006 and not prospectively from September 2012.
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China for redoubling efforts to push for framework settlement
KV Prasad/TNS
New Delhi, May 13
"We need to redouble efforts to push for framework settlement on boundary negotiations so that we can reach a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution at an early date", Qin Gang, the visiting official spokesman and Director-General of Information in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said here. Qin is here for an interaction with his Indian counterpart Syed Akbaruddin. In an interaction with a group of Indian correspondents, Qin underscored that the boundary issue on which the Special Representatives of both sides have so far held 15 rounds of talks, need to be looked at from the larger perspective of bilateral relations between the neighbours who are the world's two most populous nations and the developing relations. Referring as an "isolated incident" the recent incursion in Ladakh's Daulat Beg Olde area, where stand-off between troops on either side lasted three weeks, the top Chinese officials said what was important is that its resolution reflects efficacy of existing communication mechanism on border between New Delhi and Beijing. The officials here and in Beijing emphasised that Chinese premier Li Keqiang chose to visit India on his first official overseas tour underlines the importance Beijing attaches to its relations with New Delhi. The visit would provide the new generation leadership in China to personally know the Indian leadership while seeking to enhance the existing areas including in trade and people-to-people ties. Summing up the thrust of the forthcoming visit, Chinese officials said the expectation was four-pronged: deepen mutual understanding, promote friendship, deepen mutual trust and promote cooperation. On the trade and business end, the visit, they hoped would provide a platform for mutual investment between the businesses on either side and work to establish a forum of Chief Executive Officers. With growing economies, the overarching mood was that both sides need to have good communication and coordination for the larger good of both the countries, the region and the world. Premier Li will be on a three-day visit starting May 19 which the Chinese officials in Beijing said was the first stop by the 57-year-old leader on his first overseas tour since assuming office in March. This will also be the first meeting between the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Premier Li since the generational change of guard in Beijing. Last month, he met new Chinese President Xi Jingping on the sidelines of BRICS Summit in South Africa. Besides India and Pakistan, Li will also visit Germany and Switzerland.
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Modi tears into UPA govt’s foreign policy
Washington, May 13 Modi made the remarks in his video-link address to the people of the Gujarati community living in 20 cities across the US, which lasted for more than an hour and was followed by a questions and answers session. In his address, Modi lashed out at the UPA government and alleged that people of India have lost "trust and confidence" in the Centre, due to its "poor governance" and high corruption. "I feel biggest crisis (today) is lack of confidence. We need to get this trust back. This cannot be merely done by words: Biggest need today is trust," Modi said while speaking to the audience from different cities of the US, including New Jersey and Chicago. Besides the overseas Gujarati community across the country, who had organised the event on the occasion of the Gujarat Divas, Indian students in several US universities, like the University of Maryland, had gathered together to watch Modi's live address. In his speech, Modi insisted that the country is experiencing a new crisis due to developments in the last few months, as he narrated several corruption related incidents. Lashing out at foreign policy of the UPA government, he alleged that New Delhi is being ruled by weak leaders. It is unbelievable that the India's Foreign Minister is seen reading the speech of his counterpart from another country, he said. "Heads of our soldiers are cut but then their Prime Minister fed chicken biryani," he said in an apparent reference to incidents of killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistan. "Then questions are raised: China withdraws its forces but I wonder why Indian forces are withdrawing from Indian territory? Why did we retreat (from our own territory)?" he said questioning the China policy of the government. — PTI Video-link address
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Rahul stamp on new Congress chiefs in Odisha, Jharkhand
New Delhi, May 13 In Jharkhand, where the government is contemplating recommending dissolution of the state assembly to the Cabinet to facilitate fresh elections, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today appointed 40-year-old tribal leader Sukhdeo Bhagat as Pradesh Congress Committee chief. A postgraduate from Delhi University, Bhagat is a former Lohardaga MLA and replaces 57-year-old Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu as Jharkhand PCC chief. Balmuchu had lost Ghatsila seat in the 2009 Assembly poll and was on extension as the state Congress President. Currently a Rajya Sabha MP, his exit was termed as a foregone conclusion since Rahul visited Jharkhand in March this year to revamp the state Congress organisation by placing young leaders at the helm. By bringing Bhagat, a representative of Oraon tribe, the second major tribe in Jharkhand after Santhali (to which Babulal Marandi and Shibhu Soren belong), the Congress has also sent out a message to the tribal belt ahead of expected Assembly elections followed by LS polls in 2014. Effecting a similar change in Odisha, where the Congress presence in the 147-member Assembly fell from 38 in 2004 to 27 in 2009, Sonia today installed a younger 58-year-old Dalit leader Jayadev Jena as Odisha Congress chief, easing out Niranjan Patnaik, 68. Jena's strength is his SC hold and the fact that he has experience. When he was replaced as Odisha Congress chief on January 24, 2009, to make way for Patnaik, he had been in the position for more than four years. Patnaik, a relative of former Congress CM of Odisha JB Patnaik, would have to sit out now as Rahul asserts his authority on Congress reorganisation.
at the helm
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Apex court rejects Talwars’ plea for summoning 14 witnesses
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, May 13 A Bench of Justices BS Chauhan and Dipak Misra directed Aarushi’s parents, Rajesh and Nupur, to approach the HC on the issue before coming to the SC. “We don’t intend to touch such matters. It is a wrong procedure to approach the SC directly,” the Bench said, taking exception to the plea of the dentist couple. The accused parents had approached the SC challenging the May 6 order of the special CBI court rejecting their plea for summoning 14 additional witnesses. Rejecting their plea, the trial court had decided to record their statements. During the trial, CBI’s investigating officer AGL Kaul has contended that the needle of suspicion pointed towards the Talwars as there was no evidence to suggest the entry of any third person into their residence where the victims were found dead.
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Food Bill: BJP in catch-22 situation
New Delhi, May 13 An indication by Food Minister KV Thomas that the government is contemplating convening a special session of Parliament for clearing Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s dream project has landed the saffron party in the proverbial catch-22 situation. Executing the Bill through the ordinance route (as is also being considered) means legal entitlement to food will have to be implemented immediately, which the government is not in a position to do because it “lacks the wherewithal”, says a senior BJP leader. But following the Parliament path means the Congress will then be able to approach the people saying it has fulfilled its 2009-election promise and also buy time for enactment. Either way, it will be a difficult choice for the BJP. If it opposes the Food Bill in Parliament, it will send a wrong message to the masses and if it supports it, the main beneficiary will be the Congress. “The BJP has no option but to support the Food Bill. By supporting, we can claim partial credit,” party sources said. BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi says the party is certainly not opposed to people being given food but a lot will also depend upon the fine print in the Bill. “The UPA can learn a lot by the way BJP-ruled states have tackled hunger. The Chhattisgarth model is far more inclusive than the Bill prepared by the UPA. Moreover, the government should be worried about widespread corruption in the PDS. Food security without tackling black marketing and hoarding will be self-defeating,” Lekhi says. The fact is even though the party is promising support on UPA’s dream Bills - the NFSB and the Land Reforms Bill - there are no clear commitments on whether the demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister will not be used to stall the monsoon session.
The predicament
If the BJP opposes the Food Bill in Parliament, it will send a wrong message to the masses and if it supports it, the main beneficiary will be the Congress
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SASE to tap wind energy in snow-bound areas
Chandigarh, May 13 While the Himalayan ridges are known for their high wind potential, accumulation of heavy snow and ice in that region is a critical factor that adversely affects sensitive structures and also jams moving parts in turbines. Scientists at the Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE), a DRDO laboratory based here, said consequently unconventional technologies like non-rotating generators are being developed as an alternate to the traditional propeller-based wind turbine. SASE has developed a laboratory model of a "wind belt", which uses the "flutter" or vibration of a magnetically activated strip to generate power through electromagnetic induction. The belt is attached at both ends inside a frame and the motion of the wind passing over it causes the flutter. Earlier this year, a joint workshop was held here with the US Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, where technologies and methodologies to combat the challenges of unconventional power generation in snow bound regions were discussed. Field trials of the wind belt are scheduled to be held in winters later this year. This technology is also being used in Hong Kong. Wind belts, scientists said, are more energy efficient that wind turbines and also more economical. As a pilot project, a 10 MW wind turbine was installed by SASE at the Banihal Top in Jammu and Kashmir, at an altitude of over 3000 meters with wind speeds of up to 21 meters per second, to study the effects of snow and ice on the aerodynamics of wind turbines and rotatables. Low temperature and ice effects the physical properties of materials and lubricants damages electrical equipment, seals and rubber parts, cause aerodynamic imbalances and increased vibrations and jams movable parts. India is estimated to have a wind power potential of 45,000 MW, with an installed capacity at present of just 18,425 MW. Close to 30 per cent of the potential lies in the hills.
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Sibal: Laws should fuel, not impede, growth
New Delhi, May 13 “Legal processes and procedures should not be an impediment to economic growth, but must fuel it,” he told reporters immediately after assuming office, succeeding Ashwani Kumar who had quit last week following Supreme Court remarks over executive intervention in CBI investigations in the coal scam. Sibal refused to take any questions relating to the circumstances under which Kumar had to go or the role of government law officers in the coal scam case pending in the SC. The new minister, who will be in charge of law in addition to telecom, said he would also bring in transparency in the legal processes and procedures. “The processes of law must be quick and non-discriminatory. We need to strengthen the confidence of the people in our judicial system,” he said. Sibal said his “broad objectives” would also include bringing about “structural reforms” in the judiciary through “institutional dialogue and understanding,” pointing out that enactment of laws would entail the Opposition “playing ball.” Describing the present system of appointment of judges for the high courts and the SC as “opaque,” he underlined the need for evolving transparent mechanism to ensure that “persons of impeccable integrity and high competence” were made judges. He said he would also work for raising the quality of legal education to international standards with the active participation of the legal fraternity and increasing the use of modern technology at every level of the judicial system - right from investigation to the decision making. Asked about the mounting number of court cases, which had breached the three-crore mark, he said this would entail increasing the judge-population ratio from the present 12-13 judges per one million to the international level of 50. This required cooperation from the states and a new way of thinking which “can’t be achieved overnight.”
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‘Ratify’ Hague Treaty to help separated kids New Delhi, May 13 Organised by the British High Commission, the symposium was attended, among others, by Justice Vikramajit Sen from the Supreme Court, Justice Mathew Thorpe, Head of International Family Justice for England and Wales, Chief Justice Diana Bryant of the Family Court of Australia, former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee and British Deputy High Commissioner Julian Evans. Addressing media persons, Justices Thorpe and Bryant said pending ratification of the Hague convention India should at least nominate a judge to the international judicial network set up under the convention to expedite cases relating to abduction of children by either of the separated couples, uprooting them from their familiar environment - home, school, friends, language and country. At present, there was no international treaty between India and the rest of the world providing for a mechanism for swift resolution of such cases. Parents often had to initiate court cases in both the countries, India and abroad, facing grave financial and logistical problems. In the process, the affected children also faced a prolonged uncertain future, they said. On the occasion, Justice Thorpe and Sorabjee released the first legal text book on “Surrogacy in India: A Law in the Making” by Malhotra brothers, Anil and Ranjit, Chandigarh-based lawyers. India had announced its intention to ratify the Hague Convention in 2007, but had unfortunately failed to push through an enabling law in Parliament so far, the participants at the symposium regretted. Justices Thorpe and Bryant said India should become part of the international judicial network on the subject without any further delay. The one-day symposium was also attended by representatives from the US State Department, Hague Permanent Bureau, National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, National Judicial Academy, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Reunite International and the National Law School of India.
No international treaty
* At present, there is no international treaty between India and other countries providing for a mechanism for swift resolution of cases of children affected by separation of their NRI parents *
Parents often have to initiate court cases in India and abroad, facing grave financial and logistical problems *
In the process, the affected children also face uncertain future
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Bangalore, May 13
To cater to the energy requirements of the armed forces in remote snow-bound areas, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is exploring the potential of tapping wind power to generate energy.
While the Himalayan ridges are known for their high wind potential, accumulation of heavy snow and ice in that region is a critical factor that adversely affects sensitive structures and also jams moving parts in turbines.
