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Govt to review previous decisions: Civil aviation minister
NEW DELHI: Civil Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju Thursday said all major decisions taken by the previous UPA government in the sector would be reviewed.
However, the minister said, he was "not close" to the idea of privatising Air India and will discuss revival of the national carrier with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We will be reviewing all the major decisions taken by the previous government. I am not questioning anyone, neither will I prosecute anyone or protect anyone," the minister told reporters after taking charge at the Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, headquarters of the ministry here.
Asked about the controversies surrounding the issue of new airline licences, the minister said: "There are controversies, but I would not like to start (talk) about controversies today."
About reviving Air India, Gajapathi Raju said: "I will discuss Air India's situation with the prime minister. We will have to analyse the reasons for losses... is it competition or something else."
"PSUs should survive and there is a need to review their performance so as to see that they maintain profitability. However, I am not close to the idea (of Air India's privatisation)."
Air India has recently managed to improve its financial condition by becoming EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortization) -positive for the first time but it is far from breaking-even or ushering in profits.
The beleaguered flag carrier has got a new lease of life as the previous government had approved plans for a turnaround in its fortunes with a rehaul in financial and operational efficiency which are known as turnaround programmes (TAP) and financial restructuring plans (FRP).
Currently the airline is burdened with a cumulative debt of Rs.40,000 crore it incurred over aircraft acquisition and as short-term loans to maintain its operations.
It received a fresh equity infusion of Rs.5,000 crore in the interim budget for 2014-15.
The cash-strapped carrier will be provided a total infusion of around Rs.20,000 crore till 2020-2021 to turn around its operational and financial performance.
According to Gajapathi Raju, the government will take complete cognisance of the situation being faced by the cash-strapped sector which has seen airlines and private airport operators bleed in the recent past due to high fuel and interest costs.
"The government will have to look at the total picture being faced by the industry. Civil aviation is a basic infrastructure for the future and is very important," he said.
Even after a slew of reforms like allowing direct import of jet fuel and participation of foreign airlines in domestic passenger carriers, the industry continues to bleed.
The minister said the government is mulling renaming the domestic terminal at Hyderabad.
"We will look into the issue of renaming domestic terminal of Hyderabad with the name of NTR (N.T. Rama Rao). This has been a long standing demand of the people. We were earlier not able to do it but now we will look into the matter and go ahead with it," he said.
Hailing from north coastal Andhra, the 62-year-old minister is the lone representative of the Telugu Desam Party in the Modi cabinet.
Gajapathi Raju has become a central minister on his parliamentary debut. In a political career spanning nearly 35 years, he was elected to the Andhra Pradesh assembly seven times. A member of the TDP politburo, he is considered close to party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu.
IANS
Modi asks ministers to set 100-day agenda
NEW DELHI: Getting down to business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked his Cabinet colleagues to set a 100-day agenda, with focus on efficient governance, delivery and implementation of
programmes.
Believing that the progress of states is crucial for the country's development, he also instructed his Council of Ministers to give priority to the issues brought forth by the state governments as also the MPs.
The directives were given by Modi at a Cabinet meeting here in the context of his 10-point vision which includes increasing investment, completing infrastructure projects in time-bound manner and exploiting the natural resources to the country's benefit.
To send out a similar message across the country, Modi is likely to address the nation, possibly after the brief Parliament session that would be convened from June 4 to 11, during which President Pranab Mukherjee will address the joint sitting outlining the government's agenda.
"The Prime Minister issued guidelines to ministers at the Cabinet meeting... He asked the ministers to set a timetable for the first 100 days listing the priorities," said Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah
Naidu.
Modi emphasised that the "most important" aspect that need to be focused on are efficient governance, delivery and implementation of schemes and
programmes, Naidu said while briefing the media on the meeting.
While focusing on these aspects, the government will take forward on priority basis the issues pending from the previous government.
He asked Cabinet Ministers to take Ministers of State along and give them "proper" work so that they feel involved.
The Prime Minister has outlined the "roadmap" and asked ministers to set the agenda
of 100 days, Naidu said, adding that efforts would be made to implement it.
Modi told his Cabinet colleagues, at the second meeting in two days, that he would be regularly meeting them as also the Secretaries individually, Naidu said.
To a question, the Minister said issues like price rise, agriculture and women security, will naturally be a priority as these are the focus areas of the
BJP-led government.
"Expectations of people are high... Difference sections have different priorities. Every section is important," he said.
On Modi's thrust on giving priority to issues raised by states, Naidu said this was in keeping with the "true spirit of federalism".
He explained that since Modi, as Chief Minister of Gujarat, had worked in a state, he understands the importance of federal structure and gave instructions for maintaining certain standards in this respect.
On the issue of giving work to Ministers of State, Naidu said Modi wants them to be taken along in proper spirit because "a new team" is to be built.
"The spirit of the message has been understood by all the ministers. But an MoS is an
MoS. Try to understand. A Cabinet Minister is responsible. They have to segregate work...He cannot give total decision-making to an
MoS. But certain work has to be given to the MoS so that they have satisfaction of having some role," he said.
— PTI
First session of new Lok Sabha from June 4 to 11
NEW DELHI: The first session of the newly constituted 16th Lok Sabha will be held from June 4 to June 11, with President Pranab Mukherjee addressing the joint sitting of both Houses on June
9.
After the new members take oath on June 4 and 5, the Speaker will be elected the next day.
The Rajya Sabha will commence its sitting from June 9 after the joint sitting.
Senior Congress MP Kamal Nath will be the Pro-tem Speaker and administer the oath to the new members. He will be assisted by a panel of Chairmen, consisting of Arjun Charan Sethi (BJD), Purno A Sangma (National People’s Party) and Biren Singh Engti (Congress).
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu made the announcements on Thursday after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, which deliberated on the Parliament session.
“We are studying various precedents while discussing the issue. There is still time to take that call,” Naidu said when asked whether
the Congress would be given the post of the Leader of Opposition despite it not having the requisite numbers.
“We have not zeroed in on anyone. We don’t want to zero in on anyone,” he said when asked whether any name has been shortlisted for the post of the Speaker.
The session of Parliament could be extended by a day depending on the business, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.
The Motion of Thanks to the President for his address will be taken up on May 10 and 11 in the Lok Sabha and
the Rajya Sabha, respectively. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will then reply to it.
On the question of Leader of Opposition (LoP), Naidu kept up the suspense, saying it is being studied.
The question of LoP status, a Cabinet-rank position, has arisen as no party got the minimum required 10 per cent of seats in the
543-member Lok Sabha in this election. Congress was the nearest with 44 seats, at least 10 short of the required number.
Asked whether the government would consider giving the Deputy Speaker post to someone from the “coalition” of AIADMK, TMC and BJD if they come together, Naidu was evasive..
“So far, there has been a practice of having a coalition of the government. There has been no practice of having a coalition of the opposition parties. We will see what precedents say,” he said.
On the issue of legislations, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said he was in the process of identifying the
Bills which have been pending, or lapsed or which are pending in the Rajya Sabha after passage in the Lok Sabha.
He made it clear that the legislative agenda would not be taken up in this session, unless urgently required, as this was going to be a “short” session meant basically for taking of oath of the new Lok Sabha members and election of
the Speaker.
Naidu, who is also Urban Development Minister responsible for allocating bungalows and flats to Ministers and MPs, requested former Ministers and MPs to vacate their official premises at the earliest so that new ones could move in. — PTI
Ruling on Musharraf's travel ban lifting plea reserved
KARACHI: A Pakistani court today reserved its ruling on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf's plea seeking the lifting of a travel ban on him.
Musharraf, 70, is facing treason charges for subverting and circumventing the Constitution by imposing emergency on November 3, 2007. The federal government has placed his name on the Exit Control List (ECL), stating he might try to flee the country.
Musharraf, who was formally indicted in March on treason charges, approached the Sindh High Court last month to lift the travel ban imposed by the federal government.
He wanted to go abroad to see his ailing mother in Dubai and also to see doctors for his "heart problem" and pain in the back.
A two-judge bench of the Sindh High Court, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, heard the petition.
The ruling was reserved after Musharraf's counsel Naseem and Attorney General Pakistan Salman Aslam Butt concluded their arguments on the matter.
"I told the court that Musharraf will certainly appear before the court if and when summoned after his name is removed from the exit control list and he is allowed to travel abroad," Naseem said.
The government has opposed the petition, arguing that a person accused in a high profile case cannot be allowed to leave the country on medical or personal grounds.
After his return to Pakistan from self-exile in March last year to take part in elections, Musharraf has faced prosecution in four major cases, including for his alleged involvement in the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti in 2006.
The former president, who is the first military ruler in Pakistan's history to be tried in court, has rejected all the charges leveled against him.
Currently Musharraf is in Karachi with his daughter and in the medical care of a Navy-run hospital. PTI
Ordinance for Misra's appointment smacks of impropriety: Cong
NEW DELHI: The Congress today attacked the BJP over the "urgency" of bringing in an ordinance for the appointment of former TRAI Chairman Nripendra Misra as the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary, saying the move smacks of "impropriety".
Senior party leader Manish Tewari questioned "the urgency of bringing in an ordinance for his appointment when Parliament was scheduled to meet on June 2." "Now with Parliament scheduled to meet on June 2, there was no immediacy which necessitated that the ordinance route should be taken," he said.
"The BJP had been very critical. Now, just because they have a majority in Parliament, they have decided to adopt a process which for the lack of better words is on borders of impropriety," Tewari said.
Misra was yesterday appointed as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister after the Government promulgated an Ordinance to amend the TRAI Act that could have prevented him from getting the key post.
The TRAI Act prohibits its Chairman and members from taking up any other job in the central or state governments after demitting office.
To circumvent this section which would have barred Misra from taking up the assignment of Principal Secretary to PM, the Modi government promulgated an ordinance amending it.
Congress general secretary and Chairman of AICC Communication Department Ajay Maken has also questioned the move, saying "The same BJP had opposed
the Congress when we had brought food security and anti-corruption measures through ordinance."
Maken, however, yesterday said they have nothing to say against the officer concerned, who has an honest and upright image.
— PTI
Woman killed as ‘drunk’
TTE pushes her off train in Maharashtra
Jalgaon (Maharashtra): A woman passenger was killed on Thursday after she was pushed off a moving train by an allegedly drunk ticket examiner for trying to board an AC coach while carrying a general class ticket in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district,
the police said.
The TTE identified as Sampat Salunkhe, has been arrested, they said.
According to a complaint filed with the Jalgaon GRP by the nephew of the deceased, Ujjwala Pandey
(38) tried to board an AC coach of the LTT-Rajendranagar Patna Express when she was stopped by Salunkhe.
As the train started moving, fearing she would miss it, Ujjwala, with her 10-year-old daughter Palak, made another attempt at boarding, following which she was given a hefty shove by Salunkhe.
The victim lost her balance and fell into the gap between the train and platform. Ujjwala’s nephew Rahul Purohit, who had come to see her off, raised an alarm and the train was brought to a grinding halt. However, by then she had been run over and killed.
Salunkhe, fearing public anger, hid inside the pantry car but an angry crowed dragged him out and handed over to the police after a sound thrashing.
The TTE has been arrested and sent for medical examination to ascertain if he was under the influence of liquor. — PTI
Mercury soars in north; Delhi hits 43.7 deg
NEW DELHI: Northern India found itself caught in the furnace of the hot summer sun as the mercury soared above the 40-degree Celsius mark across the region where Sriganganagar in Rajasthan recorded a high of 46.8 degrees.
In Delhi, the mercury jumped to a high of 43.7 degrees, three points above normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded a notch below normal at 26.3 degrees. The humidity in air fluctuated between 22 and 80 per cent.
The maximum is tipped to hover around 45 degrees tomorrow with the minimum likely to be at 25 degrees.
The blistering heatwave hit normal life in Rajasthan as the mercury shot up at many places by one to three degrees due to the dry weather and north-westerly winds.
Sriganganagar recorded the highest maximum in the desert state of 46.8 degrees while the other western districts of Jodhpur, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Churu, too, had to contend with severe heatwave conditions.
It was the hottest day this May for state capital Jaipur where the mercury rose to 45.4 degrees, about 1.3 degrees higher than yesterday.
The MeT department said that no respite may be expected in the state in the coming 24 hours.
The conditions were no better in Punjab and Haryana as the mercury hovered above the 40-degree mark across the two neighbouring states.
The Union Territory and their common capital of Chandigarh recorded a high of 41.5 degrees, three notches above normal.
In Punjab, Ludhiana sizzled at 43.5 degrees, up four notches, while the maximum touched 43.2 degrees in Amritsar.
Hisar in Haryana recorded a maximum of 43.6 degrees, a jump by three notches, while the mercury settled at 40 degrees in Ambala.
The weather remained dry in Uttar Pradesh as temperatures rose across the state with Agra recording a high of 43.4 degrees.
Day temperatures rose in the Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Allahabad divisions as well as in the Faizabad, Jhansi and Agra divisions.
The forecast is for dry weather over western UP with a possibility of rain or thundershowers at isolated places in the eastern parts of the state. PTI
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