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India, Pakistan spar over Modi’s ‘proxy war’ remarks
Govt rules out FDI in multi-brand retail
tata
camelot project |
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‘No special provision’ for citizenship to Pak Hindus
Govt: 41 Indians still in captivity in Iraq
Now, ‘transgender’ option on DU admission forms
Mayawati rejects proposal of grand alliance with SP
SC notice to Centre, states on cheaper generic drugs
SC gets four more judge
Rise against BJP’s sectarian agenda: Sonia to party MPs
Rane to head M’rashtra Cong campaign panel
Next gen rly e-ticketing system launched
Sharma’s appointment as CAG upheld
Bhanwari
murder case
3 die in Assam border violence
Jiah Khan’s death: CBI registers case
Child’s death forces K’taka Govt to seal borewells
No cases of ebola in India, says Vardhan
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India, Pakistan spar over Modi’s ‘proxy war’ remarks
New Delhi, August 13 Rejecting Islamabad’s accusation that India was indulging in a ‘blame game’, MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said terrorism was a ‘real and present danger’ and the PM was only articulating India’s ‘core concern’ in its bilateral ties with the neighbouring country. “Mere denials of selective approaches on terrorism are not going to drive away our concerns,” he said. Earlier in the day, Pakistan Foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam stated that India’s accusation against Islamabad at the highest political level was ‘most unfortunate’, adding that Pakistan itself was the biggest victim of terrorism. “It would be in the larger interest of regional peace that instead of engaging in a blame game, the two countries should focus on resolving all issues through dialogue and work together to promote friendly and cooperative relations,” she said. The Indian spokesperson said New Delhi’s concern stemmed from the fact that some of the worst terror attacks in India owed their genesis to areas which were under Pakistan’s control or from Pakistan. In this connection, he drew attention to the December 2011 attack on Parliament and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. On whether Foreign secretary Sujatha Singh would go ahead with her visit to Islamabad for talks with her Pakistani counterpart on August 25, the spokesperson said the two Foreign Secretaries were meeting under instruction from the Prime Ministers of the two countries that they should remain in touch and look at the way forward in bilateral relations. “India will in any case address its concerns on terrorism through all means available to us. Our tool kit is not restricted in any manner,” said
Akbaruddin.
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Govt rules out FDI in multi-brand retail
New Delhi, August 13 Responding to Congress member Digvijay Singh in the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “We don’t entertain FDI in multi-brand retail.” She said the huge mandate given to the BJP in the recent Lok Sabha elections was on the basis on its manifesto, which clearly opposed FDI in multi-brand retail. Replying to another query, she said the FDI flow had not been consistent in past few years. “During the last three years, the FDI inflow has fluctuated. It decreased by 26.33% in 2012-13 and increased by 6.12% in 2013-14,” she said. The flow, she pointed out, depended on business environment and how decisions are made. On the steps taken to boost FDI, she said various efforts were being made in this direction. These include five joint commissions with Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Belarus and Libya and CEOs from nations such as Japan, France, Russia, Malaysia and South Africa. India has also signed bilateral investment promotion agreements with 83 countries and comprehensive economic cooperation agreements with nine countries. “Under the liberalised economic environment, investment decisions are based on the macro-economic policy framework, investment climate in the host country, investment policies of the trans-national corporations and other commercial considerations,” Sitharaman said. On the implementation of the controversial GAAR tax, the minister said the government was working on the issue and a decision when taken would be shared with the House.
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Thambidurai elected LS Deputy Speaker
New Delhi, August 13 This is Thambidurai’s second term as the Deputy Speaker. The first being between 1984 and 1989 when the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government has an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. Thambidurai has now returned when the BJP has an absolute majority — a first for any government since 1984. Thambidurai promised to be impartial in his conduct and was led to the Speaker’s chair by PM Narendra Modi, Leader of Congress in the LS Mallikarjun Kharge and Speaker Sumitra Majahan. Later, the PM felicitated the five-time MP who was elected to the post after the House adopted a motion moved by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and seconded by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. “The House will benefit from the experience of Thambidurai. He is an academician, an activist, an agriculturist all rolled into one. He has been the Deputy Speaker and has the experience of the Treasury Benches,” said the PM thanking MPs for unanimously electing Thambidurai by a voice vote.
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tata
camelot project R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, August 13 Arguing for the petitioners — Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation and Alok Jagga — senior advocate PS Patwalia said a senior official of the Punjab Government attended three meetings with Haryana, Chandigarh and the Centre during July-September 2004 on the map and did not raise any objection. In its two written submissions to the Punjab and Haryana HC, Punjab did not specify that the project was outside the catchment area, he said, while arguing before a Bench comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice RS Endlaw. The HC in Chandigarh also accepted the authenticity of the map and passed an order on March 14, 2011 banning constructions in the catchment area. The HC had also observed that after participating in three meetings Punjab could not go back on the issue, Patwalia said. Punjab was now trying to wriggle out of its own folly only to help the company which had promised to give flats and cash to lawmakers who had got the land allotted to them, he said. Patwalia also disputed the company’s argument that the project was located on an elevated area and as such would not obstruct the flow of water from the catchment area to the Sukhna Lake. In the event of any breach in the check dam just above the project or any overflow, the water would run only through the project area. Also, the entire stretch of the water flow would qualify to be treated as catchment area, he contended. The acquisition of large tracts of land in 1963 for soil conservation and the provisions of the 1966 Punjab Re-organisation Act also indicated that the Tata project was right in the middle of the catchment area, he said. While transferring the PILs to the Delhi HC, the Supreme Court had clarified that the Tata project would have to be shelved if it was proved to be in the catchment area. The case would come up for hearing again on August 19. Under the township project near Chandigarh’s Sukhna Lake, the company has planned to construct 19 high-rise towers with 7-28 floors containing 1,794 residential flats.
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‘No special provision’ for citizenship to Pak Hindus
New Delhi, August 13 Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said the migrants were being given long-term visa. “The process of getting citizenship in India is long. We are giving the migrants long-term visa,” Rijiju said. “For those whose parents are not Indian, they have to live in India for 12 years, and then for two full years they cannot go anywhere abroad. After that one can apply to the local administration for citizenship, which will be forwarded to Home Ministry,” he said. “Everyone will have
to go through this process.” Asked if the Indian government will take steps to ensure they get compensation for the properties they left in Pakistan, Rijiju said India could not interfere in it. — IANS
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Rajnath admitted to AIIMS
New Delhi, August 13 “Singh will be in Parliament tomorrow. Tests are being carried out in the night to save time and cause minimum inconvenience to the common people,” said the sources. — PTI
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Govt: 41 Indians still in captivity in Iraq
New Delhi, August 13 MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said the government was not in direct touch with them but had learnt from its contacts that the workers remain in custody. He, however, hastened to add that his statement was based on the information the government had received 4-5 days back when the situation started deteriorated in
Mosul.
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Now, ‘transgender’ option on DU admission forms
New Delhi, August 13 “The DU has introduced an option of ‘third gender’ in the admission forms for the postgraduate programmes this year and the same will be introduced in university’s centralised undergraduate admission forms as well from the next academic session,” university’s s media coordinator Malay Neerav said. However, the university is still undecided on the benefits to be extended to them, since they will be admitted under a separate category. “The UGC is yet to formulate a policy regarding the benefits or reservation available to them, as is in the case of OBCs, SC or STs. We will follow whatever
policy the UGC decides,” he added. In July, the UGC had issued a notice asking universities to include transgenders in various scholarship and fellowship schemes. Earlier, the candidates were supposed to register under “male” or “female” category. “The university had plans to introduce the category in undergraduate admissions this year but it wasn’t possible due to administrative reasons,” Registrar Alka Sharma said. The option has been introduced in the forms for recruitments as well, she added. According to the data available with the university, of the 90,000 applications received for admissions to the various postgraduate courses offered, nine candidates had opted for the category. — PTI
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Mayawati rejects proposal of grand alliance with SP
New Delhi, August 13 Rejecting RJD chief Lalu Yadav’s suggestion that the BSP and the SP should form a grand alliance in UP, Mayawati claimed that both the SP and the BJP had joined hands covertly. She said the BSP would contest the elections on its own. “Whenever the SP government comes to power, incidents of crime, communal violence, rape and dacoity, reach their peak. It is the character of this party and if incidents of this nature do not take place then this party will be finished,” Mayawati told reporters. “Therefore, keeping all these things in mind, there is no question of joining hands with the SP and fighting the elections together,” she said. Earlier in the day, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had suggested that if the RJD boss takes the initiative, he does not mind joining hands with the BSP in UP. “If Laluji takes an initiative in this regard, I don’t have any issues in joining hands,” he said. — PTI
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SC notice to Centre, states on cheaper generic drugs
New Delhi, August 13 The Bench pointed out that the 2002 policy had acknowledged that availability of cheaper medicines and vaccines was a pre-requisite for the “health security” of the nation. The petitioner, lawyer Reepak Kansal, has contended that people had a fundamental right to health under Article 21 of the Constitution which guaranteed right to life and liberty. This cast an onerous responsibility on the Central and state governments to make sure that people had access to good quality drugs at affordable prices. Generic medicines were as effective as branded drugs in formulations, but cheaper by as much as 70 per cent. Further, easy availability of generic medicines would force the drug majors to reduce the cost of
their formulations, the petitioner pleaded. This in turn would reverse the present trend of high mortality among poor people due to high cost of medicines and healthcare. Kansal also noted that the country was exporting huge quantity of generic medicines to various nations and there was no justification for denying people within the country access to affordable healthcare.
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SC gets four more judge
New Delhi, August 13 Earlier, Justice Banumathi was the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court. The others who took oath today were Prafull Chanda Pant, who was CJ of Meghalaya HC, and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre, who was CJ of Gauhati HC. CJI RM Lodha administered the oath of office to them. The elevation of Justice Banumathi has restored the strength of women judges in the SC to two, the other being Justice Ranjana Desai. Justice Gyan Sudha Misra retired as an apex court judge recently. Justice Desai is set to retire on October 29.
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Rise against BJP’s sectarian agenda: Sonia to party MPs
New Delhi, August 13 “Our work is cut out …let us take the message to our voters that the Congress stands resolutely with the people and will continue to defend the defenceless,” she said referring to the recent cases of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states. Sonia addressed the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the Central Hall of Parliament today and took the occasion to firm up party’s strategy for the election-bound states. Her three pronged message to MPs indicated the Congress’ decision to return to its old pro-minority stance. The message was – the BJP is fanning communal tensions in the country for meeting its narrow political ends, it is imitating the Congress programmes and has no new policies of its own, and the BJP is failing in its commitment to protect women with incidents of rapes rising by the day. “Already since the BJP has come to power there have been an alarming increase in the number of incidents of communal violence.... there have been other subtle but pernicious signals of intolerance. Women, too, have much to be concerned about, judging by the evidence of the BJP rule so far. Violence against women is rampant, and increasing….” she said, asking MPs to speak against communal violence. Hours later, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge initiated a discussion on communal violence in the Lok Sabha, triggering angry responses from the BJP led by Yogi Adityanath.
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Rane to head M’rashtra Cong campaign panel
New Delhi, August 13 Rane had been raising a banner of revolt against Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan and had met Sonia in the capital last month. The party had assured him accommodation which came today in the form of Rane being made the head of the coveted 33 member panel. Rane has also been named in the other important election-related committee which the Congress announced today – the Pradesh Election Committee to be chaired by Manikrao Thakre and will have among other members AICC general secretaries Mukul Wasnik and Gurudas Kamat and Indian Youth Congress Chief Rajeev Satav. — TNS
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Next gen rly e-ticketing system launched
New Delhi, August 13 "It was a rail budget commitment which was fulfilled today," Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda said after launching the next generation e-ticketing system. The new system developed by Centre for Railway information Systems (CRIS) at an estimated cost of Rs 180 crore would allow booking of 7,200 tickets per minute against 2,000 tickets in the old system. With the launch of the system, now 1.2 lakh users can book e-tickets simultaneously against the earlier capacity of 40,000 concurrent users at a time. Gowda said: “The Budget was presented two months and five days ago in Parliament, and today we are launching it.” Besides e-ticketing, Gowda launched a series of IT-enabled initiatives for rail users including train enquiry mobile application and Go-India smart card. An online system to enable faster booking of wagons and making payment without going to counters was also launched. — PTI
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Sharma’s appointment as CAG upheld
New Delhi, August 13 The HC noted that Sharma was not facing any disciplinary proceedings or criminal case. The petitioners had pleaded that as an IAS officer, Sharma had handled several defence procurements and as such he could not audit these deals.
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Bhanwari
murder case Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 13 Maderna was sacked by the then Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot. The accused allegedly tried to pressurize witnesses questioned by the investigation team, sources said. The sources said the CBI has written to the Rajasthan Government informing it about the fear of attack on its team and witnesses, and demanding security for them. The accused allegedly tried to win over the witnesses that included some government officials. The first CBI team that had investigated the case after it was handed over to the agency had been given security, which was yet to be withdrawn. Bhanwari Devi, a nurse by profession and a resident of a village in Jodhour district, was kidnapped by gangsters on September 1, 2011 as she stepped out of her house. She was taken to Bilara in Rajasthan where she was killed. The CBI had arrested all accused and the case is in the court, sources said.
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3 die in Assam border violence
Guwahati, August 13 As tension continues to grip the area, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today requested Home Minister Rajnath Singh to deploy additional paramilitary forces in the trouble-torn Uriamghat of Golaghat district. He informed the Home Minister that some miscreants from Nagaland yesterday opened fire on a group of protesters, who were demanding the release of two students allegedly abducted by a Naga rebel group.
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Jiah Khan’s death: CBI registers case
New Delhi, August 13 The court ordered the investigating agency to register the case related to Jia Khan's death and probe whether it is a case of suicidal or homicidal death. The Maharashtra police had filed a charge-sheet on January1, 2014 against a person under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC, CBI spokesperson, Kanchan Prasad said. The court has directed the CBI "to consider whether this is a case of suicidal or homicidal death. If it comes to a conclusion, that it is a homicidal death then, further investigation be made to find out who is the perpetrator of the crime and accordingly action be taken", CBI spokesperson, Kanchan said. The 25-year old actress had featured in movies such as
"Nishabd".
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Child’s death forces K’taka Govt to seal borewells
Bangalore, August 13 According to official figures, 12,385 defunct borewells in rural areas have been sealed in the last six days. There are 13,509 defunct borewells in the rural areas. August 15 is the deadline set up by the state government for sealing all defunct borewells. A survey of private borewells is underway and the ones still remaining open will be sealed soon, Rural Development Minister HK Patil has said. Four-year-old Akshata’s death after falling into a borewell in Bijapur district in June this year pushed the state government to come out with stringent guidelines for drilling borewells. Timanna had fallen into a defunct borewell in his father’s land. Initially his cries could be heard but gradually he slipped further down and there was no more any cry emanating from the 300-ft-deep pit. Finally, the decomposed body of the boy was pulled out in the early hours on August 11, eight days after he fell into the borewell with the massive operation launched to rescue him ending on a tragic note.
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No cases of ebola in India, says Vardhan
New Delhi, August 13 A 30-year-old male, Nigerian national, who arrived at the Delhi Airport was admitted to Dr RML Hospital today morning with complaints of fever. He has tested negative for ebola in tests done at the National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi. Mandatory reporting of passengers from the affected countries is in place, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in a daily bulletin. Since August 10, about 3089 passengers have been screened at the Airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Trivandrum and Kochi, a Government release said. The call centre at the Ministry of Health received about 70 calls in the past 24 hours. The queries from public, related to signs and symptoms of the disease and risk of travel were addressed adequately.
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Sugar Sector gets brigade status
Beefing up defence against the Chinese along the international border in Himachal Pradesh, 36 Sector, also known as Sugar Sector, has been upgraded to a regular brigade.
Based at Pooh in Kinnaur district, the independent formation was responsible for the defence of Himachal Pradesh and reporting directly to the Western Command Headquarters at Chandimandir. It had two battalions under its command, but after being upgraded to a brigade, it is now expected to get more force accretion along with associated logistic and support elements. It will continue to remain an independent formation. Himachal Pradesh shares its border with Tibet to the east and some cross-border trade takes place in this sector through Shipki La pass, the point where the Sutlej enters India. This sector had witnessed minor skirmishes during the
1962 Sino-Indian conflict.
New corps commanders appointed
Lt Gen Bobby Mathews, who has held the post of the Additional Director General, Public Information, at the Army Headquarters, will take over as General Officer Commanding of the Jodhpur-based 12 Corps next month. Commissioned into the Kumaon Regiment, he has commanded a brigade in the north-east and a mountain division at Kalimpong. He will take over from Lt Gen GS Katoch, who is expected to move to the Army Headquarters on a staff appointment. Lt Gen Ashok Bhim Shivane, a Cavalry Officer will be the new chief of the Army’s Mathura-based strike formation, 1 Corps, replacing Lt Gen Ravi Thodge of the Gorkhas. Meanwhile, Lt Gen Bipin Rawat from 11 Gorkha Rifles has taken over as the Corps Commander in the northeast.
IAF’s first Jaguar
squadron turns 63 Sharing the nation’s birthday is the IAF’s No14 Squadron, which will turn 63 on August 15. The squadron was raised in 1951 on British Spitfires and now operates the Jaguar deep-penetration strike aircraft. Known as the “Raging Bulls”, it was the last squadron in the IAF to fly Spitfires and the first to convert to Jaguars in the early 1980s. In between, the squadron flew the Vampire and Hawker Hunters. The Squadron has spent considerable part in the Eastern theatre and had carried out combat operations from Kalaikunda in 1965 and then in 1971. It also had the distinction of operating from the captured Pakistani airbase of Jessore towards the end of the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Presently based at Ambala, the IAF’s oldest airbase, the squadron was awarded the President’s Standards in November 1994.
MP raises soldiers’
issues in Parliament
Even as soldiers’ continue to grapple with issues pertaining to their welfare and benefits, especially disability pension, Rajya Sabha MP, Derek O’Brien, has raised the matter in Parliament. In a statement during the ongoing session, he has stated that it was a cause for alarm that 90 per cent of the Ministry of Defence cases pending in courts are against pension claims of its own disabled soldiers. Pointing out that the ministry had been denying pension claims on shallow pretexts like the disability occurred in peaceful conditions and not in an active war zone, he remarked that it was shameful that tax payers’ money was being used to field top lawyers and pay exorbitant legal fees in an attempt to deny our soldiers their rightful dues, and that to in cases where the benefits amount to only a few thousand rupees. (Vijay Mohan)
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Terrorism for us is a real and present danger. The Prime Minister was articulating our core concern in our relationship with
Pakistan
India's accusation against Islamabad at the highest political level was most unfortunate. The two countries should focus on resolving all issues through
dialogue
BJP stealing our ideas: Cong chief