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No bottlenecks: PM to US bizmen
Analysts: No big breakthrough during summit
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‘Chalo chalen Modi ke saath’: BJP slogan for Haryana, M’rashtra
Modi to unveil clean India initiative today
Cong terms Modi’s US visit disappointing
PU, IISc-Bangalore top Indian varsities but still not in global 200
100 MW wind power project to come up off Gujarat coast
Parties to deposit funds in banks: EC
UP train mishap toll mounts to 13
3 Army officers die in Bareilly copter crash
Land transfer: Court asks police to book Gehlot
Saradha scam: ED seals accounts of 3 football clubs
No relief for Jaya, bail plea hearing on Oct 7
J Jayalalithaa
‘Tejas’ ready for use by IAF
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No bottlenecks: PM to US bizmen
PM Narendra Modi wooed US businesses with the promise of less red tape and a more business-friendly environment and cautioned that any delay on their part would mean having to wait in a long line as the rest of the world flits to the “new spark of confidence that has arisen in India.”
Acknowledging that the government’s role should be that of a “facilitator” of business, Modi told a meeting of the US-India Business Council in Washington that his administration was working to create an environment more conducive to foreign investment and that would include better infrastructure, fewer laws, a simplified tax system and a peaceful pool of skilled
labour. It was Modi’s final engagement before he wrapped up his first visit to the US as PM and departed for India. Modi said as a Gujarati he was a businessman by nature and understood investors’ needs. “Businesses want a development-friendly environment, less bureaucratic red tape and a simple tax system, he said.
NSA stays back in US for talks on terror
* National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has stayed back for two days to meet his US counterpart and discuss issues relating to terror and homeland security * Doval is expected to discuss subjects such as the emerging threats in West Asia in the form of ISIS and its implications for South Asia, including India.
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Analysts: No big breakthrough during summit
The White House summit between PM Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama has produced ambitious and expansive commitments, but no major breakthrough, say analysts.
“The joint statement shows how wide the canvas for US-India bilateral cooperation is today,” said Ashley J
Tellis, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The programme of activities both sides have committed to will keep them busy for years. It shows that future cooperation is deeply tied to Modi’s domestic transformation agenda,” Tellis said. “This does not mean the strategic aspects are neglected, but both sides have been careful — because of Indian sensitivities — not to make these the public centerpiece. Nonetheless, there is still much work to be done here,” Tellis said. Lisa Curtis, a South Asia analyst at the Heritage Foundation, said while there were no major breakthroughs, Modi’s visit “should still be viewed as quite remarkable given that just six months ago everyone was questioning whether the visa revocation issue would colour the relationship between the two countries, but clearly that is not the case.” The George W Bush administration revoked Modi’s US visa in 2005 over allegations of his role in the Gujarat riots. The most significant outcome of White House meeting was a decision to collaborate on disrupting financial networks of terrorist groups, Curtis said. Curtis was struck by the absence of a firmer commitment from India to the fight the Islamic State.
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‘Chalo chalen Modi ke saath’: BJP slogan for Haryana, M’rashtra
New Delhi, October 1 The party slogan in Haryana and Maharashtra would be: “Chalo chalen Modi ke
saath.” Top Central leaders and Chief Ministers of the BJP-ruled states would also pitch in. Keeping in view the possible night-landing hiccups, the PM’s rallies in Haryana have been scheduled mostly in the noon. “The evenings have been reserved for
Maharashtra,” BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said. The PM would campaign in both states from October 5 till October 13, he said. On October, 4 Modi will address a rally in Karnal in Haryana and Kohlapur in
Maharashtra. On October 5, he would be back in Haryana for a rally at
Sirsa. Given the kind of hectic schedule he has designed for the PM, party’s chief manager Amit Shah, it seems, is no mood to take any risk. More than the
BJP, these elections are crucial for Shah—his first major assignment after the LS polls, said sources.
BJP leaders insist that senior leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, who have been eased out of active politics and relegated to the newly formed Margdarshak
Mandal, must actively participate in electioneering. The BJP is expected to unveil its manifesto for Haryana on October 3 at Chandigarh. Apart from
Modi, the BJP has lined up Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for campaigning in the two states. Others who are also likely to campaign are: Urban Development Minister Venkaiah
Naidu, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his Rajasthan counterpart Vasundhara
Raje.
Hectic schedule
* Party chief Amit Shah, it seems, is no mood to take any risk and has designed a campaign programme that will see Modi extensively canvassing in the two poll-bound states *
The PM rallies would commence from October 5 till October 13 * On October, 4 Modi will address a rally in Karnal in Haryana and Kohlapur in
Maharashtra. On October 5, he would be back in Haryana for a rally at
Sirsa.
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Modi to unveil clean India initiative today
New Delhi, October 1 Armed with brooms and dusters, they will stand by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will launch his pet project Swachch Bharat Mission tomorrow. The biggest cleanliness drive across the country aims at making India clean and free of open defecation by 2019, Gandhi’s 150th birthday. It will see Modi engaged in many programmes across the Capital. Party men and Cabinet colleagues will support him from across the country as Central Government employees work on the national holiday to clean offices, roads and toilets. The selection of the date, October 2, is significant considering the Mahatma’s stress on cleanliness in personal habits and surroundings. India is a country which, according to Census 2011, has only 32.70 per cent of rural households with access to toilets. As per a UN report, India continues to have the largest number of people in the world defecating in the open. The PM aims at changing that by making cleanliness a mass movement and involving every citizen in the task. He has made “Clean India” a top priority speaking about it at all his major speeches, including the Independence Day and UN General Assembly address. The Centre is expected to spend nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in five years to clean India completely by October 2019. The PM will launch his ambitious project by paying obeisance at Rajghat. Later, he will flag off a road walkathon at Rajpath in which schoolchildren, college students and government officials will participate.
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Cong terms Modi’s US visit disappointing
New Delhi, October 1 The Congress cited lack of progress on the Indo-US nuclear deal, H1B visa issue (visa numbers were reduced but processing fee hiked) and Totalization Agreement to drive home its point. “Diplomacy is serious business. It’s not about showing through orchestrated cheerleaders that you are important. No visiting head of state has ever done that. Diplomacy is not event management,” Congress’ senior spokesman Anand Sharma said. — TNS
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PU, IISc-Bangalore top Indian varsities but still not in global 200
New Delhi, October 1 Panjab University, Chandigarh, retains its position as the highest ranked Indian university in the global rankings of top 400 but has slipped since 2013 when it stood in the 226-500 range. Also this year, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, has joined PU, Chandigarh, in the 276-300 bracket in Times Higher Education Rankings, the only global university performance tables which assess world class universities for all four core missions of teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. The worrisome part for India is – none of its universities are in the global top 200 in the 11th edition of world rankings released today; only two are in the top 300; 15 premiere IITs are not even in the top 300 with IIT-Bombay and IIT-Roorkee appearing only in group rank 351 to 400. The rankings use 13 indicators to judge institutions. These include teaching, research, citations, industry income by way of collaboration and international outlook in respect of foreign staff, students and research tie ups. Explaining the results for India, Phil Baty, Editor, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, says: “It is a good news that India now has two universities in the world top 300 as compared to just one last year, thanks to the participation for the first time in the rankings this year of the IISc-Bangalore, which can now be included in the analysis after starting to admit undergraduate students. IISc joins PU in the 276-300 group but it should be a cause for concern that a country of India’s size, growing economic strength and great intellectual history, does not yet have a top 200 entrant and does not seem to be making enough progress up the rankings. The world rankings are extremely competitive as many countries put serious resources into improving the global profile and performance of their universities as part of their economic growth plans and India needs to ensure it does not fall too far behind.”
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100 MW wind power project to come up off Gujarat coast
New Delhi, October 1 The consortium comprises National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Power Trading Corporation (PTC), and Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd (GPCL). The offshore wind power project will be of about 100 MW capacity. Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal, who was present at the signing of the MoU, described it as a great opportunity in the development of renewable energy resources in the country. Considering the country’s 7,600 km-long coastline, Goyal said opportunities for scaling up were humongous. He also suggested building partnership with the armed forces, coast guard and shipping ministry to ensure seamless and time bound approval process. The joint venture company will undertake detailed feasibility study based on the inputs received from pre-feasibility studies and necessary steps for implementation of the first offshore demonstration wind power project. It has been proposed to provide subsidy for setting up of evacuation and transmission infrastructure of the offshore wind power to the main land including financial support for carrying out studies such as wind resource assessment, Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), oceanographic survey and Bathymetric studies. The ministry will also assist in obtaining clearances involved during the implementation of the project. The project will help India enter the club of countries already in the business of offshore wind power generation.
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Parties to deposit funds in banks: EC
New Delhi, October 1 Under the guidelines, the treasurer of a political party is now required to ensure maintenance of accounts at all state and lower levels and consolidated accounts at the central party headquarters. The accounts maintained by the treasurer shall conform to the guidance note on accounting and auditing of political parties issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants. The annual accounts shall be audited and certified by certified chartered accountants as required under the Income Tax Act. Under the guidelines, a party should ensure that no payment in excess of Rs 20,000 is made to any person or company in cash, except in a village or in town not served by a bank. Also it will not apply to payments made to any employee or party functionary towards salary, pension or reimbursement of expenses or where cash payment is required under any statute. — PTI
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UP train mishap toll mounts to 13
Lucknow, October 1 Prima facie investigation reveals that the loco pilots of Lucknow-bound Krishak Express (15007) overlooked the signal colliding head on with Lucknow-Barauni Express (15204) derailing its engine, two coaches and partially damaging the third coach. An inquiry was ordered into the accident after Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda visited the scene this afternoon. Loco pilot Rambabdur and assistant loco pilot Satyajit of Krishak Express have been suspended. The accident took place soon after the Barauni-bound Lucknow-Barauni Express left the Gorakhpur railway station and reached Nangnagar gate in the cantonment area. Ignoring the signal, the Krishak Express appeared on the same track and collided with the Lucknow Barauni Express derailing its coaches and killing at least 13 of its passengers and injuring another 47. Among the dead were 11 men and two women. Police sources said the identity of seven of the dead had been established. The injured were taken to the Air Force Hospital, railway hospital, district hospital and the BRD medical college hospital. The Railway Minister accompanied by East Central Railways GM Madhuresh Kumar and Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath visited various hospitals to enquire about the medical treatment of the injured. Speaking to mediapersons, Gowda said a committee would be set within six months to inquire into railway accidents. This is the second major accident in Gorakhpur within four months. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the relatives of those killed and Rs 50,000 each to the seriously injured.
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3 Army officers die in Bareilly copter crash
Lucknow, October 1 The dead included pilots Major Abhijit Thapa (29), Captain Avinash (26) and Flight Engineer Major Vikas Baryani, police sources said. The three sustained critical injuries and were taken to the military base hospital where they died during treatment. Sources said the helicopter was on a routine flight. Eyewitnesses claimed the helicopter appeared to be in trouble moments after lifting off.
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Land transfer: Court asks police to book Gehlot
Jaipur, October 1 The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Shiv Prasad issued the directions to the Gandhi Nagar police station on a complaint filed by Suresh Chand Sharma to register the FIR against Gehlot, former minister Chandrabhan, IAS officer Nihal Chand Goel and Dr Vimal Soni under various Sections, including 420 (cheating), of the Indian Penal Code. Sharma, in his complaint, has alleged that the Gehlot government had in May 2003 transferred a 2.3-acre plot in Vidhyadhar Nagar, which was reserved by for a government trauma centre in 1993, at "throwaway" prices to a private hospital group. — PTI
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Saradha scam: ED seals accounts of 3 football clubs
Kolkata, October 1 Earlier, the ED had sealed the bank accounts of East Bengal on the same grounds. The decision is set to put the club authorities in severe financial crisis, especially in paying salaries to players and meeting the clubs’ day-to-day expenses. Mohun Bagan secretary Srinjoy Bose, editor of family-run newspaper Pratidin, was interrogated yesterday for the third time by the CBI in connection with the case. East Bengal’s office-bearer Debabrata Sarkar (Nitu) was arrested by the CBI a few days ago and was undergoing trial in a CBI court.— TNS
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No relief for Jaya, bail plea hearing on Oct 7
Bangalore, October 1 The Bench was constituted yesterday to hear the plea of the VVIP accused and her associates after the urgency of the case was impressed upon the Chief Justice of the High Court by high-profile lawyer Ram Jethmalani (representing the accused) and others assisting him. But the Bench chose to pass the ball to the regular court for a decision. “In my considered opinion, hearing on this petition should be referred to a regular Bench of the High Court,” special Bench judge Justice Rathnakala said in a jam-packed courtroom. The High Court is having Dasehra holidays and will revert to normal working from October 7. The sitting today lasted 10 minutes. Soon after her arrival at the court, the judge noticed that G Bhavani Singh, counsel representing the prosecution, was absent. She immediately wanted to put off the hearing but was prevented from doing so by Jayalalithaa’s lawyers who requested her to wait for a little while. Minutes later, Bhavani Singh and his deputy Murugesh S Maradi arrived at the court room. When the judge asked them whether they would like to file objections to the appeals by the four accused, Bhavani Singh said he would do so if asked by the court. The judge expressed surprise and said it was up to him to decide whether he would file objections. She then repeated the question and Bhavani Singh replied that he would file objections. Murugesh S Maradi later said they did file objections today which became part of the court record. “Under Section 389 (clause regarding suspension of sentence) of the CrPC, prosecution counsel do not file objections unless asked by the court”, he told the TNS. Justice Rathnakala’s order today drew flak from Jayalalithaa’s supporter lawyers who had come down from Chennai. Some of these lawyers were seen screaming in the courtroom after the judge had left. “Interview the judge”, said an embittered Ram Jethmalani, when pressed by mediapersons for comments. The case had come up before a vacation Bench (presided over by Justice Rathnakala again) yesterday and was adjourned to October 6 after Bhavani Singh, who represented prosecution during the trial, submitted he was yet to get an authorisation to act as the prosecution counsel in the fresh case pertaining to the appeals by Jayalalithaa and the other three accused. Bhavani Singh’s deputy Murugesh Maradi today told the TNS that they received an order yesterday from the Tamil Nadu Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department asking them to represent the prosecution in the case. Tamil Nadu Government’s role as the prosecution at this stage may further complicate the case as the state government in TN is headed by AIADMK of which Jayalalithaa is the chief. On September 27, Jayalalithaa and her three associates (Sasikala, Sudhakaran and Illavarsi) were sentenced to four years simple imprisonment and were imposed hefty fines in an 18 year old corruption case. Same day they were taken to the central prison in Bangalore where they are at present lodged. The case, originating from complaint filed by Subramaniam Swamy (then he was president of Janata Party) in 1996 before a court in Chennai, was transferred to Bangalore in 2003 by the Supreme Court on a petition filed by DMK leader K Anbazhagan seeking fair trial of Jayalalithaa who was then the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
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‘Tejas’ ready for use by IAF
Bangalore, October 1 “The aircraft is now ready for IAF operations,” said RK Tyagi, chairman, HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited). He congratulated HAL engineers, technicians and other staff involved in the LCA project. — TNS
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It is now official. The BJP’s entire campaign for Maharashtra and Haryana will revolve around Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, who will be canvassing extensively in the two poll-bound states from October 4.
The death toll in last night’s collision between two passenger trains near Nandnagar crossing in the cantonment area of Gorakhpur rose to 13 today. At least 47 persons were injured in the accident.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and her three associates’ petitions seeking bail and suspension of their sentences to October 7.
The Bench was constituted yesterday to hear the plea of the VVIP accused and her associates after the urgency of the case was impressed upon the Chief Justice of the High Court by high-profile lawyer Ram Jethmalani (representing the accused) and others assisting him.
An Army helicopter today crashed moments after it took off from the Bareilly airbase on a training flight killing two pilots and an engineer. According to IG Bareilly zone Vijay Kumar Meena, the accident occurred moments after the 23-year-old Cheetah helicopter took off from the Aviation Centre around 7.40 am.