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Planning Commission to focus on agriculture
BJP may soften stand on ‘Fanaa’ if Aamir apologises
‘Ban’ on ‘Fanaa’ reflects Modi’s intolerance: CPM
Oil-for-food: BJP seeks CBI probe
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Pawar justifies wheat import
Cong to monitor rural job scheme implementation
Experts favour amendment
Mumbai schools may be shut on high-tide days
‘Royal’ treat for Kalam, Manmohan
Wage board for journalists
Dancing for a cause
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Planning Commission to focus on agriculture
New Delhi, May 25 “Since we have not been able to achieve even 2 per cent growth rate in the agriculture sector during the 10th five-year-plan (2002-07) ending this year, as against a target of 4 per
cent, we are making efforts in coming days to re-orient the policies for better outcome, to double the growth rate,” said Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia here today. The Planning Commission is working to revamp the policies based on the recommendations of Prof MS Swaminathan Committee and the Mashelekar Committee to bring the agriculture sector to the centrestage. It will come out with a new policy framework by the year-end, he said while speaking at a conference organised by TERI. Questioning the claims of the government to double the farm credit in three years, Mr Ahluwalia said: “It is a fact that institutional credit has so far reached only 40 per cent of the farm households. Remaining farmers, and especially up to 80 per cent of the small farmers, have still to raise funds from the informal sector at 35-50 per cent interest rate leading to the present rural distress.” The Planning Commission is concerned, he said, at the neglect of the agriculture sector on which 60 per cent of the country’s population is dependent for its livelihood, and would stress on reversing the trend through shift in policies. “Unfortunately, public sector investment in agriculture has not kept pace with the needs of the farmers as indicated by delay in many irrigation projects in the country. The government will have to raise investment in land development, recharging of ground water, seed replacement and agriculture research to raise the income level of farmers.” He said the government would soon revamp agriculture research programmes in the country on the recommendations of Prof MS Swaminathan Committee and the Mashelekar Committee. Admitting funds constrains in the states, he asserted ,“ the non-Plan expenditure of states in agriculture on fertiliser subsidy, under-pricing of water and power has ironically increased in the name of helping farmers. A proper shift in this expenditure would lead to better returns.” Cautioning the government over suicides by thousands of farmers, Prof Swaminathan called upon to government to focus on the farm sector otherwise it could lead to unrest and more deaths. |
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BJP may soften stand on ‘Fanaa’ if Aamir apologises
New Delhi, May 25 “We can end this row if he (Aamir Khan) apologises to the people of Gujarat (for his stand on the two issues). That’s all,” senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra told newspersons. The actor came under fire for his support to the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ and criticism of the state administration for the dargah demolition in Vadodra. Meanwhile, another BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said the issue had now spread to the Congress camp and “it is now an issue concerning the people of Gujarat.” However, party spokesman Prakash Javadekar sought to clarify that the BJP’s central or state units have nothing to do with the screening of the movie. “It is the voluntary decision of the exhibitors not to show the film. The party has nothing to do with the issue,” he said. He, however, said the people of Gujarat “are not happy” over Mr Khan’s recent remarks on Narmada and Vadodra issues. |
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Actor says he will not apologise
Mumbai, May 25 Addressing a press conference here, Aamir said that by apologising, he would be letting down all those people who were losing their houses and land to the mega dam and whose voices he had aired by demanding proper rehabilitation. “I want to tell the people of Gujarat that I have lots of love for them ... In fact, the people should join me in taking up the cause of thousands of people who are losing homes and lands due to the (Sardar Sarovar) dam.”
— PTI |
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‘Ban’ on ‘Fanaa’ reflects Modi’s intolerance: CPM
New Delhi, May 25 Describing Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance of police protection to theatres showing the movie as a mere “eyewash”, the party Politburo in a statement said: “It is under his leadership that front organisations of the Sangh combine are threatening film theatre owners against showing the film”. Observing that the ire of the protesters was due to Aamir Khan expressing solidarity with the demand for rehabilitation of thousands of tribesmen and peasants to be displaced by the Narmada project, it said the state government “is behaving as if it is above the Constitution which grants freedom of expression to every individual”. “Such actions of the Sangh combine in Gujarat under the patronage of the state government has serious implications for democratic rights of the people of the state and, indeed, for all Indian citizens”, the CPM said, demanding that “the Modi government and the party he leads uphold the law of the country”. |
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Oil-for-food: BJP seeks CBI probe
New Delhi, May 25 “Although, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had constituted an inquiry committee under Justice Pathak, the scope of the inquiry did not take into account the second non-contractual beneficiary the Congress Party, which clearly reflects that the government is following two separate yardsticks, one for Mr Natwar Singh and another for Congress party,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told newsperson here. He said, the Justice Pathak Commission had summoned Aditya Khanna and Andleep Sehgal recently, both relatives and friends of Mr Natwar Singh. “News reports today confirm our suspicion that Mr Natwar Singh and his son Jagat Singh through Andleep Sehgal and Aditya Khanna had received the payments from Masefield, the company, which got contracts in the oil-for-food scam from Iraq,” he said. “The BJP had said earlier and maintained even now that the Congress party and their president Sonia Gandhi should also be questioned as the Volcker report had also made the starling disclosure that the Congress Party is non-contractual beneficiary under the contract number M/10/57,” he said.
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Pawar justifies wheat import
New Delhi, May 25 Talking to reporters after a 90-minute meeting with senior BJP leaders , including party president Rajnath Singh and Opposition leader L K Advani, he said the government had decided to import another 30 lakh tonnes to augment the buffer stocks , catering to the needs of the public distribution system in the wake of the lower than targeted procurement this year. |
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Cong to monitor rural job scheme implementation New Delhi, May 25 A special convention of district presidents from the 200 districts where the Act is being enforced has been organised by the AICC tomorrow specifically for this purpose. Besides reviewing the implementation of the Act, this will also provide an opportunity to the Congress to stake its ownership of this programme and demonstrate the party’s commitment to the welfare of the weaker sections, especially the rural poor. This is particularly vital for the Congress since the programme is being implemented largely in Opposition-ruled states which are taking all credit for this scheme or not implementing it properly. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has been the most ardent supporter of this programme, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be attending the day-long meeting which is expected to provide the party and the government with vital inputs on the functioning of this scheme. Besides the district presidents, the convention will also be attended by Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled states, legislature party leaders, PCC presidents, office-bearers in charge of this programme and chiefs of frontal organisations will also attend the meeting. Describing it as a “programme-centric” convention, AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi said the basic objective of the meeting is to get “feedback of the ground reality” in both the Congress and Opposition-ruled states. A report, prepared on the basis of these inputs, will subsequently be presented to the Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson to enable the government to initiate corrective measures wherever they are required. |
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Experts favour amendment
New Delhi, May 25 As per the reports of 2004, the overall current level of registration in the country for births is 58 per cent and that of deaths is 54.4 per cent. State wise, there are wide variations. Deliberating on the two-day annual National Conference of Chief Registrars of Births and Deaths, which concluded here yesterday, experts unanimously supported the proposed amendments to the Act as they felt it would help remove some of the impediments and make registration functionaries and state governments more accountable. The proposed amendments would also help fill up the gaps by providing for registration of adopted as well as street children. For those states where the registration level is poor, it was decided to focus on low-performing districts and build capacity for higher registration through community awareness, tight monitoring of reporting levels on a monthly basis and by organising special training of registration functionaries. The state governments were assured of support from the Office of Registrar General, India, as well as UNICEF in building up the monitoring systems for low-performing districts and for launching a special campaign for clearance of the backlog. The Madhya Pradesh Government has proposed to launch a special campaign for clearing backlog by issuing nearly one crore birth certificates to registered and unregistered children in the 0-9 years age group. Already, the states have distributed nearly one crore birth certificates in the 2nd phase of a national campaign with Karnataka topping the list having distributed nearly four million certificates, followed by Maharashtra (1.1 million) and Tamil Nadu (0.9 million). The overall registration level is expected to be higher for 2005. As regards the medical certification of causes of death scheme, it came out in the deliberations that several of the states have already extended the scheme to cover both private and government hospitals. There was a consensus that the scheme would be gradually extended to cover more and more hospitals in other states too. The Chief Registrars of Births and Deaths from 30 states participated in the conference along with Secretaries/Principal Secretaries of six states. |
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Ministry meets AIIMS Director
New Delhi, May 25 While the AIIMS Faculty Association went on a mass casual leave today, the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) faculty is expected to observe a one-day mass casual leave on Monday. The out-patient departments and operation theatres in the RML will not function on Friday. Students and resident doctors of five premier medical colleges, including AIIMS, Maulana Azad Medical College, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Vardhman Mahavir College of Medical Sciences and University College of Medical Sciences, have been on a hunger strike for the past 12 days in protest against the proposed reservation for OBCs in higher educational institutions. Health Secretary P.K. Hota told The Tribune here that the ministry was urging the doctors to work. Commenting on the government’s response to the mass casual leave by the 480-member Faculty Association of AIIMS, Mr Hota said, “We have also persuaded the AIIMS Director, Prof P. Venugopal, to persuade his faculty members to return to work”. |
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Mumbai schools may be shut on high-tide days
Mumbai, May 25 Eager to avoid a replay of the devastation following an unprecedented 950 mm rainfall on July 26 last year, the authorities are planning a complete shutdown of even commercial ventures in the city should there be heavy rains on high-tide days, sources said. As an emergency measure, the state government has decided to shut down 122 municipal schools in various low-lying areas of the city even if there is no rain on that day. In all there will be 18 days of high tide when the sea level would rise higher than four metres. On such days, the marine outfalls which push out rainwater into the sea would be shut down till the tide returns to normal. Should there by heavy rainfall during this period, low-lying areas would remain flooded till the floodgates were opened to release the water. Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh insists that the administration is geared up to prevent a reprise of last year’s disaster. A clean-up of the Mithi river which flows through Mumbai’s suburbs is in progress and its banks have been widened in many parts of the city. Last year heavy rains caused the river to breach its banks and areas like the Mumbai airport and the Bandra-Kurla complex were under 8 ft of water. Young students were marooned for several days in different parts of Mumbai last year as their schools were flooded. The administration has also promised faster dissemination of information via FM radio and television channels. Police and fire brigade personnel have been equipped with inflatable rafts to conduct rescue operations if required. |
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‘Royal’ treat for Kalam, Manmohan
Patna, May 25 It was learnt that the district administration of Muzaffarpur today sent packets to the Resident Commissioner of Bihar in Delhi, Mr C.K. Mishra, to present them as gifts from the new regime in the state. Besides, the President and the Prime Minister, the CM asked the Commissioner to distribute the lichhis among central ministers hailing from the state, including Railway Minister Lalu Prasad. The Muzaffarpur district, about 80 km from here, is famous for lichhi cultivation. |
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Wage board for journalists
Bhubaneswar, May 25 However, a committee set up to go into the implementation of the recommendations of the previous wage board in different states was yet to submit its report and is touring various places. The committee is expected to submit its report soon. But there was no link between the report of the committee and the decision to set up the wage board, he told reporters here.
— PTI |
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Dancing for a cause
Mumbai, May 25 Under the banner of Fight for Rights Bar Owners Association, the bar girls have decided to hold public dance performances in different parts of Maharashtra from June. “The funds collected from every show will be donated to Youth for Equality, the New Delhi-based organisation opposing quotas in educational institutions,” Manjeet Sethi, president of the Association said here today. According to him, three to four shows would be held every month and about Rs 4 to Rs 5 lakh would be collected per show. The organisation had roped in ‘item number girl’ Rakhi Sawant to perform at these shows, said Sethi. Sawant is in the news after the police in different parts of Maharashtra prevented her from performing for her alleged obscene gestures in her shows. |
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