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Matriculates need no
emigration clearance
Sonia meets Deora on price hike
Non-extension to Raha annoys PSU top brass
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Centre to involve private sector in afforestation
India rejects US watch list as ‘judgmental’
IAF receives three of grounded Dhruvs
Sukh Ram’s appeal rejected
Jan Morcha, SP to join protest against petrol price hike
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Matriculates need no
emigration clearance
New Delhi, June 6 The number of countries in respect of which emigration clearance is required is being brought down to 17 from 138. At present, emigration clearance is required for those below higher secondary (Plus Two) and also in respect of 138 out of the 191 countries under the UN system. Overseas Indian Affairs (OIA) Minister Vayalar Ravi told mediapersons here today that these measures were being put in place to simplify the emigration procedures and to make them more effective. He said the proposal to relax the qualification for emigration clearance had been cleared by his ministry and also the ministries of External Affairs and Home. The proposal was now pending before the Committee of Secretaries and a notification giving effect to it was expected by this month end. Mr Ravi said the 17 countries in respect of which emigration clearance was required included the six GCC countries (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, and the Sultanate of Oman, Jordan, Yemen, Libya, Malaysia and Thailand. He said 53 countries had already been exempted from the Emigration Clearance requirements. The number of such countries had been raised to 138 now. Our policy is to promote orderly migration. We encourage Indian labourers to go abroad for employment as it provides a lot of opportunities to our people. However, migration should be humane, Mr Ravi said, adding that the emigration clearance was made compulsory in respect of 17 countries because conditions were not conducive there. Moreover, labour laws were not to the level of protecting labourers in the unorganised sector. He said in order to ensure that Indian labourers were not cheated by recruiting agents, he said it would be made mandatory for the employer abroad to get a model contract, power of attorney and the demand letter sealed from the Indian embassy in respective countries before the employee leaves India to take up the job offered abroad. In the light of worrisome feedbacks, the government had been discouraging women below the age of 30 to go abroad as maids, especially in gulf
countries. — UNI
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Sonia meets Deora on price hike
New Delhi, June 6 The Congress conveyed its views to the government last night only, shortly after the Cabinet decided to raise the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 4 and Rs 2, respectively, on the plea that it would hurt the common man. Today, as the Left parties and the BJP announced plans of organising street protests, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Mr Murli Deora to discuss this issue. While the Minister explained the reasons for taking this decision, Mrs Gandhi reiterated that the government should review its decision in order to reduce the burden on the common man. The party position was articulated by its spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi who said though the Congress understood the government’s compulsions, yet it believed the price hike was too steep. The party, therefore, requested the government to consider whatever could be done do to soften the impact on the ‘aam admi’ and other vulnerable sections of the Mrs Gandhi’s meeting with the Petroleum Minister and the Congress party’s decision to urge the government for a review is necessitated by two factors. Having projected itself as a pro-poor party, the Congress does not want to be seen to be endorsing a decision which is seen to hurt the interests of the common man. With the Left parties and the BJP gearing up to put the government on the mat on this matter, the Congress move is an attempt to puncture the Left protest and to show that it is equally concerned about the weaker sections. In case the government does go in for a partial rollback, the Congress will be able to claim credit for this decision. While the Congress is still awaiting the Centre’s decision, the Left parties have decided to observe an “All-India Protest Day” on June 13, coinciding with an agitation by trade unions. The Samajwadi Party as well as the AGP and the TDP have also decided to join the Left-backed agitation, a move which also provoked the Congress into taking a public stand on this issue. The BJP has announced plans to organise nationwide demonstrations and road-blockades tomorrow to protest against the fuel hike.
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Non-extension to Raha annoys PSU top brass
New Delhi, June 6 The orders issued suo motu against Mr Raha are illegal and bad in law, according to sources in the government. Orders were issued during the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi in 1986, bringing to the fore the principle of equity and natural justice in matters relating to the extension/non-extension of tenure of CMDs and other functional directors of the PSUs. The orders made it mandatory for all administrative ministries that whenever the question of extension/non-extension of tenure of CMDs/functional directors is considered, the incumbent is supposed to appear before the Public Enterprises Selection Board(PESB) for a joint appraisal of his performance in the presence of secretaries of the administrative ministries concerned. The instructions are contained in the PESB’s circular of November 1996 but are being brushed aside by the UPA government, giving a go- by to the prescribed mechanism of joint appraisal of the performance of Mr Raha who was not given the opportunity to explain his point of view. What sources find shocking is just because former Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and former Petroleum Secretary S.C. Tripathi were not in favour of granting an extension to Mr Raha for certain unexplained reasons, it should not have been the basis for non-extension. Present Petroleum Secretary Srinivasan had recommended extension to Mr Raha who has two years before superannuation. The sources insist it was for this reason that instructions were issued by Rajiv Gandhi to ensure transparency in approach and also provide an opportunity to the existing incumbents to explain their stand in keeping with the principle of equity and natural justice. On November 11, 1996, the then PESB Secretary A.K. Saxena in letters to the Cabinet Secretary, Establishment Officer and Joint Secretary in the PMO observed that the administrative ministry/department concerned cannot suo motu terminate the tenure of full-time board-level incumbents on the expiry of tenure, unless a joint appraisal is carried out by the PESB and the ministry/department and a final decision is taken on the appraisal report with the approval of the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). “While carrying out the appraisal, the PESB has the standard practice of inviting the Chief Executive/Director of the PSU concerned, whose case of non-extension of tenure is under consideration. Thus, the incumbent is given opportunity to meet the board and explain his/her stand before recommendations are made by the
PESB. The individual is once against assessed by the PESB,” Mr Saxena had observed. Former Cabinet Secretary B.G. Deshmukh said it had come to the notice of Rajiv Gandhi in a recent case that the terms of a competent Chief Executive of a PSU was not extended by the administrative ministry. The matter also did not come up before the ACC as only extension of term of appointment was presently being submitted to the committee. A mechanism was evolved to ensure that the cases of competent executive were not disposed of by the ministries at the end of their term without further consideration either by the PESB or the ACC.
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‘Fanaa’ released in Jamnagar under security
Jamnagar, June 6 “They just raised slogans and tried to dissuade people from watching the movie, and later left the scene,” said police inspector B B Bhedi, who is overseeing the security arrangements at the theatre. “The situation is very much under control,” he added. About 1,000 people are at present watching the film in the 1,164-seat theatre, said theatre management sources. The Amber Cinema is the first theatre in the state to screen the film, after Multiplex Owners’ Association decided not to release it in the state to protest the actor’s remarks, which they termed as “anti-Gujarati.” However, Amber Cinema owner Vimal Madaam categorically said he would screen ‘Fanaa’ as it was his business to show films. “I have nothing to do with what the association says or what views anybody (Aamir Khan) has about an issue,” he told UNI. The Single Theatre Owners’ Association is at present holding a meeting to assess the fallout of Ambar Cinema decision. Meanwhile, Multiplex Owners’ Association president Manubhai Patel said the multiplex owners were still firm on their stand and would not screen the movie. About the security measures, DSP R M Pandey said two police inspectors and four sub-inspectors, apart from 30 constables, have been deployed at the theatre as part of the bandobast. “We are taking all precautionary measures to ward-off any security problem,” he said.
— UNI
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Centre to involve private sector in afforestation
New Delhi, June 6 The MoEF is working towards developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for operationalising multi-stakeholder partnership (MSP) framework, providing for private sector investment in the field of restoration of degraded forest areas. The country has vast expanses of degraded forest and non-forest land, comprising almost 12 to 15 per cent of the land. As per the MoEF, there are 127 million hectares of arid and semi-arid regions, constituting nearly 39 per cent of the country’s geographical area and spread over 10 states. MoEF Secretary Pradipto Ghosh told The Tribune yesterday that a Cabinet note to provide for participation of the industry in the restoration of degraded forest areas and community lands would be forwarded soon. “The framework for private sector participation in afforestation of the degraded land is in an advanced stage and would be sent to the Cabinet soon,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of a colloquium on “Corporate responsibility in environmental protection”, on the World Environment Day in the capital yesterday. This year the day is being observed on the theme “Desert and desertification — don’t desert drylands”.
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India rejects US watch list as ‘judgmental’
New Delhi, June 6 Ministry of External Affairs spokesman, in a strong reaction, said the State Department’s observations would not help in furthering the bilateral dialogue on the subject. The spokesman said the US had a practice of issuing global reports on a wide variety of subjects, from human rights and religious freedom, to narcotics and trafficking in persons, which by their very nature, were based on US viewpoints and preconceptions. “On the subject of trafficking in persons, as with other areas, we reject judgemental and prescriptive approach by a foreign Government. India and the United States have an ongoing dialogue on the subject of trafficking in persons and other trans-national challenges. These subjects are also discussed in the Global Issues Forum. The approach of the 2006 Report does not reflect the active cooperation on this subject between the two countries.
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IAF receives three of grounded Dhruvs
New Delhi, June 6 The Tribune had first reported the grounding of Dhruv by the IAF, which was done following the crash on November 25 last of a civilian variant ordered by the Jharkhand Government due to a defect in
tail rotors. The three arms of the Indian armed forces, which had more than 45 helicopters in their inventory, then grounded Dhruv due to safety reason after initial investigations revealed a defect in its tail rotor. Later, it was discovered during detailed investigation that there was also a problem in its tail rotor gear. Its grounding had also adversely affected the bids being made by India to sell it to other countries that had shown interest in it. IAF’s safety chief Air Marshal P.S. Ahluwalia said three Dhruv machines had been received by the force yesterday after being cleared for flying by the relevant certification agencies after
rigorous tests. However, reports suggested that the IAF would also carry out further stringent flying tests before it was finally brought back
into service. Air Marshal Ahluwalia, Director General (Inspections and Safety) at the Air Headquarters here, however, described Dhruv as “a sound machine” but admitted to “teething problems in certain components” that needed strengthening. He said the tail rotor and the tail gearbox had been further strengthened and subsequently the helicopter had passed rigorous scrutiny with flying colours. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) identified that blades of a particular batch had some snags but these were not related to design deficiencies. Investigations following the November, 2005, accident led HAL to issue a technical advisory to all operators of the medium-twin
helicopter.
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Sukh Ram’s appeal rejected
New Delhi, June 6 A Bench of Mr Justice Madan B. Lokur and Mr Justice Vipin Sanghi in a recent order rejected the appeal of Sukh Ram on the ground that there was no reason for having a fresh look of the evidence placed on record. Since the appellant had not been able to point out any "perversity" in the tribunal's order, there was no ground to strike it down, the court observed. The case had been dealt by the ITAT purely on the basis of facts brought on record and no substantial question of law was involved in it, the judges said. After Sukh Ram was proceeded against by the CBI for allegedly acquiring assets disproportionate to his know sources of income in the face of the telecom scam, the Income Tax Department had also proceeded against him and assessed him liable to pay more tax.
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Jan Morcha, SP to join protest against petrol price hike
Lucknow, June 6 Decrying the steep rise in diesel and petrol prices he said that it would further crush the farmers. He announced his Jan Morcha Sangathan’s decision to join the June 13 protest against the price hike. He said different parties under the umbrella of the Jan Morcha alliance had decided to hold protests. Samajwadi Party national general Secretary Amar Singh also announced a statewide protest on June 13 along with the support of the CPM.
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