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Fight Against Climate Change
Rahul meets kin of Etawah Dalit massacre victims
N-Deal |
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UPA can survive Left pullout: CPI Goa minister, DGP have nexus with mafia: Scarlett’s mother
Maya puts trifurcation ball in Centre’s court
Quality Education
SBoP in sound health: MD
5 hurt in Mumbai train explosion
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Fight Against Climate Change Report by June The report on climate change by the council appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to be announced in June, which will pave the way for a national policy on climate change. “Work is in progress and there is no reason why it should be delayed beyond June,” chairman of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change and Nobel laureate R.K. Pachauri told reporters on the sidelines of the launch
function. Pachauri said the the PM was likely to announce the report at the Sustainable Development Summit to be held here in June.
New Delhi, March 15 India itself is very vulnerable to climate change but it can become part of the solution, said one of the best known campaigners against global warming at the launch of an initiative in the Capital to spread awareness about climate change. The 2007 Nobel Peace laureate also admitted that his own country (US) was the largest source of greenhouse gases and there was a need for change in the policy. The good news, he added, was that the change was beginning to happen as the three candidates in the race to the White House had a clear position on climate change that was very different from present administration. Talking specifically about India’s role, Gore, who also met Prime Minster Manmohan Singh and Parliamentarians yesterday, said India had already proven its capabilities in sectors like IT, pharmaceuticals and steel and it could do the same in development of renewable and other new technologies to solve the climate change problem facing the world. Sharing the dais with IPCC chief R.K. Pachauri, Gore categorically said developed countries must not be asked to take mandatory cap on the emission of GHGs as they, too, had the right to aspire for higher standards of living. The project, a joint initiative of TERI and the JSW Foundation, will hold training and workshops to create awareness about climate change at the grass-roots
level.
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Rahul meets kin of Etawah Dalit massacre victims
Lucknow, March 15 He declared that his party would provide a sum of Rs 2.5 lakh as a fixed deposit to take care of their education and other needs. Incidentally, Chief Minister Mayawati had also assured that the state government would take care of the four minor girls orphaned in the incident. Rahul's visit came barely 14 hours after Mayawati made a whirlwind trip to the village soon after the news of the Amethi MP’s impending visit became public. Mayawati announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh each to the five next of kin of the deceased. She also suspended the SHO of Ekdil police station where the incident took place. Rahul reached the village today morning along with AICC general secretary and UP in charge Digvijay Singh and UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi. He spent an hour with the family of the deceased and spoke to the local people about the problems of their village. He also gave a few anxious moments to his security manager when he breached his security ring on several occasions, once to walk into a potato field to talk to the farmers working there. The pleasantly surprised farmers were dumbstruck to find the VIP in their midst. Early on Thursday morning, members of the dreaded Nadiya gang had shot down five Dalits from a family in Aminabad in Etawah district, reportedly, over a land dispute.
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N-Deal
New Delhi, March 15 The joint UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal is scheduled to meet here on Monday primarily to discuss the draft of the IAEA safeguards agreement. The government has been engaged in the preparatory work for this crucial meeting for the past one week. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held preliminary talks with his party colleagues and UPA allies who have been involved in the discussions on the deal two days ago to share the text of the safeguards agreement and figure a way of proceeding ahead. UPA sources said it might not be possible for the government to hand over a copy of the 25-page document to the Left leaders as the IAEA has extracted an assurance from New Delhi that it will not go public with the agreement as the international body feels it will be inundated with demands from other countries pressing for the same concessions given to India. The government is also worried that if it were to hand over a copy of the agreement to the Left leaders, they will seek considerable time to study the document. CPM secretary general has already stated that they will require two to three months to study the draft. The government will then be constrained from going ahead with its negotiations with the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the next step in operationalising the deal. Although the UPA leadership is yet to take a final call on this, senior leaders indicated that they would only share the salient features of the draft with the Left leaders at Monday’s meeting. UPA leaders were at pains to point out that when the Left parties had allowed the Centre to go ahead with talks with the IAEA, it was agreed that it will share the outcome of the talks with them. “This can be in any form,” said a senior minister. In any case, UPA leaders pointed out that the agreed text is now “frozen” and there is no scope for any further changes in the agreement.
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UPA can survive Left pullout: CPI New Delhi, March 15 General secretary of the CPI A.B. Bardhan, however, evaded direct replies to questions on whether the Left would move a no-confidence motion or support one moved by BJP against the government. “That we will think at that time,” he said. Asked whether they would support a no-confidence motion moved by the BJP, he said: “I don’t think anything of that sort will happen. If the government is reduced to a minority, I think it will dissolve the House.” In an interview with Karan Thapar on his programme “Devil’s Advocate”, the CPI leader said if the Left withdrew support, “whether the government is reduced to a minority and continues or not, it is for Parliament to see.” He said there was also a possibility before the government “whether it would dissolve Parliament and become a caretaker. In fact, (US assistant secretary of state Richard) Boucher has suggested that to the government.” — PTI
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Goa minister, DGP have nexus with mafia: Scarlett’s mother
Panaji, March 15 “I had been informed that there is a strong nexus between drug mafia, Ravi Naik and the DGP of Goa Police,” Fiona Eden Keeling alleged. She charged the home minister and the DGP with having full knowledge of criminal activities in the tourist state, but they had done their best to protest the criminals. “That has been the case with my daughter also,” she said. Fiona circulated copies of a statement issued by tourism minister Fransisco Pacheco in which he had expressed concern over increasing drug trade along the coastal belt. The police had said the 15-year-old girl was drugged, sexually assaulted and left to die on Anjuna beach, where her body was found on February 18. Vikram Varma, lawyer representing Fiona, told PTI here today that the family members “feel the police might harass them in future. Hence, we may move the high court to expose the nexus”. Emerging with Fiona from special juvenile police unit at Panaji, where she gave in-camera statement to the police in connection with her daughter’s death, Varma said the police was treating her as a suspect and not as a witness in the case. “Probably, we are moving the high court in this case.” Scarlett’s family is not happy with the police investigation so far which it has described as a “cover up”. “The world is witness to the attempts being made to cover up Scarlett’s murder,” Fiona said. Reiterating her demand for a probe in the case by Central agencies, Fiona said any inquiry done under the supervision of the home minsiter and the DGP would be “useless”. “Goa is a beautiful place and I love Goans. But these two persons have brought shame to not only Goa but also the entire country,” she said.
— PTI
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Maya puts trifurcation ball in Centre’s court
Lucknow, March 15 She was reacting to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement to the media in Varanasi on Friday that the Centre was ready for the formation of a separate Purvanchal state in Eastern UP if the state government took the initiative. “I have already written to the PM that under Article 3 of the Indian Constitution only Parliament could form new state or alter the areas, boundaries or name of the existing states. Therefore not the state but the Centre should take the initiative in the matter,” she disclosed. According to Mayawati her government was not only in favour of Purvanchal but also a separate state of Bundelkhand and western UP. She announced this at the BSP party conclave on the occasion of BSP founder Kanshiram’s birth anniversary celebrations at the new party office at Mall Avenue. The function was attended by BSP MLAs, MLCs, MPs and BSP office-bearers not only from UP but other state BSP units as well. As the day is being observed by the party as Samiksha Diwas (Review Day), Mayawati summed up the party’s rapid strides made during this last year. The present party workers also reiterated a pledge to make Mayawati the next Prime Minister. She also released a two-volume English translation of the BSP Blue book- “A Travelogue of my Struggle-ridden Life and the Bahujan Movement” brought out by the state’s department of information. Justifying its publication in English the party supremo said that since the party was rapidly expanding in non-Hindi-speaking states there was a need to make party literature available in English as well. Later at a massive public function at the CMS school building on Kanpur road Mayawati laid the foundation stones of Rs 283.14 crore schemes in the memory of the her mentor and BSP founder.
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Quality Education
Lucknow, March 15 While addressing the 90th convocation at the Banaras Hindu University today in Varanasi, Dr Manmohan Singh underlined the need for addressing social problems on a priority basis. Underscoring the need to improve the quality of education and not only physical infrastructure and curriculum, the academician Prime Minister urged the universities to maintain the standards of good education. According to him, merely raising the budgetary allocation of education would not serve any useful purpose as outcome and not outlay was what mattered. The need of the hour was a sort of revolution in the modern education system, particularly at the university level, he stated. “While the Budget allocation for education has been increased five times in the 11th Five Year Plan, I want to emphasise that spending more money, constructing huge buildings, admitting more students and appointing more teachers alone is not enough unless it comes with qualitative improvement in all spheres of education,” he pointed out. The university awarded an honorary D. Lit to the Prime Minister at the 90th convocation here. The Chancellor of the university, Dr Karan Singh, awarded the degree to the PM. It also conferred an honorary doctor of letters degree to painter Satish Gujral and historian Irfan Habib.
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SBoP in sound health: MD
Patiala, March 15 Varma asserted that at the end of February 2008, the total deposits of the bank stood at Rs 43,653 crore and advances were pegged at Rs 34,987 crore. As on February this year, the deposits had grown by Rs 5,091 crore over March last year. The advances had grown by Rs 5,902 crore over March, 2007. Retail deposits, he said, had grown by Rs 4,747 crore as against Rs 1,165 crore during the corresponding period last year. Referring to the internal message sent by him to various staff members, he said: “All organisations encourage their staff to put in their best efforts and achieve targets set for them.” He said that till December 2007, the business turnover of the bank stood at Rs 82,200 crore and the net profit of the bank, as on December 31, 2007, stood at 244.44 crore. The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) was pegged at 1.71 per cent. Varma maintained that there was a provision of internet banking at all the branches of the bank and there was also “any time banking” through a network of more than 8,600 ATMs throughout the country.
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5 hurt in Mumbai train explosion
Mumbai, March 15 The police said the mishap happened at around 1 pm when the train entered the Sion station en route to Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus. As the crowd entered the train plying on the Central Railway route the bottle being carried by a passenger exploded after being smashed in the rush. The explosion spewed some acrid gas and spewed chemicals on the passengers. The police suspects that the bottle was carried by one of the passengers.
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Army kills 2 ultras in Assam One killed in Manipur TN Cong nominees
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