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M’rashtra docs call off strike
Centre keen on military solution: ULFA
1 killed, arms recovered in raid on ultras’ camp
Kalam was ‘ready’ to appoint Sonia PM
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Karnataka Polls
Mamata hurt as CPM cadres attack convoy
Rahul gives some boxing lessons
BJP: Food crisis to spark migration from B’desh
India to ink biggest defence deal with US
Ailing octogenarian writer battles penury
‘Urban school adolescents severely sleep deprived’
After reality TV, it’s now ‘reality radio’
Surat farmer produces “biggest pearl”
Ferro alloy makers: PSUs unilaterally hiking prices
One in every 30 e-mails in India is infected
Indian women set to become bodyguards
Airport thefts: Goods worth Rs 5.48 cr lost
Sariska set to roar again
IT industry goes slow on hiring, courtesy US slowdown
US offers help to India in fighting terror in J&K
India to pay heavy price if N-pact fails: Blackwill
Now item boys are here
Sarabjit’s family thanks Pak govt
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M’rashtra docs call off strike
Mumbai, April 20 More than 6,000 medical students, resident doctors and their teachers across the state attached to government hospitals, who were on strike, were returning to duty, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors said in a statement this afternoon. The decision to call off the strike came after the association and the Maharashtra government concluded negotiations late last night. The doctors were protesting against the reduction in the number of seats in postgraduate medical seats. The number of seats in Maharashtra were reduced by the Medical Council of India because the state government failed to get adequate infrastructure to support the students enrolled. “The state government has agreed to meet all our demands and promised to increase the number of seats for postgraduate courses within a month,” doctors association spokesperson Ravikant Singh said. “The state government has also given an assurance on improving the infrastructure of various government hospitals at the earliest,” he said.
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Centre keen on military solution: ULFA
Guwahati, April 20 In the latest issue of its mouthpiece, Freedom,a soft copy of which was e-mailed to the media here yesterday, the proscribed insurgent group stated: “The Government of India doesn’t seem to be keen to hold talks with the ULFA to resolve the conflict. India is rather applying all means aimed at a military solution to the demand for restoration of a sovereign Assam.” The ULFA, which is interested only in talks that focus on its demand for sovereignty, alleged, “As things stand now, peace talks are nowhere in the offing. The Government of India is certainly sitting pretty with its assessment that the ULFA has suffered serious reverses at the hands of the Indian forces in recent months and that the question of peace talks will arise once the ULFA is cornered. This approach of India will certainly dim the hopes of resuming the peace process.” The outfit in its mouthpiece further said its team of negotiators, the People’s Consultative Group (PCG), was set up in 2005, as it was keen on bringing about a peaceful political settlement to the conflict. The PCG held three rounds of talks with the Centre. “We have to trust the PCG because of its emphasis on Assam’s national interest. But on the contrary,the Indian authorities are opting for a military solution of the problem," it said. The ULFA alleged that commanders of the Army had been trying to belittle the PCG initiative saying that peace talks were still miles away.
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1 killed, arms recovered in raid on ultras’ camp
Guwahati, April 20 The army spokesman, Col Rajesh Kalia, informed that acting on a tip-off about the presence of a group of KLNLF militants, the troops laid siege to a camp of the KLNLF militant group inside a dense forest, about 12 km away from Manja in the insurgent- infested Karbi Anglong hill district. The militant on sentry duty in the camp opened fire while alerting other inmates.The sentry was killed by the Army in a retaliatory fire while the rest of the militants fled. The Army recovered a large number of arms and ammunition besides combat dresses, ration, utensils and electronic gadgets from the camp. The army launched a massive search operation in areas surrounding the camp to nab the ultras who had fled. It recovered one AK- 56 rifle, three AK- 47 rifles, one US-made carbine, one 5.56 rifle equipped with grenade launcher, one .303 rifle, eight grenades, one single barrelled grenade launcher, 10 magazines of AK- 47 assault rifle, 25 gelatin sticks, 10 electronic detonators and assorted ammunition. The KLNLF is the anti-talk faction of the Karbi militant group, the United People’s Democratic Solidarity
(UPDS), that is now engaged in a peace process with the government since the 2003. Besides, resorting to rampant extortion in the hill district, the KLNLF has triggered many blasts targeting innocent civilians in the district. In its latest act of violence, the outfit triggered a blast at the daily market at Howraghat in Karbi Anglong district last week injuring over
40 persons.
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Kalam was ‘ready’ to appoint Sonia PM
New Delhi, April 20 Giving first insights to what transpired at Rashtrapati Bhavan during that period, P M
Nair, the secretary to Kalam, says the President was advised to sign the letter, shake hands with Gandhi and congratulate her. Kalam was also told to ask Gandhi when she would like to be sworn in. Four days after the general election threw up a mixed result with no single party having a majority, the President asked, "What do we do?" Nair in his book, The Kalam Effect: My years with the President, excerpts of which were made available to
PTI, said the President was advised that he should satisfy himself that there is a party or a coalition of parties which can form a stable government and then invite the leader of that party or the coalition of parties to form the government. "So, what do I do? he asked noting he cannot wait indefinitely. On the advice of his aides, the President sent a letter on May 17, 2004 inviting Gandhi to Rashtrapati Bhavan the same day.
Kalam was told that Gandhi will come with letters of support from different parties. You do not have to read all of those. Just leaf through them and ring the bell," Nair suggested to the President, saying he would be in the adjacent ADC's room with the letter appointing Gandhi as Prime Minister. "Please sign it, shake hands with her and congratulate her. You should also ask when she would like to be sworn in," Nair advised Kalam who said Okay. The book will hit the stands
tomorrow. Nair says contrary to the rumour doing the rounds then, there was no suggestion at all from Kalam to Sonia not to become the Prime Minister. With the issue of Gandhi's foreign origin being raked up, there were speculative reports in the media that the President had advised the Congress chief against occupying the key post. The
Kalam-Gandhi meetings were brief and courteous, the only purpose being to hand over the letter appointing Gandhi as Prime Minister, recalls
Nair. Gandhi's meeting with Kalam was fixed for 12.15 p.m. on May 18. Gandhi arrived with Manmohan Singh. "I waited in the ADC's room, alert for the bell, armed with the letter yet to be signed from the President appointing her the Prime Minister of India. Minutes ticked. The bell rang. I hurried out with the papers, only to see Gandhi and Singh leaving," recounts
Nair. Kalam then told Nair that he told me she would come with letters of support, but she came just for discussions. She said she would come again tomorrow with the letters of support from other parties". The President, recalls
Nair, said he had told Gandhi, why wait till tomorrow? I am available any time this afternoon or this evening. You please come as soon as you are ready with the papers. My papers are ready for you". The message came that Gandhi would meet the President at 8.15 p.m. on the next day, May 19.
— PTI
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Karnataka Polls
New Delhi, April 20 Shariff was very vocal about his disappointment yesterday when he said, “The policy of keeping relatives of Congress leaders out — if at all it has to be followed — should be followed at the national level.” Whereas the list, cleared by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, leaves out some more hopefuls, it does make space for others. Dinesh Gundurao and Tanveer Sait, both related to former Congress heavyweights, have been fortunate to figure on the list of selected candidates for the May 10 polls. Gundurao, son of deceased former Karnataka chief minister R.Gundurao, has been named as the party candidate from Gandhi Nagar constituency from where he is a two-time and sitting MLA. Tanveer Sait, the Congress candidate from Narasimharaja Assembly segment, is the son of deceased Congress leader and former minister Aziz Sait. The party has also nominated close aides of two senior Congress leaders as candidates in its first list. These are Vasu, considered close to Congress leader Veerappa Moily. Vasu has been named from Chamaraja even when he lost from this seat in the previous elections. H.C. Mahadevappa, named from Narasipur (reserved) constituency is close to former deputy chief minister Siddharamaiah. He recently joined the Congress after leaving Janata Dal (S). He was also a minister in Dharam Singh’s Cabinet. Not everyone close to senior leaders has made it. H.M. Revanna, a former minister and Moily aide, is absent from the list though he wanted to contest either from Magadi or Govind Nagar. Revanna had lost the previous Assembly elections from Magadi. Another probable who has had to eat a humble pie is M.S. Atmananda, a former minister, keen to contest from Mandya. The Congress election committee chose H.B. Ramu instead. Meanwhile, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the selection of candidates for the second phase of Karnataka polls. The meeting took place late in the evening. Also present in the meeting were other members of the Congress central election committee. Meanwhile, fresh reports said that film actor and former union minister in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet, M.H. Ambareesh, a sitting MP, has been named the party candidate from Mandya. Ambreesh had not been nominated until last night.
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BJP releases list of 8 candidates
Bangalore, April 20 With this, the BJP has so far cleared candidates for 193 of the 224 constituencies. Those who figured in the list include Jayaram from Madugiri (R), Mariswamy from Dasarahalli and Nagaraj from Magadi, BJP sources said. Others in this list were H.D. Kote Chikkaveeranayaka (SC), Mahadevaiahm, Nangangud (SC), Subhasarani, T. Narsipura (R), Belurgopala Krishna (Sagara) and Guruswamy from Hosadurga, the sources said. The party is yet to announce nominees in 31 assembly segments. — PTI
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Mamata hurt as CPM cadres attack convoy
Kolkata, April 20 They were carrying firearms, swords, bombs, lathis and other weapons. They were allegedly trying to stop her from entering Nandigram village. Mamata sustained injuries on head and other parts of body during stone-pelting. Profusely bleeding from the head injury, she was taken to the local medical out-post where she was given first-aid. Other TMC leaders accompanying her were also injured. The vehicle in which Mamata was travelling was also damaged. Mamata alleged the local police present at the spot did not come forward to prevent the CPI(M) workers from attacking her and other people. On the contrary, some policemen in plain clothes joined the CPI(M) cadres, she alleged. She said she had been rescued by some CRPF personnel who happened to be on the spot at that time. Mamata was going to Adikarapara to meet parents of the woman who was gang-raped there on Thursday night by the cadres. But she could not enter the village today following resistance by CPI(M) activists. She filed an FIR at the Nandigram police station before returning to Kolkata in the evening. As soon as the reports of attack on Mamata reached the city, several TMC workers and their supporters came out in the streets and started protesting against atrocities by the CPI(M) at Nandigam and the attack on their leader. Similar protests and demonstrations were also held in several places in
the districts. The TMC YC decided to stop to the Chief Minister’s convoy during his movement in the city and elsewhere tomorrow onwards. Similar obstructions would also be made to restrict the movement of Biman Bose and other CPI(M) leaders. According to reports reaching the state government in the evening from the Hoogly district headquarter at Chinsura, Mamata’s convoy which was on way to Nandigram from Kolkata, was attacked by a group of people which included many women, belonging to the CPI(M) near Tekhali bridge. The local TMC workers and supporters also attacked the CPI(M) activists with lathis and other lethal weapons and soon a violent clash ensued between the two groups near the Tekhali bridge. The police reached the spot and dispersed the mob by using lathis and bursting of tear gas shells. So far 12 persons belonging to both the groups have been arrested. In Kolkata, the Congress(l) leader, Pradip Bhattacharyya condemned the attack on Mamata. The CPI(M) leader, Shymal Chakraborty also condemned the incident and called it unfortunate.
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Rahul gives some boxing lessons
Jhansi, April 20 And if the boxer is to be believed, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family
knows the sport. On his way to the divisional commissioner's office on Friday, Rahul spent his time on road chatting with passersby while scores of farmers waited to be identified before they could be let in. The Congress general secretary was earlier stopped by the police and not allowed to
proceed. Rahul stopped one athlete going for his coaching class on his tracks and rightly guessed the sport -- boxing -- he has taken up. He spent the next few moments trading punches with the surprised youngster to the amusement of the crowd. "He asked me to show a cross-right punch while I was delivering hooks, he corrected me. He seems to know the game. He suggested me to graduate to bantam weight from my lightweight category," Imran Khan, a student of Christian Inter College, told reporters after his chat with Gandhi. Khan said Rahul also egged him on to punch
harder. Rahul also obliged a small girl accompanying her family waiting for his autograph and spent some time talking to her while Gandhi's security men kept at bay a delegation of women's Congress requesting a meeting with the young leader. After the meeting with the Divisional Commissioner, Gandhi walked down to see off the farmers and also trudged some distance to get blessings of elder farmers. He went inside the three buses ferrying the farmers and assured them that he would be back with them if the administration does not accede to their demands in a
month. — PTI
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BJP: Food crisis to spark migration from B’desh
Guwahati, April 20 BJP’s national vice-president and former union minister Bijoya Chakraborty today said, “The Congress-led UPA government has apparently failed to gauge the danger looming over the country, particularly the north east India when food crisis in Bangladesh will trigger human migration of an unprecedented scale from that country which is still having long porous border with the northeastern states of Assam and Meghalaya,”. The BJP leader vowed to make the danger of illegal migration from Bangladesh and failure of the ruling Congress to take preventive steps a major issue for the saffron party before the next general election. She said the BJP would launch a massive awareness campaign in the northeast to alert the people in general in the danger in the waiting - “Food crisis in Bangladesh would trigger more migration from that country to the northeastern region.” The BJP vice-president blamed it on ‘divide and rule’ policy adopted by the Congress in tackling ethnic unrest and insurgency in the region. “Internal security scenario in the northeast, particularly in Assam, Nagaland and Manipur, is in great danger, thanks to myopic policy adopted by the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. Regarding the ethnic conflicts in Assam, the BJP leader said, “It is because of wrong policy adopted by the Congress, the Bodo tribe groups are now fighting among themselves. Not only that, Dimasa tribe is now totally divided in different warring groups, while Karbis are fighting Dimasas forgetting the age-old ties. It is the Congress’ policy to keep the tribal society in the northeast hugely divided for political gains.”
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India to ink biggest defence deal with US
New Delhi, April 20 Negotiations for the purchase of the Boeing-P8I LRMR aircraft are in the final stages and are likely to be wrapped up during Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta’s visit to the US that began on Sunday. The agreement for the purchase under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route will be signed between the two governments in New Delhi later this year, official sources said. The P8I, which is based on the Boeing-737 platform, has been specifically developed for the Indian Navy’s requirements. The aircraft, which is still in the conception stage, is expected to fly by 2012. This will be the second big-ticket purchase from the US a year after a $1 billion agreement inked in February for six Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft for the Indian Army’s Special Forces. Mehta’s comments on “intrusiveness” came on the sidelines of an international seminar here on Saturday. “There are certain things we can’t agree to. As a sovereign nation, we can’t accept intrusiveness into our system, so there is some fundamental difficulty,” said Mehta. “The US may have this kind of (end user) agreements with everyone. I don’t believe in that. We pay for something and we get some technology. What I do with it, is my thing,” the navy chief added. His remarks came after former US Pacific Command chief Admiral Dennis Blair said the India-US military relationship had “slowed down” because New Delhi had not signed three “very basic and routine” agreements. These are the Mutual Logistic Support Agreement, the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement and the End Use Monitoring Agreement. — IANS
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Ailing octogenarian writer battles penury
New Delhi, April 20 The writer from Ballia in UP, who took part in the Quit India Movement of 1942 and also received the Mahatma Gandhi Award and the Sahitya Bhushan Award of the state, has fallen on hard times and accuses his publishers of cheating him and the government of apathy. "All my life, I have contributed to society through my writings and the freedom movement. Now, it's the turn of the government to do something for me so that I can manage my medical and day-to-day expenses," says Kant. The 83-year-old has already sold his original manuscripts at throwaway prices and is ready to sell all his awards and medals, including the Sahitya Akademi Award he received for his novel Inhin Hathiyaron Se, as they were of no use if he had to live in humiliation and penury. "I have led a life of dignity but now I am short of money, my publishers have cheated me and the government is apathetic to my problems," he told PTI. In a tale similar to that of the late shehnai maestro, Bismillah Khan, Kant in his twilight years has to look after a large family including son Arvind Bindu who pens his thoughts. His publishers have not been paying him royalties even though his novels Sukha Patta, for which he got the Soviet land nehru award in 1984, Kale-Ujale, Desh Ke Log and others earned them sufficient revenues, Kant said. Kant wrote to the Uttar Pradesh government about his plight as well as his contemporaries in Delhi about two years ago but has received no response. His son Bindu said, "My father suffers from osteoporosis. He has multiple fractures and a slight jerk can be dangerous to his life. What we earned from the writings are not enough to meet the medical bills". Kant's books and novels are taught in the universities of Japan, Russia, Germany besides India. In the Osaka University, his first novel Sukha Patta based on the freedom struggle and the role of the youth, is part of the curriculum. "I was in intermediate when I left studies and joined the freedom struggle," Kant said adding that he has never claimed pension for the freedom fighters and the government also did not bother as he was a fairly successful author. He is also a trifle peeved about the central government award coming in his twilight years. "Seeing my contribution, many feel I should have got the Sahitya Akademi Award 30 years ago, but my uncompromising attitude resulted in the long wait. If I'd received it earlier, my family would be better off," he said. Some younger people in the field have expressed shock and concern at Kant's situation. "Through his writings, Kant made the government conscious of the people's plight when India was shaping its policies after independence. So it's only fair that the government and the Hindi organisations do something in return," Indu, a Delhi University lecturer who has done research on his writings, said.
— PTI
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‘Urban school adolescents severely sleep deprived’
New Delhi, April 20 Listing television and internet as main factors causing chronic sleep deprivation amongst youngsters, the study found that higher the class the student was studying in, the lesser sleep he or she got. The findings of the study conducted by researchers at the University college of medical sciences and GTB Hospital here, show that sleep debt of approximately one hour per day was seen in all adolescents and progressed with higher grades. The research team studied sleeping habits of students from classes IX-XII in an average sample age of 15.1 years and found that the total sleep time was 7.8 hours per day. Most of the students said that they went to bed by 11 pm and took 23.6 minutes to leave the bed after waking up. Though sleep efficiency of the sample was 92.6 per cent, refreshing sleep was reported by less than half of them. According to the experts, the adolescents need at least 8-9 hours of night time sleep for optimal daytime alertness. Discrepancy between the ideal sleep debt increased with higher grades and this resulted in surging prevalence of daytime sleepiness in corresponding groups. The presence of media, television and internet, in the child's bedroom delays the bedtime and wake-up time. The school children spend less time in bed and are more tired during the day as compared to their peers with no such access in their bedrooms, the study said. The data available in the study thus suggests that most of the adolescents, especially the higher graders, are chronically sleep deprived. The study found that while ninth graders had eight hours of sleep, the tenth graders 7.7 hours, eleventh graders 7.9 hours and class XII students managed with only 7.6 hours of sleep on an average count. Most of the respondents complained of pain in the legs. Daytime napping and sleepiness were prevalent in the study and its incidence increased with higher grades. A whopping 69.8 per cent of twelfth graders confessed to taking naps during daytime and 54.2 per cent of daytime sleepiness. While daytime sleepiness of the tenth and the eleventh graders was at 39.1 per cent and 39.7 per cent respectively, only 37.2 per cent ninth graders complained of sleepiness. Interestingly, nocturnal awaking increased progressively until eleventh grade but dropped down in twelfth standard. But despite lower incidence, the frequency of nocturnal awakenings in higher grades was quite high, the study revealed.
— PTI
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After reality TV, it’s now ‘reality radio’
New Delhi, April 20 The sudden spurt in the number of ‘reality shows’ that promise to guarantee entertainment are riding high on the radio airwaves. Most FM radio stations believe that the time has come to provide their dedicated listeners an opportunity to showcase their talent on air. “The radio reality shows provides a much broader platform to the younger lot of our country to showcase their hidden talent and become famous instantly as I think every individual has some inherent quality in him,” says Anand Chakarvarthy, Vice President- Marketing, BIG 92.7 FM. “It’s wonderful to know that radio is coming out with such a great form of entertainment providing ample opportunities to the untapped talent of our country. I have also taken part in one of the reality show on TV and I know radio is a wonderful platform to prove yourself,” says actress Pooja Bedi, who had participated in Star One’s reality show “Jhalak Dikhla Jaa”. Big 92.7 FM has launched a sing-along reality show with Sonu Nigam, where one lucky winner will be selected from cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chandigarh to share centerstage with music maestro himself at special concerts scheduled to be held in each of the 5 cities between the 16th and the 20th of April and then attend the final in Mumbai. This will be followed by the channel collaborating with singer Sonu Nigam to exclusively market his new single sensation album “Punjabi Please”. “This is the first time, a radio station has tied up with an artiste to market his album. The reality show will offer young talents a ‘Life Banao’ opportunity through this concert,” says Chakarvarthy. Last year, BIG FM had launched the “Chipak ke Jeeto” reality show in association with Hyundai motors to promote its just launched Hyundai i10 car. Earlier this year, Radio City 91.1 FM had launched the ‘RC Live’, a month-long radio reality show for nationwide hunt to identify and create India’s best Hindi band. “Swarathma” band from Bangalore had won the event and bagged themselves an album release contract from EMI. The winner band is now being promoted by the channel for the period of a year through various promotional ctivities and radio shows. “To be a winner in radio reality shows, you need to have lot of energy along with dedication. You should be original in your approach and always believe in yourself. These shows can give good boost to one’s career,” says ‘Ulta-Pulta’ fame Radio Jockey (RJ) Nitin. “Radio reality shows encourage young and new talent of our country to come out with their singing talent and fulfill their dreams of making it large on the canvass. Imagine, how wonderful it would be to come out with your own CD,” says Bollywood famous playback singer Aarti Kakkar, who is one of the judges of singing reality show by BIG 92.7 FM. Fever 104 FM of HT Media group also had launched the reality talent hunt show last year providing an opportunity to the winner to sing with music legend A R Rahman at a live concert held in Delhi, which saw huge enthusiasm from listeners. “The rising popularity of the reality shows has added a new dimension to their growing demand. These shows give opportunities to the participants residing in the interiors of the country to showcase their talent,” says Dr. Zeus, Bollywood singer and ‘Kangana’ album fame. Reality shows are a win-win situation for everyone, be it contestants, radio channels or the viewers. The high listenership these stations command tells you about their advantages, he adds.
— PTI
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Surat farmer produces “biggest pearl”
Surat, April 20 The natural pearl is developed by Sanjay Desai in his Bhargav Freshwater Aquaculture Farm near Surat. This unique unstudded pearl “is the biggest pearl ever cultured in our farm,” said Sanjay Desai. “We are planning to auction the pearl at Sotheby’s or Christies’, but for that we need clearance from the Gem and Pearl Testing Laboratory in Bahrain. We will be taking it for testing by the end of this month,” Desai said. “Dr K Jankiraman, former director of Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), Bhubaneswar, has also seen the pearl and appreciated our efforts,” Desai, who claims to be the only person to be involved in pearl farming in western India said. “A 46-carat pearl in Australia was once auctioned for Rs 8 or 9 crore. Ours is bigger than that. It may fetch a better price,” Desai added. In his farm, Desai, also cultivates pearls of different sizes and shapes, including Ganesha, Jesus Christ and Sai Baba. Most of them are for export purpose. Desai, a farmer having 40 acres land in his village was looking for diversification from traditional business of farming. In 2003 he saw a television programme saying that Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwa Vidhalaya, Bilaspur has developed a technology of freshwater pearl farming. He contacted them to learn about the new farming technique and underwent a 15-day training at Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture in Bhubaneswar in 2004. After returning from the training he started pearl farming on his land. “We had to use mussels from nearby areas to maintain proper environment and get better yield. I first started the pearl farming in five acres area of the pond and later increased it to 10 acres,” he said. “Pearl farming is a very costly proposition and a new thing in India. We have invested Rs 48 lakh for the pearl farming. This is also a very risky business and that is the reason people are not taking it up,” he added. “We require high quality calcium carbonate, natural gum, high quality nets for the farming,” Desai said. “We are lucky that the pearl like this has developed in our farm. Dr Jankiraman said that the reason for the development of natural pearl is mineral composition of the land here,” Desai added. One trust in Orissa has taken up pearl farming in co-operative sector and a Hyderabad-based businessman Narasimha Rao is also involved in pearl farming, besides him, Desai said. — PTI
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Ferro alloy makers: PSUs unilaterally hiking prices
New Delhi, April 20 “When the government is making efforts to bring down the prices of commodities, at the same time, Manganese Ore India (MOIL) have again increased prices by 50 per cent for the quarter ending June 2008 in majority of grades, compared to last quarter prices,” the Indian Ferro Alloy Producers’ Association
(IFAPA) said in a letter to Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Similarly, it cited, that Orissa government-owned Orissa Mining Corp (OMC) too has raised chrome prices by 198 per cent during April-June to Rs 18,250 per million
tonne, compared to Rs 6,131 per MT during April-June 2007. Accusing MOIL and OMC of increasing prices of ores without any relevance to the cost of production, IFAPA said Private mine owners are increasing the prices of ores as and when the PSUs raise their prices. “This is the root cause of increase in inflation in the country,” it pointed out. Asking the Centre and the Orissa government to take immediate action against MOIL and OMC for hiking prices, IFAPA said it was imperative that such high costs of basic steel- making inputs like manganese ore and chrome ore would have cascading effects and push up prices of finished goods. The IFAPA pointed out that these minerals were finite resources and their conservation was indispensable in view of the capacity expansion plans by major steel companies. It demanded a ban on the exports of these ores which would also ensure price stability in production of ferro alloys and steel as well.
— PTI
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One in every 30 e-mails in India is infected
Chennai, April 20 This revelation was made by a study conducted by Message Labs, a multi-national web security services company, which puts India right on top of the heap of nations, which have been affected by a flurry of virus activity in January this year. While the global ratio of viruses in emails turned out to be one in every 131 mails, what’s even more staggering is the spam ratio as one in every 1.36 mails is junk mail. One of the reasons for the increase in the number of viruses in the country could be the rampant piracy of
software. Speaking about the continuing trend, M.L. Srinivasan, technical director of Secure Matrix Solutions, an Internet security firm, says, “The usage of legally purchased software is extremely low in India. Around 60 to 70 per cent of the software installed on Indian PCs is pirated. And they are easily available at roadside shops. In most cases, the software CD is infected by viruses, which are embedded in key generators or crack programmes which help end users bypass the software registration process.” Another reason for the spread of viruses is a lack of updated anti-virus signatures among those who own anti-virus packages. Srinivasan says: “Just like every other software installed on a majority of Indian PCs, even the anti-virus packages are pirated. Because of this, the user cannot update his anti-virus signatures regularly. Also several people who have installed the trial version of such packages don’t bother to buy the original version, which leaves them vulnerable to new viruses that are being created every day.” Speaking about the complexity of this problem, Dr Sudhakar, assistant commissioner of the cyber crime cell, Chennai city police, says, “There are two aspects to this issue. One is the creation of the virus, while the second is the spreading of it. While the first one is a deliberate act, the second one may or may not be so. An innocent person may become the carrier of a virus by a casual activity like browsing.” He adds, “Due to the very nature of the Internet’s architecture, it is daunting to apprehend the perpetrators of such crimes as there is no specific point of origin to where a mail can
be traced.”
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Indian women set to become bodyguards
Mumbai, April 20 Talele has announced specially designed workshops for women, training them physically and mentally to work as bodyguards. Talele has already begun his first batch consisting of 25 women in the month of March and the second batch is all set to commence in May. "In Mumbai there is a growing demand for women bodyguards for VIPs
and celebrities. However in the absence of trained woman power, all vacancies are filled up by men," Talele told PTI. The participants have to be between 17 and 30 years of age. The intensive physical and mental training sessions is being held at Worli, south and central Mumbai for two hours daily. The training will be for a period of two months. The participants will be taught martial arts like Judo Karate, Yoga and swimming by professionals. "Along with martial arts, the girls will also be taught on how to improve their communication skills and their self-confidence," Talele said. According to Talele, in many cases, men guard the women celebrities too, even though the latter are often uncomfortable with the arrangement, but there is little choice. Talele hopes to fill this void with his workshop. "The Mumbai police force does not have any female bodyguards. In fact, even the number of the women police constables is very low," the Mumbai's joint commissioner of police (crime), K L Prasad told PTI. When a female VIP visits the city, a regular woman constable is provided to the dignitary. These lady constables are well trained in the use of small weapons like a pistol but are not trained to carry out the functions of a bodyguard, the joint
commissioner said. Talele is also in touch with some private companies who are on the look-out for the women bodyguards. After the training, the girls will be given placements in these firms. The city does have a few security agencies that employ the women bodyguards. One of them is Tops Group security agency, which has nearly 200 women bodyguards for various public events and private clients. "We are the pioneer in training women as the bodyguards, who are trained in the martial arts and the crisis management for three weeks before they are deployed in the field," Deepak Monga, the senior corporate manager of
Tops told PTI. These women guards are deployed at the unions or the events attended by the women celebrities and even for the child artists who specifically ask for a female security personnel as they feel more at ease with them. The Property Guards, another security agency, also employs women to guard city malls and family members of the celebrity clients. Its chairman, Vikash Verma said that the firm has nearly 100 women security guards who have undergone three months
training period. — PTI
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Airport thefts: Goods worth Rs 5.48 cr lost
New Delhi, April 20 The metro airport at Mumbai leads the pack among the highly-theft prone airports, with average losses here amounting to Rs 1,31,850. The statistics surfaced last week in the reply of the ministry of civil aviation to a starred question in the Lok Sabha. Ministry’s own records tell the sorry tale of airport security in India -- 138 cases of thefts were registered at the four metro airports in India during the last year. Mumbai airport accounted for lesser number of theft cases than Delhi, but the quantum of losses to passengers here was eight times than that in Delhi. While the Delhi metro airport saw 79 cases of theft resulting in consequential losses of Rs 57.80 lakh to passengers, the Mumbai airport witnessed 37 cases causing whopping losses to the extent of Rs 481.25 lakh. The metro airport at Kolkata registered the lowest incidence of theft during the past year; value of losses here was just Rs 47,000. At Chennai, however, 18 airport theft cases were reported leading to a loss of Rs 8.48 lakh to passengers. Strange it is that though investigations were undertaken in all the cases - as per the ministry’s reply - lost belongings were not retrieved in a single case, pointing to the urgency of intensive surveillance and vigilance. Incidentally, scheduled domestic airlines have already issued advisories to passengers not to carry jewellery or cash in their checked-in baggage, and the airlines at all major airports have even positioned in-house vigilance teams to curb thefts. But all that seems to be bearing little fruit. The ministry, interestingly, wrote in its reply: “Investigations were undertaken in all cases and in some charge-sheets have been filed.” Automated in line baggage X-ray screening system is now being installed at all major airports in the country, said the ministry when asked what it was doing to check thefts.
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Sariska set to roar again
New Delhi, April 20 The tiger would come from Ranthambhore reserve currently experiencing a boom in the population of the animal, chief wildlife warden of Rajasthan R N Mehrotra told UNI. “Initially we would put just one animal, and its companion would be introduced a few months later, and this was being done to see how the newcomer was finding its new habitat,” he said. Mehrotra said though no exact date could be given for reintroduction of the tiger in Sariska, it would possibly take about a month. He said that at present there a total of 35 tigers in Ranthambhore, so it could easily part with a few to enliven the barren Sariska. The plan to put tiger in Sariska again was mooted about a year ago but was finally cleared by the PMO last month. The sanctuary had become infamous creating nationwide uproar for having lost all of its tiger population. Work on making it inhabitable for the endangered species was going on fast. The first task was to remove human habitation which were disturbing the life of the animals, and the Ministry of Forests and Environment had taken up four villages for relocation, according to Rajesh Gopal of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. The Centre had increased the relocation package to Rs 10 lakh per family. However, only one village has been relocated so far. The Wildlife Institute of India has prepared a Rs 1.50 crore Sariska tiger recovery plan. Besides relocation of villages, regulation of pilgrim traffic inside the reserve, and development of areas that serve as buffers between the core of the reserve and the outside world were also important requisites to be completed for reintroduction of tiger. Sariska forests are located in Alwar District of Rajasthan. It was a hunting preserve of the erstwhile Alwar state, but was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955 and a Tiger Reserve in 1978. The reserve has an area of 866 sq km and is situated 107 km north-east of Jaipur. It was about three years ago that the news of Sariska having lost its tiger population started coming in, mainly from tourists. A year later in 2005, the state government and the Project Tiger authorities confirmed that the species had disappeared from the sanctuary, in the wake of which a Tiger Task Force was created by the Prime Minister. The Task Force submitted its report in August 2005. In the revised strategy formulated by the Ministry in the light of the Task Force Report the emphasis was on involvement of the local people in the protection of the threatened animals. The Task Force Report had said,” The protection of the tiger is inseparable from the protection of the forests it roams in. But the protection of these forests is itself inseparable from the fortunes of people who, in India, inhabit forest areas.” Sariska is among the 28 Tiger reserves in the country which have come up since 1970. The Project Tiger had been instituted on the basis of the report of the first Task Force on tiger headed by Dr Karan Singh. It was created after the dwindling population of tigers attracted worldwide attention in 1960s.
— UNI
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IT industry goes slow on hiring, courtesy US slowdown
New Delhi, April 20 Although Indian IT companies are venturing into the European market, the US still accounts over 70 per cent of their revenues. Any slowdown in this market will impact the margin and profitability of the IT companies, which are now looking to cut costs on possible areas like excessive hiring. “There is a definite decline in the recruitments in the last two-to-three months. This is prominent in the IT services segment and not so much in the Business Process Outsourcing and product development segment,” Unit Head of Kelly Services, India’s IT recruitment cell at
Hyderabad, Phanishree Puramshetty said. Companies are looking at all possible means to cut costs and reducing the people on bench is just one form of it, she said. “Earlier, IT companies used to hire anticipating projects, but this is no longer happening. IT companies now hire as and when demand emerges,” strategist at research firm KRIS, Arun
Kejriwal, said. “Many IT companies are giving out no or lower bonuses this year. Recruitments are happening in the junior and mid-level management but not in the senior level,” Executive Access India’s Research Associate Vansh Vardhan Joshi said. While the recruitments have been reduced across all levels, it is the senior level management, which is suffering the most, he said.
— PTI
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US offers help to India in fighting terror in J&K
New Delhi, April 20 Speaking at a global forum here, former US Pacific Command Commander-in-Chief Admiral (Retd) Dennis C. Blair said India and America should jointly pursue the enduring common missions in areas such as maritime security, peacekeeping operations, counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist training and in humanitarian responses. “India in Jammu and Kashmir and the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq are facing fundamentalist Islamic terrorists who probably get trained at some of the same centres,” he added. To combat them effectively, Admiral Blair said India and the United States should share their experience and trade their skills. “There are of course many policy questions to be worked out between the two countries if we are to conduct a joint counter-terror operation,” he observed. However, Admiral Blair said there was much that could be done between the US and India to ensure that the two countries benefit from one another’s best practices. “And those units are ready should the two governments decide to conduct a joint operation,” he said. The three-day IISS-CITI India Global Forum, which concluded here today, was organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), an influential London-based think tank and a leading authority on political-military conflict.
— UNI
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India to pay heavy price if N-pact fails: Blackwill
New Delhi, April 20 ''... If it does not happen, although the US will pay no price whatever, India will pay a substantial price in its future energy policy, and its lack of civil nuclear assistance from the outside world,” Blackwill said at the 1st IISS Citi India Global Forum here. “The next American President will not have the same sunk costs in the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement that this President and the top of the administration has,” he added. On US-India defence cooperation, he said: “Perhaps in the next five years nothing would have such a beneficial and long-term impact on the bilateral relationship as India’s purchase of an American combat aircraft, when it makes that decision in a few years time.”
— UNI
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Now item boys are here
New Delhi, April 20 With Bollywood on an experimental mood and escalating star power of actors, the Indian film industry is seeing a shift as far as item numbers are concerned with leading men shaking a leg as item boys. While Shahrukh has emerged as the king of item songs, with films like Kaal and Krazzy 4, Hrithik has recently burned the dance floor with his Michael Jackson look-alike dancing steps in Krazzy 4. Even Salman has put on his dancing shoes in Hello. “I think it is a very healthy trend. A lot of newer things are being attempted nowadays. We always had item girls then why not item boys?” asks film analyst Taran Adarsh. Director Jaideep Sen of Krazzy 4, who made the two leading actors dance in his film, says, “It helped the film in a big way. It proved to be the biggest attraction for the audience. It acted like giving icing on the cake.” Even as the leading actors are ruling the roost, the other actors are also joining the item number bandwagon. While Tusshar Kapoor has already done a sizzling number in Rohit Shettys Sunday, Abhishek Bachchan will be seen strutting his stuff in a rocking track in Apoorva Lakhia’s film Mission Istanbul. Also Irfan Khan, who is not the best of dancers, will feature in a song in Teesri Manzil 302. “Item songs help the actors to gain popularity. They add to their performance. It also helps them in performing in stage shows,” says Adarsh. Disagrees Jaideep. “I don’t think we can call it a trend yet. It is one of an occurrence, while actors because of personal reasons agrees to do a number. For example, in Krazzy 4 it was due to personal attachment that Hrithik and Shahrukh agreed to do the dance number. There is no professional reasons attached in it,” he reasons. Actor Arshad Warsi, who stars in Krazzy 4, says, “Item numbers are a way of providing the audience with some extra incentives to watch the film. Although it helps the film in a way, I don’t think it helps the actor in any way, apart from the fact that may be now we have more work to do.” So, can the new item boys compete with the item girls? Arshad feels it will be difficult to match up to their oomph factor. “It will be a little difficult for the guys to match up to the oomph factor of these item girls,” he says.
— PTI
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Sarabjit’s family thanks Pak govt
New Delhi, April 20 Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur, who has made all-out efforts to save her brother’s life, said “We are grateful to the Pakistan government for suggesting this, and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee for presenting our case in such a humane way.” Dalbir and her family are scheduled to leave for Pakistan on April 23 to meet Sarabjit. The family will apply tomorrow to the Pakistan High Commission. Former Pakistan human rights minister Ansar Burney also assured her of justice in the case. She also thanked Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani for taking up the cause of Sarabjit and others who are similarly situated.
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Rats nibble infant in hospital HIV+ man commits suicide Man axes wife to death
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