New Delhi, June 25
A final decision on the revised pay package as well as opening promotion avenues for the Army, the Navy and the Air Force top brass is likely to be finalised at a key meeting tomorrow.

And the government may announce the revision in the pay of the armed forces by the next week.

This will be a revision of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. The move is aimed at stemming the exodus of officers.

Apart from the expected hike in salary, the Army could also get more posts in form of an increase in the number of generals, brigadiers and colonels and their equivalent in the Navy and the Air Force.

At the meeting tomorrow, defence minister A.K. Antony will lead his ministry’s delegation comprising the chiefs of the Navy and the Air Force, besides the Deputy Chief of the Army, to work out a new pay package with the empowered committee of secretaries headed by cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar.

The meeting assumes significance in the wake of the reported dissatisfaction
over the commission recommendations among the forces, which is triggering an increased exodus.

Chiefs of staff committee chairman Admiral Sureesh Mehta will make a presentation to the committee before it submits its report to the Cabinet.

An enhanced military service pay for personnel below officer rank and rectifying anomalies in the rank structure between armed forces and paramilitary forces, and the civil services are expected to be agreed upon at the meeting.

New Delhi, June 25
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today launched the e-passports scheme in the country, which is expected to make the Indian passport more secure and less open to fraudulent misuse and tampering.

With the launch of the scheme, India became the first major developing country to issue e-passports. Some 40 countries issue e-passports now, most of them having commenced the scheme in the last two years.

The scheme “will make it easier for the Indian citizens to cross border control points with e-passports reading facilities,” Patil said at a function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan here.

The President said with India’s rising international profile and growing global linkages, travel from the country had become far more frequent.

The passport issuance was an area where the government had to constantly balance the needs of security with making passports and travel facilities easier for the people.

External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said the government would issue e-passports to the diplomatic category at present and to other officials from the next month.

The government was planning to issue e-passports to citizens from September
2010, Mukherjee added. He also presented an e-passport to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The e-passport, also called biometric passport, would carry a chip that would have personal information, including fingerprints and facial imprint of the holder.

New Delhi, June 25
India is fast becoming a “cheap deal” for childless couples from across the world, who come here looking here for surrogate mothers.

Realising this, the government is now planning to bring in a legislation on surrogate motherhood in India in order to bring in checks and balances in this largely unregulated sector.

Minister for women and child development, Renuka Chowdhury, today said the aim of this latest endeavour by her ministry was to bring an enabling policy regarding surrogacy arrangements for the benefit of the mother, the child as well as commissioning parents.

“There needs to be a debate on issues identified that in turn can serve as a basis for drawing up policy and rules related to surrogacy arrangements. I don’t want the issue of surrogate motherhood to go unchecked like organ trade. Till date, no studies have been conducted, that can tell the number of surrogacy cases in India. All we know is that India is fast becoming a cheap deal for such cases, which I resent. People come here, find a surrogate mother through agents, get a passport and take away the baby,” she said.

The aim will be to first identify areas and reasons related to surrogacy, which can cause conflict in society and among individuals.

Surrogacy agreements pose a series of social, ethical and legal issues which need to be evaluated carefully. Countries like the UK, Australia and the US have legislations in this regard.

In India, the National Guidelines for Accreditation, Supervision and Regulation of ART clinics convey surrogacy arrangement as a legal parenthood option, however, the need for regulations to ensure the best interest of all concerned, above all the child, is keenly felt, said Chowdhury.

The past two decades have seen a spectacular changes in the field of reproductive technologies. Reproductive sciences have come in with techniques like donor insemination, in-vitro fertilisation and embryo transplant.

These techniques have infused hope into many infertile couples who long to have a child of their own. Unfortunately complications have also arisen once these methods were combined with surrogacy arrangements.

A surrogate mother may be vulnerable for a large number of reasons and can be open to the possibility of exploitation. If financial pressure have prompted her to be a surrogate mother, she could be at even greater risk if, for whatever reason, the commisioning parents do not agree to pay her as agreed.

New Delhi, June 25
The Supreme Court today allowed the Sahara group to restore the tin fencing that was removed by the Lucknow Development Authority at its Sahara Saher property and disposed of the petitions filed on the matter.

While modifying its June 23 status quo order on the Sahara Saher demolition case, after which a temporary tin fencing was demolished at the site by the development authority and the two parties moved the Supreme Court seeking contempt action against each other, the apex court disposed of both petitions.

The court also disposed of the special leave petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh government against the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court’s interim stay on the demolition work at Sahara Saher property. The Supreme Court, however, directed the high court to hear the matter expeditiously.

The restoration work would be carried out on June 28 and 29, under the supervision of senior advocate L. Nageshwar Rao.

Appointed by the Supreme Court, Rao would submit his report to the Registrar of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.

A Bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir, while disposing of the petition filed by the development authority, set aside the interim order passed by the high court on June 19 and 20, and directed that till the hearing by the high court both parties would maintain status quo existing on June 23. — PTI

New Delhi, June 25
In the midst of the relentless efforts by the UPA government to secure Left’s approval for approaching the IAEA with the Indian-specific safeguards agreement, a US Congressional delegation, will visit India next week and the Indo-US nuclear deal will be high on the agenda of their talks with Indian leaders.

US Embassy officials here today said the delegation would be headed by influential Congressman Gary Ackerman, who had vociferously lobbied for the nuclear deal in the Congress.

During its two-day visit from July 3, Ackerman and his delegation, comprising both Democrats and Republicans, will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and other Indian leaders.

The discussions will obviously centre around the nuclear deal, which is caught in the political logjam in India.

The talks are also likely to provide the two sides an opportunity to consider if the deal could be renegotiated if it fails to pass the muster during the remaining term of President George W Bush due to lack of political consensus in India.

Apart from the nuclear deal, the two sides will discuss various other issues, including the situation in Afghanistan, Iraq and South Asia besides bilateral economic and trade ties.

The visit of the US delegation will take place days before Dr Manmohan Singh meets Bush on the sidelines of the G-8 Summit in Japan from July 7-9.

It is obvious that the fate of the nuclear deal, reached between them in July 2005, will dominate their talks.

The Prime Minister Singh is expected to convey to Bush his government’s firm resolve to proceed with the deal and the efforts being made by the UPA to build national political consensus on it.

With prospects of the deal materialising during President Bush’s remaining brief term in office dim, the two leaders will also cover other issues in the US-India bilateral sphere, including the defence relationship.

The Union home ministry has also asked the Haryana government as to why the personal security guards were given all India arms licences despite the Dera chief enjoying Z-plus security cover, official sources said here.

In the advisory, the government has asked the states to keep strict vigil in the Sikh-dominated areas, particularly in Delhi, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, sources said.

The Centre is particularly worried that the agitation may spill over to other states as protests in Punjab today completely paralysed train services there.

Sikh protesters squatted on the track at several places, including Amritsar, Sirhind, Malout, Abohar, Sangrur and Rajpura in Punjab to protest against the killing of a community member allegedly by a bodyguard of the Dera chief in Mumbai last week.

New Delhi, June 25
After getting an assurance from the BJP-run government of Uttarakhand that work on the Pala-Maneri and the Bhairon-Ghati hydroelectric power projects on Bhagirathi would be stalled, noted environmentalist G.D. Agarwal has now shifted his ‘upvas’ venue from Manikarnika Ghat in Uttarkashi to New Delhi.

Agarwal (76), who has been on a fast unto death since June 13, now wants the Center’s intervention on the Lohari-Nagpala project.

He wants the UPA government to abandon the 600-MW Centre-funded hydroelectric project, being built by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

Despite being charged by adversaries and the Congress of political reasons as being the main reason behind his fast, Agarwal is specific that there are no political equations behind his fight to Save the Ganga.

Skeptics have questioned the timing of his agitation and also charged him with harbouring political aspirations.

Talking to The Tribune, Agarwal yesterday clarified that he had no political ambitions and that his fight was limited only to the fact that the Ganga has unrestricted flow of water. “I have no political aspirations. Last year, I visited Gangotri and decided to start the agitation there and then. I am sorry that it took me eight months to implement it,” he adds.

Agarwal has been demanding that there should not be any hydroelectric projects
on the Ganga between Gangotri, the origin of the river, and Uttarkashi, a distance of 150 km.

Roorkee, June 25
With technological advancements getting impetus in educational institutions and the interpersonal relation between the teacher and students widening, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, has taken up the task to enhance the skill of teachers to meet the requirements of the present day classroom.

A five-day long course on ‘Role Soft Skills in Effective Classroom Management’ is being organised here at the IIT, which began on Monday, to help teachers in developing their ‘soft skills’ and enhancing professional efficiency.

The course is being organised by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in which teachers from AICTE recognised engineering colleges are participating.

“The modern classroom has become very difficult to manage. With the advent of multimedia technologies, easy access to Internet and virtually thousand of websites, the students somehow feel disinclined to listen to a teacher, making the job of a teacher all the more challenging. Now traditional ways of controlling and managing classes are either ineffective or inadequate. So the teachers also have to update and mould their skills to suit the changed and changing requirements. For this purpose, it is a must for them to possess skills collectively termed as ‘soft skills’. These skills are interpersonal skills, team spirit, social grace, negotiation skill and behavioural traits such as attitude, motivation and time management,” an official of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences said.

New Delhi, June 25
Even as the intelligence agencies, which have been working behind the scenes, are expecting the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to join the ceasefire in the next two days or so, the ministry of home affairs is now working out a way to extradite Anup Chetia, Assam-separatist leader, from neighbouring Bangladesh.

A major section of the 28th battalion of ULFA defied its top command and announced a unilateral ceasefire yesterday.

The commander of the 28th battalion Mrinal Hazarika and his deputy commander Jiten Dutta had announced the ceasefire yesterday.

The intelligence agencies had worked behind the scene in a planned manner to win over the ground level commanders and isolating the top two chairmen Aurobindo Rajkhowa and commander-in-chief Paresh Barua-who are holed up outside India.

It is expected that more of the ULFA will lay down the arms. The Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 2.

Significantly, ULFA leader Anup Chetia, who has served a seven-year term in Bangladesh, is likely to be handed over to the Indian authorities.

It is believed that he would be handed over to the Assam police in the presence of the BSF officials before the foreign secretary-level talks between the two countries sometime in mid-July.

“The list of 12 Indian nationals, which was given to the BSF, has been sent to the Union home ministry for examining and fixing the date for the handover,” BSF sources said.

Chetia, along with two accomplices, was arrested by the Bangladesh authorities on December 21, 1997, from an apartment in Dhaka and sentenced to a seven-year jail term under the country’s Foreigners Act and Passport Act for possessing false documents, foreign currency and a satellite telephone.

Guwahati, June 25
The Congress-led coalition government in Assam is jubilant over the decision of the so called ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies of the 28th battalion of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to opt for unilateral ceasefire for the restoration of peace in the state.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said today that, “I welcome the decision of the ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies of the 28th battalion of ULFA for giving up the path of confrontation and coming to the mainstream for talks with the government. The 28th battalion is one of the important battalions of ULFA and this decision is definitely in the right direction that will help usher in peace and prosperity in the state.”

He hailed the recent surrender of a large number of ULFA militants in Assam saying, “I am happy that more and more ULFA cadres have realised that the armed struggle has retarded the growth of Assam. What has made me happy is that they have realised the futility of the armed struggle. Such a struggle will only keep the state economically backward and create more unemployment, thereby breeding more complicated problems for the state.”

He also called upon all ULFA cadres and other insurgent groups to give up the path of violence and come forward for talks within the framework of the Constitution.

The banned ULFA suffered a split yesterday with two companies of its 28 battalion declaring a unilateral ceasefire with the government to expedite the peace process.

The decision was taken at a meeting held in Arunachal Pradesh’s Lohit district bordering Sadiya which was attended by top leaders of the battalion’s ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies. Leaders of the other company ‘B’ did not attend.

Fifteen members of the 28 battalion, including its founder Mrinal Hazarika and present commander Bijoy Chinese, appealed to the ULFA’s central committee, the Centre and the Assam government to “positively respond to the goodwill gesture of the battalion to find a peaceful solution to the insurgency problem”.

Guwahati, June 25
India must not only improve the quality of tourism products but also promote new destinations in order to boost the tourist inflow apart from using tourism as a tool for socio-economic transformation, Ryuji Yamakawa, chief of the tourism division of the United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) said here today.

Yamakawa, who was participating in a two-day seminar on expansion of tourism for socio-economic development in India, also said tourism could be on the frontline of the struggle to get rid of poverty, apart from stimulating economic and social development in local communities.

“But with the number of international destinations escalating, India must make concerted efforts to increase marketing initiative and to improve the quality of tourism products,” he said, calling upon India to also increase government-private partnership for effective marketing and the promotion of tourism.

The seminar was organised by the Assam Institute of Management in collaboration with the UNESCAP and the UNWTO.

Pointing towards the Northeastern region as a potential international tourist attraction of the future, Yamakawa said this was one rare region in the world that has tremendous potential for nature tourism, cultural tourism and religious tourism in one place.

“India should strive to promote this region as a new global tourist destination. India’s tourism growth rate has been above the world average in the past few years. India’s arrival figures and tourism revenue in 2006 is estimated to register 13 per cent and 23.5 per cent increase, respectively, over the previous year,” he said.

Participating in the seminar Kazuo Ichikawa, director of the UNWTO regional support office for Asia and Pacific, said India had of late emerged as the most attractive country for Japanese tourists.

“Japanese tourists spend about $37 billion per annum. Northeast region in India is one region that can be promoted among Japanese tourists as a new area,” he said.

Lucknow, June 25
Ending months of confrontation with the doctors of the state the Mayawati government has finally allowed doctors of the prestigious Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU) to pursue private practice by opting for a long-term contractual appointment at a fixed salary.

Briefing reporters on the decisions taken by the Cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Mayawati today, cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said the doctors undertaking private practice would however, not be allowed to hold any administrative post.

The other relief that the doctors from CSMMU received was upgrading of their scales to match their counterparts at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute (SGPGI).

Till now the doctor-teachers of the CSMMU, formerly King George Medical College, were not even getting UGC scales and had in recent months threatened to opt for mass scale voluntary retirement causing panic in the corridors of power.

This belated move of the government would result in a hike of approximately Rs 30,000 in their monthly package, claimed the cabinet secretary. The doctors teaching at other medical colleges in the state will now be getting UGC scales.

The other major decision taken by the Cabinet today was regarding the reduction of stamp duty.

The stamp duty on registration of property has been reduced from 8 to 5 per cent of the cost of property. For women this has come down from 6 to 4 per cent.

While refusing to comment on how much revenue loss this move would cost the state exchequer, Singh said that the stamp duty in the state was far higher compared to neighbouring states.

Dehra Dun, June 25
The Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, will soon start ‘Project Snow Leopard’ in India.

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehra Dun, is entrusted for conducting an All-India snow leopard status evaluation and monitoring in collaboration with the state forest departments.

According to the reports generated by WII, the present population of snow Leopard in the world is 7,500.

The highest population is registered in China, followed by Mongolia and India. India alone accounts for nearly 400-700 snow leopards.

The Ministry of Environment and Forest has identified four states in India, including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand.

The objective of the project will be to generate spatial all-India data for modeling, evaluating and prioritising landscapes for snow Leopard conservation.

Other aspects like anthropogenic pressures and increase in population will also
be undertaken.

Speaking to The Tribune, prof. V.B. Mathur, dean, faculty WII informed, “Just like the Project Tiger, the Project Snow Leopard will be initiated by WII under the Government of India. The purpose of the project will be towards snow leopard conservation and maintaining its population.”

The project will mount actions and activities and develop methods to save and
conserve them.

New Delhi, June 25
With the assembly election in the state due later this year, the AICC today reconstituted the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, retaining union water resources minister Saifuddin Soz as its chief.

In the reconstituted PCC, Dharampal Sharma, Mohammad Muzaffar Paray and P Namgyal have been appointed as senior vice-presidents.

Sharma, who hails from Jammu region, is a former member of the Rajya Sabha. Paray, an advocate by profession, is from Baramulla while Namgyal, a former union minister, comes from Ladakh region.

AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said the reconstituted PCC would have 10 vice-presidents, 19 general secretaries and 26 executive members, including Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and senior leaders Karan Singh and M.L. Fotedar.

Tiruchirappalli, June 25
Tamil Nadu will become the first state in India to take up linking of intra-state rivers, with construction of a barrage across the Cauvery at Mayyanur to divert surplus water when the river is in spate, according to Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

Speaking after laying the foundation stone for the construction of the barrage at Kattalai near Mayyanur here last night, he said the state government had for long been insisting on linking rivers at the national level.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had also agreed to assess the feasibility, he said.

At the recent National Development Council meeting, he had insisted on linking the peninsular rivers and also central funding for the scheme, Karunanidhi said.

Quoting Union Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz’s letter, he said projects on linking intra-state rivers would be funded under the accelerated Irrigation Benefits programme.

The state had sanctioned Rs 165 crore in anticipation of the central funding, he said. He said the barrage would have the capacity to store 1.04 mcft and harness surplus water during floods.

Surplus water would flow to Ramanathapuram district through a canal linking the Cauvery with the Agniyar, Koraiyar, Vaigai and Gundar.

He said Tamil Nadu always had to look to its neighbours for water. There was also no solution to the age-old Cauvery dispute.

Though the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal had given its verdict, Karnataka was refusing to implement it. "We have to ask for Central intervention to get our share," he said.

Karunanidhi said the DMK government was executing major projects, though it has to share the people's burden due to price rise. The Centre was also supporting Tamil Nadu in implementing projects, he said. — PTI

Lucknow, June 25
Dr Madhurima Lall, a reader at Lucknow University, has brought laurels to both the “City of Nawabs” and the Lucknow University by entering her name in the Limca Book of Records as “most highly qualified person” in the field of academics in India.

Lall, has been accredited for holding two doctor of letters (D.Litt) degree in apllied economics and business administration.

“Right from childhood, I was fond of studies...it was my single-minded passion. And God made my dream come true,” she said while addressing mediapersons here today.

“'I believe hard work is always rewarded...only, one should never stop working with zeal,” she observed.

“The achievement has left me more confident and now, I wish to bag the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records by completing the third D.Litt degree in commerce,'' Dr Lall added. — UNI

New Delhi, June 25
The Editors Guild of India has expressed concern over the increasing instances of intolerance and violence against editors, journalists and newspapers during the last few weeks.

In the latest instance, activists of the Student Federation of India assaulted three journalists of the Malayala Manorama group in Kottayam yesterday.

Pradeep Joseph, reporter of the television channel Manorama News, was chased and beaten up by SFI activists while he was covering a demonstration.

Even when he sought refuge in a police jeep, he was pulled out and thrashed. Fellow journalists who went to his rescue were also beaten up.

The mob also beat up Sabu, driver of the media vehicle used by the journalists. The enraged activists also stoned the newspaper office and when police tried to intervene, the police were also attacked.

The three journalists and the driver are undergoing treatment for serious injuries at the Medical College Hospital in Kottayam.

The Editors Guild of India considers this as a serious and violent infringement of the freedom of press and urges the Kerala Government to take exemplary action against the guilty and ensure that such attacks are not repeated.

The statement was issued on behalf of Editors Guild of India by secretary general K.S. Sachidananda Murthy.

BRIEFLY

Kapil Dev to back ‘Save Girl Child’ campaign
NEW DELHI: 'Haryana Hurricane' has taken up the challenge of storming the social menace by becoming the brand ambassador for 'save the girl child' programme. Former Indian cricket team captain Kapil Dev has given his consent to become the brand ambassador for the campaign in a letter to the government. Kapil, father of a girl, has already participated in media campaigns on the issue. — PTI

1 death in 2 days in Bihar jails
PATNA: With nearly one death taking place every second day last year, the jails in Bihar are fast turning into terror houses suggesting all is not well within these high-walled fortresses supposed to serve as reformatories. According to official figures, 180 prisoners died across the state in 2007, almost one death every two days. The state accounted for 205 custodial deaths in 2005, 175 the following year, 180 in 2007 and 56 in the first four months of the current year. — PTI

Rs 353 cr for flood control
NEW DELHI: Ministry of water resources has provided Rs 353 crore for 138 projects under the flood management programme for six state governments for control of floods during 2007-08. The states which have been granted assistance under river management activities and works related to border areas are Bihar, Kerala, Orissa, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. — UNI

Politician seeks mercy death
LUCKNOW: Languishing in the district jail here for the past 19 years, a politician has pleaded for mercy killing, his lawyer said on Wednesday. Sher Bahadur Singh, alias Shera (47), who had contested assembly elections as an independent candidate from Sarojini Nagar seat in 1989 and stood second, has lost hope of getting justice and has written to the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Minister pleading for mercy killing, his advocate Jai Kishan Arora said. Shera was initially charged with 67 cases, including attempt to murder, assault, threat and abuse. — PTI

Maoist leader held
PATNA: A senior Maoist leader Devendra Sahni, alias Ratnakar, has been arrested from a Naxalite hideout in Bihar's Sheohar district, the police said on Wednesday. Sahni, treasurer of the banned outfit's north Bihar committee, was arrested on Tuesday night when, acting on specific information, a police team raided the hideout at Lakhminia village under Shyampur-Bhatta police station. — PTI