New Delhi, January 25
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today announced that National Service Scheme (NSS) was being made compulsory in all schools in Delhi. This would also be introduced in aided, unaided and public schools.

The Chief Minister said this would go a long way in imbibing a sense of discipline among children.

Speaking at a state-level Republic Day function, Dikshit stated that all Delhiites must contribute to ensure a clean and pollution-free city.

While referring to the education system in Delhi, she stated that the city government would do its best to ensure further improvement in board results which have already gone up from 48 per cent to 86 per cent.

Addressing the gathering, Dikshit added that Delhi has a distinction of opening a new school after every 25 days during the last few years.

She called upon people to collectively fight against terrorism which is causing threat to the unity, integrity and self-respect of the country. Delhi would be hosting an international sporting event which has provided an opportunity to upgrade infrastructure in the city. “We all have to work together to make the Commonwealth Games 2010 a grand success,” she said.

The Chief Minister unfurled the National Flag, inspected the parade and took salute. Contingents of Delhi police, Delhi Fire Service, Home Guard and Civil Defence, NCC and schoolchildren joined in the march past.

A colourful cultural presentation, based on different folk music and dances, was made by the schoolchildren.

New Delhi/Faridabad, Jan 25
The national Capital has become a fortress with the deployment of thousands of Delhi police personnel and paramilitary forces to avoid any untoward incident during the Republic Day celebrations.

All borders of the Capital were sealed late night. Heavy vehicles coming from neighbouring states are not allowed to enter the city, a senior police official said.

A massive ground-to-air security apparatus will be put in place in the city for the event.

Anti-aircraft guns and sharpshooters of the elite National Security Guards (NSG) have been deployed at various locations while paramilitary and Delhi police commandos will keep a tight vigil along the route of the parade, the police official said.

The police keeps a vigil in all suspected sensitive areas of the Capital. Hotels and restaurants were raided so that no anti-social element could take shelter in the Capital during the celebrations.

“We are on high alert and taking all precautions,” says Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat.

In the wake of 26/11 strikes in Mumbai and intelligence input about possible attacks and then the Noida shootout in which two Pakistani terrorists were killed today, checking at borders and night patrolling have been intensified in the Capital. Barricades are being put up at various interactions and sniffer dogs deployed at railway stations, ISBTs, airport, metro stations, crowded markets and important buildings, he said.

Nearly 100 CCTV cameras are placed along the route of the parade to keep a tab on movement of people. Out of these, 22 CCTVs are deployed along the 1.5 km Rajpath alone, sources said. Business establishments and offices on parade route have been sealed this evening.

A massive ground-to-air security apparatus, comprising fighter jets, anti-aircraft guns and thousands of security personnel will be placed in and around Delhi during the Republic Day parade to thwart any untoward incident.

“Three fighter jets are being stationed at Air Force Station, Hindon (near Delhi), for the Republic Day parade. Anti-aircraft guns are also kept at undisclosed locations,” a senior Indian Air Force official said. The entire Rajpath, the road leading from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate, will be out of bounds for any aircraft. It has been declared a “no fly zone”.

“Bomb disposal squads (BDS) in each district will be on high alert and the borders of the Capital will be sealed at night before. Machans (high rise posts) have been constructed in main markets,” the official added.

Moreover, leave of all personnel has been cancelled for maximum mobilisation in all police stations.

Electronic surveillance will also be increased, the officer said, adding that extra security cover has been extended to all the religious places in the Capital.

New Delhi/Gurgaon, Jan 25
The Delhi police has bagged three Police Medals for Distinguished Services and 12 Police Medals for Meritorious Services on the eve of the Republic Day.

Officers— Amulya Patnaik, joint commissioner of police (crime); Ajay Kashyap, joint commissioner of police (southern range) and assistant commissioner of police (special cell), Laxmi Narain Rao have been conferred Police Medals for Distinguished Services.

Officials who have received Police Medal for Meritorious Service are: joint commissioner of police (crime against woman cell), Sudhir Singh Yadav; ACP of Shahadra, Bir Singh; ACP Headquarters (G) Kochuvilayilazhikanth Narayanan Haridas; ACP (security unit); inspectors Kamla Devi Meena, Satya Dev Singh Ahlawat and Vikram Kumar Chowdhary; sub-inspectors Biram Singh and Kishan Chander; assistant sub-inspectors Sarita Devi and Sarabjeet Singh; head constable Shiv Kumar and driver Satbir Singh.

New Delhi, January 25
The opposition party in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Congress, has demanded the resignation of Mayor Arti Mehra on the matter of adulteration in mid-day meal.

A dead rat was found in the mid-day meal of a municipal school in south Shahdara on Thursday.

“We want Mayor Arti Mehra to resign as she is unable to run the administration properly,” said J.K. Sharma, leader of opposition in the MCD.

He alleged the civic body was playing with the lives of children by providing them unhygienic food. “Lives of children who come from the most poor families in the Capital are at stake as they are served food with dead rats or worms. This has not happened for the first time. Though the corporation assures quality food in its schools, it fails to keep its promises,” alleged Sharma. “It is the MCD’s inability that it is unable to maintain even the basic hygiene in food,” he added. 

New Delhi, January 25
The Delhi police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested a clerk, posted at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), for allegedly siphoning off funds, the police said on Sunday.

Vikas Rana reportedly used to prepare salary bills in the name of four senior officials, who were posted at the PMO three years ago but had since returned to their parent cadre. However, Rana continued to withdraw salaries in their name.

He reportedly collected the salaries through the Electronic Clearance System (ECS), introduced at the PMO in 2005. — IANS

New Delhi, January 25
The Indira Gandhi National Open University has decided to increase its fee by 20 per cent from this January.

A proposal in this respect was approved by the academic council of the university on January 13. The university has also increased the charges for value added services by 50-60 per cent.

V. N. Rajashekharan Pillai, vice-chancellor of IGNOU said, “It is necessary for us to increase the fee to meet the additional expenditure arising because of the revision in the pay scales of teachers.”

IGNOU is the first university in the country to increase the fee after the pay revision.

However, the fee hike does not apply to students belonging to below poverty line or those enrolled in social sector course.

Following the fee hike, now a student pursuing MBA from the university will have to pay Rs 2,800 for each semester. Currently, more than 19 lakh students are enrolled in IGNOU in more than 100 courses.

Meanwhile, IGNOU will be conducting the entrance tests for management programmes (openmat-xxv) for the sessions starting from July 2009 on February 1. 

The entrance test, for a total of 2,2637 seats,  will be held between 10 am to 1 pm at 133 centres.

The hall-tickets for the exam have already been dispatched to the candidates.  The particulars of the hall-tickets are also available on IGNOU’s website.

New Delhi, January 25
General secretary of the Confederation All India Traders (CAIT), Parveen Khandelwal appealed to the government to pay hiked salaries of the teachers from its treasury rather than allowing schools to increase tuition fee and thereby putting the burden on students and parents.

Several private schools in Delhi have already issued notices to parents informing them of increase in fee structure and payment of a lumpsum amount by parents to meet the arrears of the staff.

New Delhi, January 25
Ageing is one of the inevitable facts of life, and irreversible too. One can, of course, delay the process by cultivating good practices of eating and living.

So if you want to learn the art of making your life healthy, fetch a copy of “The Art of Staying Young”, which was launched yesterday evening by the state education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely at Select Citywalk in the Capital.

The book, co-authored by Retu Seth, a teacher and Adil Hassan, MD of Harvest Gold Industries, entails chapters directing ways to healthy living.

It would probably act as a guide to people of all age groups apprising them about eating right, especially the good and bad of carbohydrate-rich foods.

The health book points out that one actually doesn’t have to starve rather cut down on carbohydrates to stay fit and eat healthy.

Retu in her late forties, said, “You don’t have to be hungry in order to look young, but simply reduce carbohydrate intake and that will show you the result.”

The fast and modern lifestyle has become a bane in many respects.

Nowadays, youngsters thrive on fast foods, soft drinks and alcohol, and tend to have most of their meals outside their homes.

Owing to sedentary lifestyle, most of the people nowadays fall prey to overweight obesity and various cardiovascular ailments.

The 47-year-old Adil Hassan, a graduate in chemical engineering from IIT, said, “This endeavour was the result of my nine years of experimenting with natural food.”

The authors say that two persons of the same age might not have the same chronological and biological age.

The magic mantra behind looking young is right eating and regular exercising.