New Delhi, September 26
At least 11 flights of beleaguered national carrier Air India were cancelled on Saturday after some of its executive pilots did not report to work, protesting against reduction in their productivity-linked incentives.

The flights cancelled today included a Kabul-bound international flight from Delhi, seven domestic flights to Mumbai, Lucknow, Aurangabad, Pune, Chennai, Srinagar and Indore-Bhopal. Agency reports say that in Chennai, two international flights to Colombo and Sharjah and one domestic flight to Madurai were cancelled and in Kolkata, a flight to Aizwal was cancelled after the pilots reported sick.

However, playing down the episode, the Air India management claimed that its operations were unaffected. “Every effort is being made to maintain normalcy even as a handful of pilots have reported sick, mostly at Delhi,” said Jitendra Bhargava, spokesperson of the carrier.

He said only 11 domestic flights had been cancelled. “All Air India flights have operated as per normal schedule, including all the 58 international flights, he said. All the passengers of the disrupted flights were accommodated in alternate Air India flights, he added.

However, the pilots claimed that a large number of flights throughout the country were affected due to the strike. Executive pilots’ representative Captain VK Bhalla while blaming the Air India Management for triggering the crisis, claimed the support of all 400 executive pilots and also the junior pilots. He said the situation had been thrust on them. “With a stroke of a pen, the CMD Arvind Jadhav has cut 70 per cent salary of all the executive pilots. He is trying to hire foreign pilots and wants us to work us for peanuts,” Bhalla said.

Using the same technique as employed by their Jet Airways colleagues, AI pilots also decided to report sick to press in favour of their demands. However, amidst claims and counter-claims, it was still not clear by the evening as to how many pilots had not reported for duty. AI sources say even within the executive pilots there are many factions. So while Bhalla said all 400 executive pilots were with him, AI said only eight pilots had reported sick. A senior Civil Aviation Ministry official refused to comment on the issue saying, “ I am not running the NACIL, CMD Arvind Jadhav is.”

On Friday, executive pilots of the cash-strapped national carrier had threatened to go on sick leave if the airline did not revoke a decision to cut their productivity-linked incentives (PLI) by 50 per cent.

The Air India management will meet the executive pilots on Sunday. “Air India management can address the concerns of the employees, Bhargava said, adding that employees should realise the difficulties the airline is going through.

New Delhi, September 26
Establishing identity through passport or a PAN card would be a thing of the past in the near future. It would soon be done through the mobile phone and that too for authentication at banks, gas connections or while getting rural jobs.

Unique Identification Authority chief Nandan Nilekani said here today that the UID card, which aimed to build a database on details of every Indian resident, would provide authorities to cross-check identities of persons they are dealing with using a cellphone. Once operational it would perhaps also be the first such initiative across the world to make available online authentication where agencies could compare demographic and biometric information of the resident with the record stored in the central database.

“Our project will provide a unique identification (UID) number not a card. The authentication will be made by using mobile phones,” Nilekani said.

“If anybody wants to confirm the identity of a person, all he has to do is to take the thumbprint or fingerprint of the person on a cellphone and send it across to the central database and receive authentication within seconds,” he said delivering the CSIR Foundation Day Lecture here.

“Once the numbers are issued, we will go for online authentication. Let’s say, you are asking for a job under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). The authorities will send your number to the designated points through mobiles. A message will be returned saying 'Yes' or 'No'," Nilekani said.

“This will verify whether you are the person you are claiming to be," the former Infosys managing director said.

While asserting that his team would roll out the first batch of UIDs in the next 12 to 18 months, he said, banks, mobile service providers, LPG gas connection counters and many more partner organisations can use this UID to verify their customer. “With the growing mobile phone network, this will become an easy process for the authorities to verify people. “This will not require much details to be divulged. It will help provide portability to our farmers, labourers. When they move from state to state, this UID will help them get employment without hassles.”

“It will cut down fake or duplicate records. This will enhance the efficiency of flagship programmes like NREGS, NRHM and other such projects," Nilekani stressed. He pointed out that in the coming five years at least 600 million UID numbers would be issued.

New Delhi, September 26
Saudi Arabia today asked prospective Hajis to postpone their religious travels to the country to avoid the spread of H1N1 infection. In a health advisory issued to various countries, the Saudi authorities have told high risk groups, including the elderly, pregnant women, people with chronic diseases and children, to postpone the Haj and Umrah travels this year in the interest of their own safety. The advisory further asks pilgrims planning to attend the Haj to get vaccinated against seasonal flu at least two weeks before travelling to the holy places.

At present, passengers are being screened upon arrival at all ports of entry into Saudi Arabia. The Saudi advisory comes after a recent death due to swine flu in the country. India, for its part, today took measures to prevent the outbreak of infection on account of the Haj and asked Hajis to procure a “H1N1 symptom-free” certificate before leaving for the pilgrimage.

In a special advisory issued for Hajis today, the union health ministry told travellers to avoid hugging people and added: “Haj pilgrims would be medically examined for signs of influenza A H1N1 (fever, cough, running nose, sore throat, difficulty in breathing) at the point of embarking, that is at the place where booking of pilgrims takes place in their respective states. They will be issued a H1N1 symptom-free certificate in the prescribed proforma.”

All prospective Hajis have been told to contact local health authority or the state Haj committee for information in this regard.

New Delhi, September 26
Charusita Chakravarti of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Santosh G. Honavar of LV Prasad Eye Institute and SK Satheesh of the Indian Institute of Science are among the 11 scientists named today for the country’s top science award.

Samir Brahmachari, director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), made the announcement in the presence of Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan at the institution’s 67th Foundation Day celebrations here.

“I was looking for a woman candidate for this top SSB award 2008 and fortunately we have one woman (Chakravarti) in the list of top 11 names,” Brahmachari said.

The SSB award carries a cash prize of Rs 500,000, a citation and a plaque. Since its inception, 443 scientists, among them 10 women, have bagged this most prestigious award in the field of science.

While Chakravarti was selected for her work in chemical science, Honavar has made contribution in the field of medicine. Satheesh got the award for his contribution to the earth science.

The other winners are Amitabh Joshi and Bhaskar Shah (biological science), Giridhar Madras and Jayant Ramaswamy Harsita (engineering science), R. Gopakumar and A. Dhar (physical science), Narayanswamy Jayraman (chemical science), and Verapally Suresh (mathematical science). — IANS

Jaipur, September 26
Even as cotton experts were hoping for a cotton production of 45 lakh bales from north India, but now it seems that erratic rainfall in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan will not allow the cotton production to even cross the figure of 40 lakh bales.

Talking to The Tribune, former president of the North India Cotton Association Ashok Kapoor said though the prospects have been looking good, the possibility of cotton production, now crossing 40 lakh bales mark, appear bleak. “The combined production of the three cotton producing states is likely to touch 40 lakh bales with Punjab and Haryana contributing 16 lakh bales, each followed by Rajasthan with 8 lakh bales,” he said.

As far as the area under cotton sowing has been concerned, it has gone up in Rajasthan and Haryana, while it has remained unchanged in Punjab. This increase has been 10 per cent in case of Haryana and 20 per cent in case of Rajasthan.

Kapoor attributed his appre hension of shortfall from expected production to stunted growth of cotton plants. “Due to delayed and scanty rainfall the plants could not attain adequate growth. While they could not grow beyond five feet, the ball formation, too, is not up to the mark,” he averred.

He said though cotton crop does not need much rainfall, it must be well-timed. However, this year the rainfall had been neither adequate nor timely. According to him, Punjab and Haryana could still make up for water shortage due to better irrigation facilities, but the cotton farmers in Rajasthan could do nothing to save their crop in absence of rainfall. Last year, the joint cotton production of these three states stood at 37 lakh bales with Punjab leading the pack with 17 lakh bales, followed by Haryana with 15 lakh bales and Rajasthan with 5 lakh bales, he added.

On quality of cotton, Kapoor said though weather conditions had not been favourable for the crop, its quality has largely remained unaffected. “Initial arrival of cotton in the markets like Bathinda suggests that the quality has not suffered much. Usually, September rain plays spoilsport for the cotton crop, but it has rather helped in improving the quality of cotton, probably because the rainfall was not heavy,” he added.

Talking about all-India cotton production, he said the national scenario on this front seems rosy as the country has been expected to produce 310 lakh bales, as against last year’s figure of 290 lakh bales. Gujarat would once again emerge as the top cotton producer with its figure likely to touch one-crore bales mark, he added. 

Mumbai, September 26
North Indian migrants living in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and other cities of Maharashtra have responded to Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray’s tirade against them by forging a common front.

Efforts are on by leaders of the community to make members indulge in tactical voting to defeat candidates of the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The community which accounts for as much as 25 per cent of the Mumbai’s population will play a decisive role in the 36 Assembly seats that fall in the city and its suburbs.

Sensing the mood of the community, the Congress has nominated as many as 21 non-Maharashtrians from the 28 seats it is contesting in Mumbai. Its ally, the Nationalist Congress Party, is contesting the remaining eight. Of these three are “outsiders” in constituencies where the number of Marathi-speaking voters are not predominant. North Indians account for the majority of the 24 non-Marathi candidates being fielded by the Congress-NCP combine.

The two parties also have non-Marathi candidates in Thane, Kalyan and some other parts of the state.

Observers say Sanjay Nirupam, the Congress Member of Parliament from North Mumbai, and Mumbai Pradesh Congress Committee president Kripashankar Singh prevailed upon senior party leaders in Delhi to nominate non-Marathi candidates in large numbers in Mumbai. “Our candidates are chosen on the basis of the population in every constituency and popularity of leaders,” says Manikrao Thakre, President of the Maharashtra Congress Committee.

Off the record, the Congress-NCP leaders say they are banking on the Marathi vote being split among various political parties.

Even the BJP is not far behind when it comes to choosing “outsiders” over the Marathi voters. The party which is contesting 13 of the 36 seats in the city in alliance with the Shiv Sena has nominated six non-Marathi candidates.

With North Indians poised to play a major role in the forthcoming elections, leaders of the community are keen on avoiding the community’s vote bank from splitting. “We had decided that no two North Indians will contest against each other in any constituency so that our votes are not split,” says Munna Tripathi, who heads the Uttar Bharatiya Vikas Parishad.

Though the Parishad hasn't been entirely successful, most of the North Indians in the fray won't be facing their compatriots at the hustings.

Hyderabad, September 26
Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) may well be heading for a split with some of its legislators openly defying the partyline and coming out in support of Congress MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for the chief ministerial post.

The PRP MLAs Shobha Nagireddy and K Rami Reddy made their intentions clear when they accompanied Jagan to Pavuralagutta, the helicopter crash site in Kurnool district, yesterday to pay homage to YS Rajasekhar Reddy and later attended a memorial meeting at Nallakalva.

Prominent PRP leader and Shobha’s husband Bhooma Nagireddy was also present on the occasion. He even played a key role in mobilising the crowds for the meeting that was meant to be a show of strength by the Jagan camp.

“We want to see Jagan as the next Chief Minister. It is the people’s wish to see him as YSR’s successor,” the Bhooma couple declared.

Though there were enough indications in the past about the couple gravitating towards the Congress, it was for the first time that they openly declared their support for Jagan.

The Bhooma couple, who have considerable influence in Kurnool district, found a prominent place on the dais from where Jagan declared that he would strive for realising the ideals of his late father.

The PRP leadership has taken a serious note of the open defiance and is likely to initiate action against the erring MLAs. The fledgling party has just 18 legislators in the 294-member Assembly and a section of them are said to be rooting for Jagan as Chief Minister.

A meeting of the party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) will be held tomorrow to decide about the disciplinary action, the party sources said.

There is speculation in political circles that pro-Jagan legislators in PRP might split the party. The provocation for the move is stated to be Chiranjeevi’s lavish praise of Chief Minister K Rosaiah recently.

The actor’s well-publicised meeting with the Chief Minister at the temple town of Tirupati set off ripples in the party.

Patna, September 26
The speculations about continuance of expelled BJP MP Jaswant Singh on the post of Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, in the Lok Sabha were set at rest by Speaker Meira Kumar ruling out his removal from that post in the wake of BJP’s demand.

Answering questions from the media on the issue of Jaswant Singh, the Lok Sabha Speaker categorically said he would continue on the post of the PAC Chairman till he is capable to discharge his duties in accordance with Parliamentary Rules. In reply to a supplementary question on the same issue, the Speaker further clarified that Parliament was run by rules and not by the wishes of a political party.

Kumar, who happens to be a Member of the Lok Sabha from Bihar, was here to lay the foundation stone of the proposed 500-bedded Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital at Bihta (30 km from Patna). — TNS