New Delhi, January 27
To speed up sugar processing and augmenting domestic supply to bring down prices, the Centre may allow one mill to sell to another imported raw sugar lying idle at ports. Nearly nine lakh tonne raw sugar is lying at ports after the Uttar Pradesh government banned its processing till the end of crushing season after farmers' protest over cane pricing.

The issue was discussed at a meeting called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and attended by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. Pawar, in the line of fire for skyrocketing prices of food, sugar and other commodities, was accompanied by owners of large sugar mills from Utter Pradesh and Maharashtra. A final decision on the matter is expected tomorrow after technical modalities are discussed at a meeting called by the Union Cabinet Secretary.

Sources say the Prime Minister wanted first hand information before taking a decision. Mill owners had urged the Prime Minister to deregulate the industry and also apprised him about problems they were facing in Uttar Pradesh. Manufacturers are believed to have assured reduction in prices if supply of sugar was strong.

In addition to the issue of processing imported raw sugar, the overall price situation was also discussed, sources said, adding that it was discussed that outright sale of imported sugar should be allowed.

In order to tame rising sugar prices in the domestic market, the Centre had recently relaxed import of refined sugar at zero duty up to the end of this year. The Cabinet Committee on Prices (CCP) allowed millers in Uttar Pradesh to process imported raw sugar in other states following the ban imposed by the state. However, the processing is yet to start as there is a disagreement over processing charges.

The Prime Minister is also understood to have discussed with Pawar the February 6 meeting of Chief Ministers, called on twin challenges of arresting rising prices of essential commodities and tackling internal security.

Meanwhile, Pawar said government’s measures on sugar have cooled down prices of the sweetener. “Fortunately, Indian industry is importing raw sugar in a big way. The government has allowed them to process anywhere in the country. That itself has resolved substantial problem.” He said retail sugar prices were coming down but not in proportion to the decline in wholesale prices.

Amid speculations that the Reserve Bank may squeeze money supply to rein in surging food prices, Pawar said monetary measures were not required to contain food inflation. The RBI in its monetary policy review on Friday is expected to draw out liquidity from the system to prevent spread of inflation to manufactured items.

New Delhi, January 27
For all the hype about the home coming of former party comrades back into the BJP in the last days of former party president Rajnath Singh, there appears no move forward in that direction.

Some erstwhile BJP icons like Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharti had recently hinted their desire to return to the BJP fold. Not just that, around the time Jharkhand elections were being held, there was also some talk in the party to persuade former chief minister and Jharkhand Vimukti Morcha (JVM) chief Babulal Marandi back into the BJP fold.

Similarly, there was also a view that former party ideologue K.N. Govindacharya be redrafted into the party to reinvigorate and make the BJP ideologically more credible. This is what had set the BJP apart from other parties in the late ‘80s and the ‘90s till it assumed power in 1998.

In his first press conference the new BJP president Nitin Gadkari also welcomed all the former comrades to return to the party. But since then no forward movement has taken place. Sources indicated here today that there is little likelihood of any progress on that front at least in the near future.

That is because, as a party insider said, “It is a no-win game on either side. The BJP is not in power and, therefore, can offer little to those who have left the party. Besides, those wanting to return with the exception of Babulal Marandi have little to offer to the party. So what does the party gain, by bringing back people like Kalyan Singh or Uma Bharti?” he quipped.

Moreover, the party has moved ahead since these leaders parted company with the BJP and it may be difficult to accommodate them appropriately in the new setup, said party sources.

For instance, BJP sources pointed out the last time Kalyan Singh returned to the BJP he pushed the party to retain all his Rashtriya Kranti Party (RKP) district and taluka level office-bearers in the same posts in BJP, resulting in the party sacrificing many loyal party workers and leaders in the process.

As for Uma Bharti, she has not even directly sought an entry into the BJP and though she has only asked that her party the Bharatiya Janshakti Party be admitted to the NDA, the BJP/NDA is still mulling over it and does not seem to be in a terrible hurry to take notice of her request.

Govindacharya anyway maintains that he is not doing electoral politics, so there seems no logic in bringing him back to the BJP, argued a party insider.

New Delhi, January 27
At a time when stress in the education system is driving students to suicide, the government today mooted the possibility of a national-level entrance examination to undergraduate courses to avoid multiplicity of exams and blunt the stress factor thereby.

But whether this single-window testing of abilities of schoolchildren will work, only time will tell, especially with Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal today throwing the idea open to discussions in suitable forums.

For the time being, the suggestion emerged among the top at a special meeting of the Vice-Chancellors and school principals which the HRD Ministry today organised to ensure a smooth transition from one system to the other and allow stakeholders to voice concerns about each other. The V-Cs obviously thought they were not getting as good a feedstock at undergraduate level as they perhaps should.

From the latter concern came unanimity in the meeting on the need to have one test for all undergraduate courses in the country. No decision was, however, taken as formal discussions on the subject would have to happen when all expert and stakeholders meet.

But at the heart of the idea is the argument that one exam would reduce stress among students by preventing multiple testing and reappears in exams that may often be scheduled on clashing dates. At present, students appear in several entrance tests to get into undergraduate courses in engineering, medical sciences, law and even humanities.

Another suggestion that came was one which Sibal had earlier made --- the evolution of core curriculum at higher secondary level, especially in Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Economics, Accountancy, Commerce, and IT.

“This would provide an equal opportunity to all students to compete for seats in institutions throughout the country,” the roundtable felt, adding that exam boards across India should look at the possibility of a core curriculum, a suggestion which states might find hard to implement.

The V-Cs and school principals also agreed that universities should look at introducing grades instead of marks as a criterion for intelligence judgment. Most universities are still unwilling to accept grades though the roundtable talked of the need to have grades at plus two-level and also study its implication on admissions at undergraduate level.

Meanwhile, NUEPA — the National University for Education Planning and Research — has been told to evolve a roadmap in three months to address the concerns of V-Cs and principals. The focus of the roadmap, Sibal outlined, would be development of leadership at school level, need and desirability of integrated teachers’ training programme and flexible combination of subjects at undergraduate level where students can choose what they want to study, even if it implies a variety of combinations as in the west.

New Delhi, January 27
India is hopeful that the rehabilitation and reconciliation process will gain momentum in Sri Lanka following the reelection of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the President of the island nation.

President Pratibha Patil lost no time in dispatching a congratulatory message to Rajapaksa as soon as he was declared the winner in yesterday’s Presidential elections, defeating former friend-turned-political rival General (Rtd) Sarath Fonseka.

“India and Sri Lanka share historically close and friendly relations. I wish to assure you of India’s commitment to further deepen our relations with Sri Lanka,’’ she said in her message. She expressed the confidence that under Rajapaksa’s continued leadership Sri Lanka would attain greater heights and find lasting peace.Officials here were quite confident that Rajapaksa would use his electoral triumph to expedite the long-deferred devolution package for the Tamil minority and bring permanent peace to the island nation.

The poll result obviously marks continuity for New Delhi in its dealing with the leadership in Colombo. "We have always said that devolution and reconciliation hold the key to lasting peace in Sri Lanka. We are hoping that this process will now be taken to its logical conclusion," one official said.

The election results have presented an opportunity to Sri Lanka to heal the wounds created by decades of pro tracted conflict, to make a new beginning and to build a better future for its people. India has time and again impressed upon the Sri Lankan government the importance of focusing on issues of relief, rehabilitation, resettlement and reconciliation.India was now working actively in assisting in the rehabilitation of the people of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka. 

New Delhi, January 27
Just a day after a controversy erupted over conferring the Padma Bhushan award on New York based NRI Sant Singh Chatwal, the government today came out in strong defence and clarified that he had been discharged by a court in Mumbai and there was nothing adverse on record against him.

The government specified the role of Chatwal in the Indo-US nuclear deal saying he was actively involved in securing support for the nuclear deal among the members of the Congress of the United States. It also referred to him as “tireless advocate” of India’s interests in the US.

Referring to the allegations of financial irregularities against him, the government clarified that between 1992 and 1994, the CBI had registered five cases against him and some bank officials for conniving with the intention of defrauding the Bank of Baroda and Bank of India. Three of these cases were closed by the CBI itself while in the remaining two cases, the Court discharged Chatwal.

The “Padma Awards” are conferred only after consideration in terms of the guidelines regulating the award and after observance of established and elaborate procedures. A ‘due diligence’ exercise is undertaken in respect of each awardee in consultation with appropriate agencies before announcement of the award, Onkar Kedia, the ministry spokesperson said. No award is conferred except on the recommendation of the Awards Committee, constituted for the purpose and after the ‘due diligence’ has been done, he added.

Chatwal was among the 43 people chosen by the government for the prestigious Padma Bhushan on the eve of the Republic Day earlier this week. The decision sparked off a controversy with the BJP objecting to the move because of the CBI cases against him.

The Ministry said Chatwal was a Trustee of the William J Clinton Foundation, which focuses on issues such as health care, climate change and economic empowerment of the underprivileged in the world community. He made frequent trips to India to provide relief to victims of tsunami and AIDS. He is also a prominent leader of the Indian-American community, it said.

New Delhi, January 27
Congress spokesman and Ludhiana MP Manish Tewari was today forced to regret a statement, which earlier led to protests by some Kashmiri organisations outside the Congress headquarters at Akbar Road here.

“If any statement of mine has inadvertently hurt the feelings of any person, I profoundly regret the same,” Tewari said, explaining that “in the course of free wheeling discussion” on a TV channel he had been quoted “completely out of context”.

Kashmiri organisations, including Roots in Kashmir, the Kashmiri Samiti, Delhi, the Panun Kashmir and the All-India Kashmiri Samaj, organised a protest outside the Congress headquarters to condemn Tewari’s remark that Kashmiri Pandits were driven out of the valley in 1990 due to “fear psychosis of the then Governor Jagmohan” during a debate on Constitutional reforms on a news channel.

Tewari said: “In the course of free wheeling discussion on the Constitution, a remark of mine has been completely quoted out of context. It was never my intention to suggest that terrorists and separatists did not create the conditions that led to the unfortunate events in the first half of 1990s in the Kashmir valley in terms of migration. Being a victim of terrorism, I fully understand and identify with their pain and anguish.”

“The statement has hurt sentiments of the Pandit community which completed two decades in exile on January 19, 2010. Manish Tewari certainly needs a crash course in the history of Kashmir and perhaps the entire India,” Amal Magazine of Roots in Kashmir, Rakesh Kaul of the Kashmiri Samiti, Delhi, Kamal Hak of the Panun Kashmir and Romesh Raina of the All-India Kashmiri Samaj said.

Mumbai, January 27
The Goa police are combing hotels and lodges in the state to find a man, matching the description of an alleged rapist, who assaulted a nine-year-old Russian girl on Tuesday.

According to the police complaint filed by the girl's mother, the incident happened when she was bathing in the sea at the popular Arambol beach, 45 km from here.Police said the man, allegedly named Aman, raped the girl and fled the scene after the victim screamed. The girl was later sent for medical examination which confirmed assault, police said. Based on the description provided by the locals, the police say the accused was probably an Indian tourist staying at one of the many lodges located near the beach. Apart from sections pertaining to rape and molestation, provisions of the Goa Children's Act have also been invoked in the case, police said.

New Delhi, January 27
Taking a serious view of the alleged rape of a nine-year-old Russian girl in Goa, Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja has sought a report on the matter from the Chief Minister.

The Tourism Ministry officials confirmed that Selja had taken up the case with the Goa CM and sought a report.

A nine-year-old Russian girl was allegedly raped by a tourist in north Goa’s Arambol beach, fuelling protests against continuing assaults on women in Goa, forcing the Centre to intervene.

The Russian Embassy also dashed off a strongly worded letter to the Goa government, demanding action against the culprit. Expressing concern, the embassy said it was worried about the security of its nationals in the tourist hotspot.

Nearly five lakh tourists visit Goa every year. In the past two years, more than 126 foreign tourists are stated to have died in the state, with nearly 60 per cent from unnatural causes.

On December 25 last year, two Russian girls alleged that a taxi driver tried to rape them, while returning from a Christmas party. Another Russian citizen alleged that she was raped by a local politician.

Meanwhile, Selja’s ministry has launched an initiative on ‘Safe and Honourable Tourism’, which it hopes would help promote the cause of protecting women and children from negative aspects of tourism.

“The Ministry of Tourism is on an alert and this is the first step towards evolving a code of conduct for all tourism service providers and protecting India’s culture, values and heritage to ensure long term sustainable and responsible tourism in India,” the ministry officials say..

They say that an action plan would be drawn up so as to have the code of conduct in place by the beginning of the next financial year. The ministry has already dispatched a draft code of conduct for ‘Safe and Honourable Tourism’ guidelines to states and different stake holders in the sector for their comment. Once the comments are received from them, a final code of conduct will be evolved for implementation.

The Ministry of Tourism will also work with the National Commission for Women to enhance the country’s image and add more value to the ‘Incredible India Campaign’.

Chandigarh, January 27
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force is set to induct its first batch of women constables. As many as 209 women would be joining the ranks of the force that maintains border vigil over the world’s highest mountain range, when they pass out from the Basic Training Center near here this week.

Another batch of women constables would be passing out shortly, taking their initial number in the force to about 400. They would form part of ITBP’s 43rd battalion based at Patiala.

“Women personnel would be deployed for security and escort duties at Nathu La pass in Sikkim and along the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Uttrakhand into Tibet, due to the presence of a number of women traders and pilgrims,” VK Upretti, Inspector General Operations and Training told The Tribune.

The ITBP had been feeling the need for women constables for quite some time and the sanction for raising a women’s unit was accorded in 2007. Other major para-military organisations like the CRPF and the BSF already have women’s battalions. The CISF also has a small women’s component.

The 44-week training for women recruits who come from all over India had commenced in March last year and is the same as that for male recruits. This included drill, firing, rock climbing, battle-craft and internal security duty. Specialised training like mountaineering; river rafting, skiing and commando training would be undertaken at a later stage.Upreeti said though the women’s unit would initially be commanded by male officers, ITBP was trying to get women officers on deputation from other police organisations. A case is also being taken up with the Staff Selection Commission for recruitment of women at the level of sub-inspector and inspector for the force.

At the lower level some women non-gazetted officers at the level of head constable or havildar, who were already serving in clerical or technical cadre have been sidestepped to the women’s battalion.