New Delhi, September 7
This Teacher’s Day, the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) had an emotional message from 31-year-old Balram Parmar, one of its humble students now taking the world in their stride. “I dedicate my placement in Oracle Corporation to my Navodaya teachers without whom I could not have achieved anything,” the once shy village boy from Shyampur in Madhya Pradesh wrote from California, US.

Not too long ago, Balram was among the millions of below poverty line children of India whose dreams could barely be realised. But thanks to the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) movement that began in 1985 to find and foster rural talent in academics, Balram went on to live his childhood dream.

This year, he (and others like him) celebrate the 25th year of Navodayas, which have patented the art of eclipsing poverty with education. A befitting match to costly private schools, the Navodayas have shown how gifted children with humble means can rise to be part of Citibank in the US or the IAS, IPS and IITs in India. Like Arjun Singh, a former Navodaya student from Meerut, presently vice-president of GTS Technology, Citibank, New Jersey, says, “The credit for what I am goes to JNV.”

Stories of Arjun, Balram, 29-year-old IRS officer Rajendra Meena and several others will be shared tomorrow when the NVS formally celebrates its 25th birth anniversary in the presence of UPA chief Sonia Gandhi, who will inaugurate 31 new buildings of Navodayas hitherto running in rented accommodations. It was natural for NVS to ask Sonia to do the honours -- the special schools were conceived by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and set up by PV Narsimha Rao.

Another mighty achievement the NVS will make public tomorrow is the outstanding performance of its students in 2009-2010: 4,221 of them made it to top institutions cracking the toughest entrance exams. The Tribune has data that show out of these 4,221 students, 147 cracked the IIT-JEE with Rajasthan’s Bahadur Meena securing 12th All-India ST rank and Rajiv Omar of the JNV bagging All India general rank 87. Lucknow JNV followed by Jaipur, Patna and Bhopal JNVs had the maximum successful students in the JEE this year — 44, 42, 27 and 16, respectively.

As many as 3,286 JNV students, despite hailing from BPL families, cracked the AIEEE to enter coveted engineering institutions; 345 cracked the medical test while 22 ranked among IAS toppers. Hyderabad JNV sent the highest -- 1648 students -- to engineering colleges while Chandigarh JNV sent 368.

The best performing JNV students in 2009-2010 have been from Bhopal (16 JEE, 418 engineering, 34 medical college entrants), Chandigarh (five IITians, 368 engineering, 98 medical college and one IAS ranker), Hyderabad (12 IITians, 1648 engineering, 71 medical college entrants and seven IAS rankers), Jaipur (42 IITians, 159 engineering, 25 medical and one IAS ranker), Lucknow (44 IITians, 299 engineering, 79 medical and three IAS rankers), Patna (27 IITians, 111 engineering and 18 medical and 7 IAS rankers), Pune and Shillong. Together, these eight schools share 4221 students who cracked the JEE, AIEEE, PMT and IAS.

New Delhi, September 7
The possibility of a showdown between the government and the Supreme Court over the rotting of foodgrains waned with the apex court expressing satisfaction over the Centre’s assurance that it was already providing foodgrains free of cost for four welfare schemes and was taking several steps to augment godown facilities.

Such a confrontation had appeared inevitable after Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and an empowered Group of Ministers (GoM) had virtually rejected the apex court’s suggestion for distribution of foodgrains free of cost to the poorest sections of people as part of the measures to deal with the problem of lack of godown facilities.

Remaining silent on the SC suggestion, the Centre yesterday informed the court that it was already providing free foodgrains to the Midday Meal programme, wheat-based nutrition programme under Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), Nutritional Programme for Adolescent Girls and Annapurna and Emergency Feeding Programme.

During the current year alone, 45.52 lakh tones of foodgrains have been allocated under these four programmes, Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parsaran assured a Bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma.

The ASG began his arguments clarifying that the government did not want to have any confrontation with the court on the issues of procurement and Public Distribution System (PDS). At this, the court advised the media not to sensationalise the matter and provide the public with only correct information, strictly going by the text of the order.

Significantly, the court hearing took place in the afternoon after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had made a press statement earlier in the day advising the apex court to stay away from policy issues such as distribution of foodgrains which was closely linked to farmers’ interest and the need for improving agricultural productivity and production.

In an affidavit filed in the court, the Centre said that according to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) 55,121 tonnes of wheat in Punjab and Haryana had been damaged and was unfit for human consumption.

The department concerned had already taken up the matter with the Punjab government through a letter on July 29. Another 12,418 tonnes of food grains stored in FCI godowns elsewhere were damaged as an August 1 this year, the affidavit said. However, the Centre maintained that the quantity of damaged foodgrains with the FCI had come down over the years on account of rigorous measures that were undertaken. The FCI’s capacity utilisation had gone up from 74 per cent 91 per cent in the past two years against an accepted norm of 75 per cent.

New Delhi, September 7
India and Poland today discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relationship, especially in the fields of defence and trade and investment, during a series of meetings between Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Indian leadership here.

Tusk, who arrived in Bangalore yesterday, held delegation level talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh and called on President Pratibha Patil. Tusk is a first non-communist Polish Prime Minister to visit India on an official trip. After his meeting with Singh, the two sides inked a pact to enhance cultural exchanges between India and Poland.

Tusk, who was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan after arriving from Bangalore, will fly to Agra tomorrow. Earlier in the day, the Polish leader, who is accompanied by his wife and senior government officials, addressed industry leaders here at a luncheon meeting jointly organised by the industry chambers that was aimed at encouraging Indian investment in Poland.

Stating that he saw a lot of potential to enhance bilateral ties, Tusk had yesterday said there wasn’t even “tiniest (adverse) reason” in the way of boosting the relationship, which needs to be transformed into an “exceptional” one.

“When we see the map of the world, European Union, we can clearly see potential in boosting ties between the EU and India,” said Tusk, adding that the next year’s EU-India Summit would take place during the Polish presidency of the European Union.

Besides, the economic relations, Indo-Polish military cooperation has also witnessed manifold increase after the visit of then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee in December 2004 when the two countries set up a joint working group on defence cooperations.

However, negotiations are on between the companies from India and Poland for joint ventures in defence field. — PTI

New Delhi, September 7
Clarifying that the CBI was expected to get to the bottom of the anti-Sikh riots case against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the light of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assurance to Parliament in August 2005, the investigating agency today argued in the Supreme Court that the trial court need not meticulously examine the evidence at the time of the framing of charges.

Arguing before a Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and Anil R Dave on Sajjan’s petition challenging the framing of charges by the trial court in a case relating to the riots in Delhi Cantonment area, Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal said the CBI would naturally rely only on the documents that had evidence against the accused.

Rawal made the clarification in response to senior counsel UU Lalit’s contention that the CBI had conveniently ignored the first four statements of prime witness Jagdish Kaur, who had lost her husband and son in the violence in the wake of the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. Lalit said Kaur did not mention Sajjan in the first four statements made till 2000.

Citing various apex court verdicts, the ASG said the investigating agency was at full liberty to rely only on that evidence, which it felt would result in conviction. The role of the accused in the matter of evidence would arise only at the time of trial, he contended.

During the day-long arguments, the Bench clarified it had stayed the trial court proceedings on August 13 mainly because of the observations of the Delhi High Court on the merits of the case. It also made it clear that it was not aware of the fact that Kaur was to depose before the trial court for the 17th day that day. The stay would, however, continue until Sajjan’s plea was disposed of.

Countering Sajjan’s plea that the investigation had to be fair to him, the CBI said it wanted to be fair to all the parties, including the victims. Lalit said Sajjan could not be forced to face trial merely on the basis of suspicion arising from the “uncredit-worthy” statements of Kaur and others, which were too late and too little.

Sajjan also maintained that he was illegally forced to face two cases for the same crime as the police case against him was still pending in another trial court, which was yet to accept the closure report. The arguments would continue on September 10.

New Delhi, September 7
Even as the presence of Chinese soldiers in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) became a talking point in the Indian and US media, going by the 60-year-old relations between the two countries, the latest move by the Chinese was not “something unexpected” for security circles here.

The strategic inter-dependence between India’s two neighbours has seen an upswing in the past 10 years.

Besides supplying latest warships, fighter aircraft, guns, tanks and missiles, China has nuclear, defence and strategic cooperation agreements with Pakistan. In lieu, it gets a long-term toehold in India’s neighbourhood. It gets direct access to the Arabian Sea via the Gawadar Naval port located west of Karachi and has positioned Pakistan as a “secondary” deterrent to India. The Gawadar port is located just 180 nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 per cent of all globally traded oil is shipped.

The total Chinese investment in Pakistan in heavy engineering, power generation, mining, telecommunications, sea ports and infrastructure is slated to touch $ 15 billion ( Rs 75,000 crore) by 2015, sources in the Indian security set-up said. Out of the 500-odd foreign firms operating in Pakistan, 60 are owned by the Chinese and more than 10,000 Chinese workers are posted on 120 projects in Pakistan, the sources added.

Apart from this, a sum of $ 3 billion worth of defence equipment and another $ 6. 16 billion soft credit for defence projects has been given to Pakistan. Separately, China is upgrading the Al-Khalid tanks and rebuilding the Ukrainian-origin T-85 tanks for the Pakistan army. The technology for surface-to-air missiles has been transferred and several medium guns and artillery pieces are offered off-shelf for purchase. Other projects include 155 mm guns to match the Indian Bofors. China offers a total of 38 training courses in warfare, intelligence gathering, artillery and engineering to the Pakistani forces. Some 30-odd military delegations from Pakistan have visited China since January 2008.

On the naval front, China supplied the first of the four F-22P frigates, the PNS Zulfiqar, in December 2009, the second PNS Shamsheer was delivered in March, the third one is slated for delivery by the end of this month. The fourth will be built in Pakistan after China transfers technology. A $830 million programme for submarines is in place.

For the Pakistan airforce, the two countries have jointly produced the Chengdu J-17 Thunder fighters that are powered by a Russian origin RD 93 aero-engine. This is the latest version of the RD 33 engine used on the Indian MiG 29 fighters. The first squadron of J-17 -- some 20 planes -- have already been stationed at the Kamra airbase near Rawalpindi. To match India’s Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), a high-range reconnaissance plane, China will supply the first of the four radar-mounted IL-76s by the end of this year to Pakistan.

During the 1990s when the US treated Pakistan as a social pariah, China stepped in and the two countries formed high-level committees -- one for defence technology transfer and the other for defence and strategic cooperation. In 1951, Pakistan was the first country to recognise the then newly communist China. In 1961, just months before the Indo-China conflict of 1962, Pakistan voted in favour of China to restore its legitimate rights in the UN.

New Delhi, September 7
Even before BJP president Nitin Gadkari set sail for foreign lands on his first official visit yesterday, it was mired in controversy on account of his host Viktor Petrik, a Russian scientist. On September 2, the BJP announced that its president was going to Russia on a five-day visit, to study and probe cooperation in the crucial area of drinking water.

The statement had described the Water Freedom Revolution (WFR), on whose invitation Gadkari went to Moscow, as “an international awareness movement dedicated towards promotion of importance of clean drinking water”, and the man behind it, Viktor Petrik as Prof Petrik, a Russian scientist, who has invented the water purification technology and is general director, Golden Formula. The statement further stated that the WFR would work together with Gadkari and accomplish the vision of providing clean and healthy drinking water to all citizens of India.

“Commending the work of the WFR, the BJP statement announced that Gadkari would “study the various aspects of the movement, whose aim is to improve the lives of the human race, quality of which is depleting day by day owing to various pollutants”.

However, reports from Russia indicated that Petrik was a controversial figure there. His invention of water filters with some atomic technology and inlaid carbon sheets was considered by some as great innovation, which would turn impure water as potable and thus solve all drinking water problems the world over.

But the special commission of Russian Academy of Sciences is not too certain of the veracity of Petrik’s claims and believes that this can even be dangerous for human health. Gadkari has gone to Moscow and St Petersburg to collaborate with Petrik to bring this innovative technology to India.

But after the reports about the controversy surrounding Petrik appeared, the BJP tried to distance itself from Petrik. Gadkari’s political adviser and BJP national executive member Vinay Saharsbudhe said, “In India, clean drinking water is a very important subject and Gadkari is keen on his development agenda. It’s an exploratory visit. He need not make any commitment in case this visit belies his hopes.”