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News report on Jagan’s TV channel
Cong workers hold protests |
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TV sting turns heat on Cong
CWG scam: CBI to send Letters Rogatory to UK
Ex-OC official arrested
Dhumal backs Mulayam’s China fears
Navi Mumbai airport may get green signal today
Five kids among eight killed in Bihar blast
Karnataka’s Bihar links
Tributes paid to Ray
Parliament Logjam Team Kumble sweeps K’taka cricket body poll
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News report on Jagan’s TV channel
New Delhi, November 21 A day after Sakshi television channel owned by Jagan Mohan aired a story criticising Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the channel today re-telecast the news item sans any adverse references. Reports emerging from Hyderabad say the channel announced that the 8 am show scheduled today would be a “re-telecast” of the episode aired earlier. However, what viewers saw was a totally different version from the one telecast on Friday and repeated on Saturday, agency reports said. The U-turn came after the angry Congress high command sought a report from the Andhra Pradesh unit as regards the programmne telecast by Sakshi and angry party workers held demonstrations outside its office in Hyderabad. “The party has sought for a report from the state unit,” party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said, adding that a view would be taken once the report was received from the state unit. Meanwhile, party sources said Jagan Mohan issue would be discussed at the highest level, adding that along with the report from the state unit, it had also conveyed to Jagan Mohan that this time he had gone too far. Jagan Mohan, who has been the proverbial problem child for the Congress ever since the passing away of his father YS Rajashekhar Reddy in a helicopter crash last year, is not likely to gain from these tantrums. Political observers say even though state Chief Minister K Rosaiah is struggling hard to establish his hold over the government and the party, Jagan Mohan’s open revolt may actually help Rosaiah continue in power as the Congress is not likely to change the leadership in the present crisis. In coming days, the Telegana issue is once again expected to hot up the political scenario in the state. The programme telecast by Sakshi on Friday blamed Sonia for the “sorry state of affairs in the Congress” and called the Prime Minister a “rubber stamp”.
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TV sting turns heat on Cong
Bangalore, November 21 The story, aired on a local TV channel, has temporary turned the spotlight away from the beleaguered Yeddyurappa who is himself reeling under a barrage of leaks in the media about the land allocations made by him to his family members. The CM has been summoned to Delhi again, the second time since Thursday, to meet the BJP’s top leaders there. There is strong speculation that the BJP high command will ask Yeddyurappa to step down. However, following the TV sting, Congress also will not escape unscathed from the controversy.
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Lalu calls exit polls paid news
Patna, November 21 Addressing a crowded press conference at his wife Rabri Devi’s official residence here on Sunday, the former chief minister rubbished the surveys and exit polls conducted by the TV channels, saying that it was all “paid news” and charged the media with doing a “dirty job” to help a particular political combination. The former railway minister who had been projected as the chief ministerial candidate of the RJD-LJP combine in the ongoing elections said, “I am in politics since 1977 and no body else can understand the pulse of people from Bihar better than me”. He exuded the confidence that the electorate of Bihar had voted against the government and his alliance was sure to come to power. Visibly angry over the media reports indicating a clear victory for Nitish, Lalu said that the leaders and workers of the RJD-LJP combine had suffered mental torture due to this “paid news” aired by TV channels and carried by the print media midway through the polls. He also threatened to take up this issue with the Election Commission. “I will meet the EC with a full delegation of the RJD-LJP alliance after the conclusion of poll process and seek a complete ban on such surveys and exit polls”, Lalu said. The RJD supremo also castigated psephologists who are claiming that the large turnout of women voters was a favourable indication for the NDA and said that the women had actually cast their votes in favour of him and Paswan as they were mostly from the poor and downtrodden families.
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CWG scam: CBI to send Letters Rogatory to UK
New Delhi, November 21 The CBI sources said the LR will be sent as soon as possible as the questioning of Patel was necessary for unravelling the knots in the case. — PTI
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Dhumal backs Mulayam’s China fears
New Delhi, November 21 The Chief Minister backed Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s recent assertions on China’s intentions to attack India and said he had no reason to disbelieve Mulayam Singh, who has been a former Defence Minister and has, in that capacity, access to significant strategic information. Dhumal said India should not be caught napping this time as it was in 1962. “The government is sitting on the Leh railway line at its own risk. It lacks the will to execute the project. I have gone to every length to push it as the most strategically important project for India given China’s consistent build-up around our borders specially Ladakh and PoK. It is said that the government is not acting despite having been repeatedly warned of,” Dhumal said. Dhumal was here to meet Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh for clearance of the pending coal dam project in Bilaspur. The said project is likely to be commissioned within this year. On delays in the Leh Rail link, however, the Himachal CM flagged serious concerns referring to the fact that top defence experts have also been voicing these fears. “One twentieth of what has been lost in the 2G Spectrum scam would have sufficed the construction of this rail line. The Railway Ministry even got a feasibility study done. The results were positive. Still there is no action,” Dhumal said. The rail project was suggested by Dhumal as an extension of the original railway line from Bhanupalli near Anandpur Sahib in Punjab to Barmana near Bilaspur in Himachal. “The line could be easily taken along Bhanupalli, Bilaspur and Mandi through the Rohtang Tunnel, Lahaul Valley, Keylong and up to Leh. The project is critical to our defence preparedness as China is encircling us from every side. It has built rail lines from Lhasa to Beijing, six more rail lines are coming up, air strips and helipads are under construction.
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Navi Mumbai airport may get green signal today
New Delhi, November 21 In all likelihood, the meeting between the ministers will lead to the breaking of the deadlock over the project that has been stuck in a lock jam over environment issues. However, the nod is likely to come with some riders, including strict monitoring at the environmentally sensitive site that had India’s green activist minister showing a red flag and entering into an open confrontation with the Civil Aviation Minister for whom the project almost become a prestige issue. Officials say project developer City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has agreed to take care of all environmental concerns raised by the expert appraisal committee (EAC). And the centrally appointed green panel, which met last week to study “alterations” offered by CIDCO, has recommended clearance of the project. However, conditional clearance means the project will be strictly monitored throughout the construction stage to ensure that environmental concerns are properly taken care of. The environment ministry had been opposing the project pointing that the building of an airport at the location chosen by the Civil Aviation Ministry will involve diversion of the rivers Gadhi and Ulwe, resulting in destruction of more than 400 acres of mangroves and blasting of a hill around 80 m above the sea level. CIDCO has already agreed that the location of non-aeronautical assets like hotels and shopping areas will be shifted to ensure that there is minimum damage to 400 acres of mangroves and hillock in the area. It has also agreed to reduce the distance between the two runways from 1,835 m to 1,550 m which will ensure that there is no diversion of the Gadhi and impact on the Ulwe is minimised. The project was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2007 as it was felt that the existing Mumbai airport, where additional flights were now being restricted due to saturation, was slated to exhaust its capacity of handling 40 million passengers a year by 2013. The Environment and Civil Aviation Ministries have, however, been at loggerheads over the project, raising the issue up to the level of the PMO and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
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Five kids among eight killed in Bihar blast
Aurangabad, November 21 SP Vivek Raj Singh said the bomb was planted by the Maoists at Pachokhar village during the sixth and final phase of Assembly elections yesterday. Security personnel found it and left it in a field for follow up action to defuse it. However, when villagers went to the field this morning, the bomb suddenly exploded, the SP said. While seven persons, including five children, died on the spot, one succumbed to injuries in a hospital here, the police said. Twelve others, who sustained splinter injuries, were admitted to various hospitals in Deo and Aurangabad towns. One of them died later, police said. However, the deceased were yet to be identified as angry villagers did not allow the police to approach the field. The district magistrate and the SP reached Bedhni, 3 km from the explosion site, and efforts were on to pacify the local people. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed Development Commissioner KC Saha and Director General (Home Guard) US Dutta to jointly probe the incident. The CM has also asked Chief Secretary Anoop Mukherjee to ensure adequate compensation to families of the victims. — PTI
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Centre Stage
Instead, he played into the hands of lobbyists and went for the first-come-first-served allotment to start up telecom firms. He would have provided the Indian economy with the kind of impetus which no other minister or ministry had been able to do in the past. Approximately Rs one lakh crore from the auction of the third generation 3G spectrum and BWA and an estimated Rs 1.76 lakh crore from the possible auction of the 2G spectrum would have sealed a place for him as a dynamic minister. Indeed, he would have emerged as the best performing minister in the two terms of the UPA government and given him a place in Indian history. However, even now he has booked a place in the political history of India. But for all the wrong reasons! An estimated loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the economy, as suggested by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), incurred by his decision not to auction the 2G spectrum has opened a can of worms which threaten to swamp not just Raja and the DMK but also the Prime Minister and the UPA. It has also exposed the games corporate bodies play. The CAG report finds Raja guilty of ignoring advice from the PM and ministries of Law and Finance. It also found him allocating the scarce 2G spectrum to a select group of companies at dirt cheap prices of just Rs 1651 crore for a pan-India licence. The CAG report said the price at which the spectrum was allotted in 2008 was based on 2001 prices, which was quite low and resulted in a huge loss to the government exchequer. Moreover, out of the 122 new licenses issued in January 2008, as many as 85 licences to 12 companies were granted to entities which did not meet the prescribed DoT eligibility conditions, the CAG said. The auditor held Raja guilty of favouring a select group of companies in the way he went about issuing a press release on January 10, 2008 at 2.47 pm, giving companies just 45 minutes to assemble at DoT to collect response letters to their applications. Raja's favourites, who knew of the press release in advance, were ready with performance bank guarantees, financial bank guarantee and other requirements in time. What's more, the auditor found that 13 applicants were ready with demand drafts drawn on dates prior to the press release being issued, proof that they were aware of the minister's move. "On 10 January 2008 afternoon, DoT informed all eligible applicants who applied for UAS licences up to 25th September 2007, through the Press Information Bureau that they would be issued the Letter of Intent (LoI). It was also mentioned in the press release that as per the policy of First-come-first-served (FCFS) being followed for the grant of UAS licenses, an application which is received first will be processed first and thereafter if found eligible will be granted LoI and then whosoever complies with the condition of LoIs first will be granted UAS license," CAG said. "This stipulation took away the relevance of the date of application and the sanctity of the declared FCFS policy. Though the draft press release proposed to maintain the inter-se seniority of applicants based on their date of applications, if more than one applicant complied with LOI conditions on the same day, the same was withdrawn from the final press release. Thus DoT deviated from its declared FCFS policy though the Ministry maintained that it was continuing 'with the policy (first-cum-first-served) for processing of applications" The report said that out of 232 applications received from 21 applicant companies till the changed cut off date, 121 applications from 15 applicant companies were found eligible. "The Ministry issued another press release on the same day (2.45 p.m) asking all applicants to assemble at DoT Headquarters within forty five minutes (i.e. by 3.30 p.m) to collect letters in response to their application," the CAG said while adding that all the eligible applicants collected their LoIs and acceptance of 120 applications was received on the same day. Compliance of terms and conditions of LoI was also made for 78 applications on the same day and the remaining on the following day. The change in the method for applying FCFS criteria from receipt of application to compliance of LoI made the applicants rush to comply with the LoI conditions within a few hours and in as less as 41 minutes in respect of 22 service areas. "It was noticed that 13 applicants were even ready with Demand Drafts drawn on dates prior to the notification of the cut off date and some had even managed to secure Bank Guarantees. Evidently, these applicants had advance information about the issue of this notification by DoT which enabled them to take appropriate advance action to draw the DDs and prepare other relevant documents for complying with the LoI conditions in spite of the changed time limit for compliance from 15 days to about half a day". Given its scarcity value and increasing demand, a comprehensive evaluation of available spectrum was required but this was not done. With the UAS policy and its subsequent amendments being implemented in a weak and indeterminate manner and with the reluctance on the part of DoT to address the issue of pricing of 2G spectrum, it was only natural that 2G spectrum was allocated at much below its value. It has also emerged that Raja had made a last ditch effort to stall the report of the national auditor on the 2G spectrum scam just days before the same was tabled in Parliament. The telecom ministry had shot off a letter to the Prime Minister's Office stating that the national auditor had no powers or duty to challenge policy decisions, while also adding that the Law ministry had endorsed this position. The telecom department also told the Prime Minister's Office that it could not send detailed replies to queries raised by CAG since all files related to the 2G spectrum allocation had been confiscated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Interestingly, DoT in this communication to the PMO also added that the national auditor had questioned the validity of many of the mobile permits issued by Mr Raja in 2008. It also told the PMO that if it was established that the information furnished by the applications were incorrect, the government had the power to cancel the licences. This was the second attempt the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) had made to stall the CAG report. In September, it sought to stonewall queries from the auditor of India's state-run institutions, using the same opinion from the Law ministry that said policy decisions cannot be second-guessed by auditors. The department had then told CAG that it would not respond to further queries on the award of frequency spectrum to a new set of telecom operators in 2008 because these were policy decisions. While the Supreme Court has taken a dim view of the CBI investigations in the matter and called for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's reply on the issue, the scam itself has given the opposition parties in Parliament ammunition which will not run out for days to come. After tasting blood by forcing the removal of Ashok Chavan as Maharashtra chief minister over the Adasrh Housing Society scam, the Opposition got another feather in its cap with Prime Minister forcing Raja to resign. But the Opposition seems to be in no mood to give space to the Government on the issue and has now stalled Parliament proceedings for two full weeks seeking a JPC probe on various scams that have hit the country's image hard. The Prime Minister will have a lot of explaining to do on why he looked the other way while Raja was signing away the nation's wealth for a pittance.
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2G SCAM: A primer on how to do business in India
Madhur Bhandarkar's film , Corporate, had provided some glimpses of the games the corporate bodies play in furthering their business interests. The murky dealings were to some extent depicted well in the film. But what has emerged in the aftermath of the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report on the 2G spectrum allocation reveals the darker side of not just politicians but also shows how corporate bodies manipulate the system to their advantage. It is not surprising then that the all powerful corporate world has chosen to remain mum on the present crisis facing the Congress-led UPA government. It has conveniently chosen to keep out of the raging public debate, pretending as if they have played no role in the scam. Nor have the vociferous opposition parties pointed their finger at the companies and their owners who seem to have benefitted from the minister's munifiscence. It is of course well known that the corporate bodies cultivate political parties, pay them so that they in turn can demand their pound of flesh when the time comes. Fingers are being pointed though at lobbyists and the industry, which seem to have first won favours by bribing politicians and bureaucrats and then arm-twisted them to ensure that the companies do not get singed by the fire. It was selling of 45 per cent of its stake by Swan Telecom that first raised a stink about 2G spectrum licences being sold at throw away prices by former Communications Minister A. Raja. While Swan got the licence for Rs 1651 crore, it sold 45 per cent of its stake soon thereafter for a whopping Rs 4000 crore and more. It has also been revealed that Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) owned Reliance Communications (RCom) had initiallly over 10 per cent of stakes in Swan , which was against the rules. Although RCom has denied any role in Swan Telecom, the CAG report clearly states that RCom had 10.71 per cent stake in Swan Telecom when the company applied for the licence in 2008. Swan had sought licence in all the 13 circles in which RCom also operated. CAG observed, "Since M/s Reliance Telecom Ltd were operating in all the service areas for which M/s Swan Telecom Limited had also applied for UASL, their application was not in conformity with clause 8 of UASL Guidelines, and hence was not eligible to be considered". "DoT did not have any mechanism to verify the correctness of the share holding pattern of the applicant and hence the matter should have been referred to the Department of Company Affairs as was advised by the Finance Wing of the Department. No reference, however, was made to the Department of Company Affairs and instead M/s Swan Telecom was given an opportunity to resubmit a revised stake holding pattern in December 2007 i.e. 9 months from their date of application which declared that M/s Reliance Telecom had divested their entire stakes. This was accepted by DoT and M/s Swan Telecom was given the benefit of seniority from the date of their initial application i.e. March 2007." The CAG has also found that ADAG companies were given undue advantage over other players in various ways. Besides Swan Telecom (now Etisalat DB Telecom) acting as a front for ADAG's RCom, it got the spectrum before others in the queue. RCom was also favoured in the spectrum allocation while getting access to a dual technology licence for offering both CDMA and GSM services. The CAG report also points out that the e-mail address of the corporate as well as registered office of Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd was shown as hari.nair@relianceada.com, and the same e-mail ID was also given for correspondence and for the authorised contact person of the applicant company. Incidentally, investigating agencies are examining the role of a senior politician, believed to be close to real estate developers in Maharashtra, who may have introduced the beneficiaries of the 2G spectrum scam to the ousted telecom minister A Raja. Swan was also allowed to jump the queue for licences and airwaves, which investigators suspect was due to its proximity to this politician. Investigating agencies are also probing links between this politician and two directors of Indian descent in a Mauritius-based investment arm of the UAE firm. Investigating agencies are also scrutinising the political links of Genex. The company holds 5.27 per cent stake in Etisalat DB that is under scrutiny for its alleged link with a Dubai-headquartered firm, ETA Star, which is implementing several projects in Tamil Nadu and is said to be close to the ruling DMK party, the coalition partner in UPA. Scrutiny of the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of the above Companies by the CAG suggested that they had not complied with the conditions of the Companies Act 1956, while incorporating alterations. Some companies had suppressed facts or gave misleading information along with their applications. None of the companies had the minimum paid up capital required either, to apply for a UASL. CAG was of the view that since the applicants did not meet the eligibility criteria at the time of date of applications, their application should have been rejected and the companies asked to apply afresh for UASL, as provided in the UASL guidelines. Since there were other 343 applications waiting for processing, eligible applicants from the waiting list, based on the FCFS principle should have been considered for issue of license. But DoT in its wisdom chose not to abide by its own guidelines and issued 122 licenses without confirming the compliance of the applicants to the eligibility conditions.
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Karnataka’s Bihar links
Is there a link between the result of the Bihar assembly elections and Karnataka Chief Minister BSYedyurappa’s continuation in the office? It may sound far-fetched but if BJP insiders are to be believed, the two issues are tied together.
The saffron party’s strategists are said to be of the view that if the BJP-Janata Dal (U) combine does phenomenally well in the elections, as it is being indicated, the party should ride out the storm over Yedyurappa’s land scams and not give in to the persistent demands for his removal. It is being argued that the campaign against the Karnataka chief minister will be lost in the euphoria over the Bihar poll results. The Congress, which, by all accounts, is going to be a distant third in these elections, will be so demoralised that it will be difficult for it to sustain its attack against the main opposition party. On the other hand, an emboldened BJP will be able to exert further pressure on the Congress on its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the 2G spectrum allocation. Stars and babus
Subsequently, the passage of his ministry’s bills on education tribunals and foreign universities had to be deferred in the Rajya Sabha when his own party colleagues raised objections to certain clauses in them. However, it is a different story today. Not only did the Prime Minister gave him additional charge of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences ministries, but he has also been entrusted with the crucial telecommunications portfolio which was earlier held by the DMK. Didi’s dada
These days, all her conversation with mediapersons are peppered with her horrific experiences during her travels on Air India from Delhi to Kolkata. Surprisingly, she does not blame civil aviation minister Praful Patel for all the ills which are plaguing Air India or the harassment which its passengers are suffering. She instead holds Mukherjee responsible for this entire mess on the ground that he is heading the group of ministers on Air India. Last heard, she was not particularly happy when Mukherjee shared a platform with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya at an official function. Nevertheless, she did meet Mukherjee in Kolkata last week after which she pledged full support to the Prime Minister and the UPA government’s stand that there was no need for a JPC on the 2G spectrum allocation.
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Tributes paid to Ray
Kolkata, November 21 Ray, 90, breathed his last after a protracted illness at his Bhownapore on November 6. Ray had also remained a Union Minister in the Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet and the Indian ambassador in the USA.
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Parliament
Logjam New Delhi, November 21 The Congress core group, which met late this evening, discussed the government’s floor strategy in Parliament for the coming week. Sources said it was decided that senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee would meet the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj tomorrow to attempt a breakthrough. So far opposition parties BJP and Left have been unrelenting in their approach, indicating no dilution in stand for a JPC probe in the 2G scam. BJP says it will continue to disrupt Parliament until the government accepts its demand and so does the Left. Senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury today reiterated the party’s demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should make a statement in Parliament and accept a JPC probe into the scam. “We want the JPC to be announced tomorrow. Let the Prime Minister speak and explain we are ready to hear him,” he said. Sources, however, say a breakthrough may come with indications of a high-level meeting between Mukherjee and Swaraj. Top leaders of the Congress, including party president Sonia Gandhi, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Home Minister P Chidambaram and Defence Minister AK Antony met at Prime Minister’s 7 RCR Residence in the evening to devise a strategy to how to break the stalemate in Parliament over the Opposition demand. It was decided that Mukherjee will approach senior Opposition leaders one more time with a compromise formula. An option before the Congress was to propose a JPC that also goes into telecom policies since 1999 because ex-Telecom Minister A Raja’s defence had been that he merely followed his predecessors while dishing out 2G scam. If a JPC was constituted it would also probe telecom policies of the NDA regime, especially the National Telecom Policy of 1999, a senior Congress leader said, adding that BJP’s Karnataka crisis might also help Mukherjee in this endeavour to at least convince the saffron party.
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Team Kumble sweeps K’taka cricket body poll Bangalore, November 21 The Kumble group swept the polls winning 21 of 24 posts, with the rest going to the Wodeyar group. Kumble defeated S Narasimharaja Wodeyar, scion of the Mysore Royal family and also incumbent President, by a margin of 43 votes. — PTI
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New Delhi, November 21
Himachal Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal yesterday renewed his demand for immediate construction of the pending railway line up to Leh in Ladakh warning the Government of China’s aggressive designs and plans around the Indian borders.
The Chief Minister backed Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s recent assertions on China’s intentions to attack India and said he had no reason to disbelieve Mulayam Singh, who has been a former Defence Minister and has, in that capacity, access to significant strategic information.
Centre Stage
Is there a link between the result of the Bihar assembly elections and Karnataka Chief Minister BSYedyurappa’s continuation in the office? It may sound far-fetched but if BJP insiders are to be believed, the two issues are tied together.
As the endgame appeared to be nearing for former Communications Minister A. Raja, a senior bureaucrat commented that the DMK representative in the UPA government at the Centre could well have emerged the real "king", if only he had chosen not to throw caution to the wind and ignore sound advice to auction the scarce 2G spectrum.
is radio frequencies, the entire range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, that is allocated to different regions by the International Telecommunication Union at 'World Radio Communication Conferences' from time to time. The frequencies are then allocated by each government to different service providers.
Till a few months ago, things were not going right for Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal. He first invited the wrath of all MPs when he did away with their discretionary quota for admissions to Kendriya Vidyalayas, a decision which he was forced to reverse.
Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee is known to have a love-hate relationship with fellow Bengali compatriot and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee as she is convinced that the Congress minister has a cosy relationship with her political adversaries, the Left parties.