New Delhi, February 5
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, who has been pursuing the case against former Telecom Minister A Raja through a private complaint in a Special Delhi court, has moved a step further and now sought to implead Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo M Karunanidhi.

He has threatened to file a fresh petition in the court already hearing his complaint alleging scam in 2G spectrum allocation, seeking to implead Karunanidhi as an accused. Swamy claimed that Karunanidh was involved in the scam. His allegation has come after the court wondered if his complaint could be entertained when a CBI probe was also underway and three persons, including the former Telecom Minister and his two aides, were already in CBI custody.

Special Judge Pradeep Chaddah, however, appeared reluctant to entertain the plea commenting: “I am of the opinion that this court should not proceed for the time being with this matter”.

But Swamy persisted saying his complaint’s scope was much wider than the case being investigated by the CBI that touched upon the involvement of Karunanidhi besides the issue of national security.

Meanwhile, C&AG Vinod Rai, asked to appear as a witness, failed to appear but filed his reply attaching a certified copy of the audit report concerning the matter.

The court has asked the CBI to file its detailed reply to Swamy’s plea on February 22.

The Special Judge seemed inclined to drop the proceedings in Swamy’s case altogether and cited Section 210 of the CrPC that states that if it appears to the magistrate that an investigating agency is probing a matter, proceedings on a complaint case filed before him must be stopped.

Swamy, a known critic of the Dravidian party, has been relentlessly pursing the matter against DMK leaders for long, writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking sanction to prosecute Raja. When there was reluctance and delay in the response from the Prime Minister’s Office, he went to the court to seek directive to the Prime Minister and now that Raja is behind bars, he has sought to train his guns on M Karunanidhi.

Kanpur/Lucknow, Feb 5
Ahead of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's meeting with opposition parties on Tuesday, BJP today said there would be no dilution in its stand on a JPC probe into the 2G spectrum scam and threatened to disrupt the Budget session of Parliament if the demand was not met.

“We stick to our demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into 2G spectrum allocation and other scams and will not allow Parliament to function during the Budget session," senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh said addressing an NDA rally at Kanpur.

"No matter how much the Congress blames us for disrupting Parliament proceedings and accuses us of harming the interest of the people, we want to tell the nation that by demanding JPC we intend to retrieve the Rs 1.76 lakh crore presumptive loss to the exchequer because of 2G scam," he said.

BJP veteran L K Advani, who could not make it to the rally at Kanpur as his aircraft could not land there due to bad weather, told reporters in Lucknow that he was hopeful that the government will accept the JPC demand.

"I am hopeful that when the meeting with opposition parties takes place on February 8, the government will accept our demand for a JPC probe into the 2G spectrum case," he said.

Describing as shocking the presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore projected by CAG, Advani said, "When the figures came Prime Minister, who has now admitted A Raja's involvement, was not ready to admit." He said when people asked him whether the UPA would be able to weather the storm over the 2G issue, he told them that this could be a "turning point".

Alleging that the promptness to prosecute those involved in corruption was lacking, the NDA chairperson hoped the government, which was initially adamant not to accept JPC demand even if the opposition got united, may now bow to pressure. — PTI

Amritsar, February 5
Dr Ashwani Kumar, Union Minister of State for Planning, Parliamentary Affairs and Science and Technology, today said the UPA government is making efforts to persuade the Opposition, which didn’t allow the Parliament to function in the last session over 2G scam, to ensure smooth functioning of the parliamentary democracy in the coming Budget Session.

Talking to the mediapersons during his first visit to Amritsar after taking the charge, Dr Kumar said, “Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee are holding an all-party meeting on February 7 and 8, respectively, to explore the possibility of the best way forward. I hope that unanimity to get the Parliament to function will emerge.”

On whether the UPA intends to move a resolution, rejecting the Opposition’s demand for a JPC probe into the 2G Spectrum Scam, he replied “it is all in the realm of speculation”.

Dr Kumar said the planning department has given its nod to a project which will facilitate irrigation of 22,600 acres of land in Punjab through Kandi Canal. The minister, who also holds the charge of earth sciences, said they are now providing weather forecast twice a week to 12 lakh farmers in India, of which 70,000 are in Punjab.

A government biotechnology research institute in Pune has come out with a variety of grape which has been named Punjab Purple. “Punjab’s soil is conducive for growing these grapes and, hence, it will benefit the farmers.”

Dr Kumar said while Punjab was trailing on social and economic fronts, it had failed to provide scientific, progressive and modern education to children. He said agriculture, which has been the backbone of the state’s economy, can no more bear the burden of burgeoning population, observing but the state has failed to give attention to industrialisation.

New Delhi, February 5
India tonight rubbished Pakistan’s attempt to link the probe into Mumbai terror attacks with the Samjhauta Express blast investigation, describing it as an attempt by Islamabad to put New Delhi on the defensive on the eve of crucial talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries in Thimphu.

Reacting to Pakistan’s contention that the pace of probe into the Samjhauta Express blast was slow, official sources said India was carrying out the investigations with all sincerity into the February 2007 incident and would share details with Pakistan once the probe was completed. However, the sources argued that in the case of the Mumbai attacks, there was irrefutable evidence avaliable about the complicity of the elements in Pakistan in the carnage.

The masterminds of the Mumbai attacks were roaming about freely in Pakistan spewing venom against India, they added. The sources, however, expressed the hope that the provocative statement from Islamabad would not cast a shadow over talks between Foreign Sectretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir over the next two days in Thimphu on the margins of the SAARC Standing Committee meeting.

Referring to the Thimphu talks, the sources asserted that there was no alternative to talking to Pakistan and nudging it towards dealing head on with the menace of terrorism.

New Delhi, February 5
Mumbai attack martyr Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan's uncle, who attempted self immolation to protest the government's alleged apathy in treating victims of the 26/11 strike, succumbed to injuries, police said today. The 56-year-old K Mohanan, who had suffered 98 per cent burn injuries, died at 11:55 PM last night at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here. While undergoing treatment, he had also suffered a heart attack.

Mohanan, a native of Kozhikode in Kerala, had poured kerosene and set himself on fire outside Gate No 4 of Parliament House near Vijay Chowk on Thursday.

Mohanan had told doctors that he was unhappy at the way the victims of the Mumbai attacks were treated by the government. "He was disturbed at the death of Sandeep. He wanted to feel the pain Sandeep might have suffered when he was shot at by the terrorists," the official said.

Mohanan, the younger brother of Sandeep's father, had told his family that he was leaving for Ernakulam but instead left for the national capital, he said.

Sandeep's father K Unnikrishnan had said, "We are happy with the way the government has treated our son. We have no grievances. Mohanan was very fond of Sandeep. We thought that he had overcome the grief but ended up doing this". — PTI

New Delhi, February 5
India today inducted a new tactical lift aircraft, the C-130-J Super Hercules, which gives its armed forces an edge in the Himalayas.

The new plane, manufactured by US military aviation giant Lockheed Martin, was inducted at a ceremony at the Hindon Airbase. Defence Minister AK Antony handed over the keys of aircraft to the Commanding Officer of 77 Air Squadron, Gp Capt Tejbir Singh, in the presence of Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal PV Naik, and US Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer.

Five more such planes will arrive before the end of this year and these will form a part of the newly raised 77 Squadron, which has been given the name ‘Veiled Vipers’ and has the motto ‘strike to kill’.

India intends to use the aircraft for the special forces, usually small units of para-commandoes of the Army, that carry targeted aggressive operations. The C-130-J can take-off or land on unpaved runways and even mud tracks making it an asset in areas like Ladakh, Kashmir and parts of Arunachal Pradesh and the Northeast.

The aircraft is capable of airdropping armed commandoes and material in darkness due to its night vision imaging. In wartime, the aircraft can be employed for special air operations, transport of material and supplies besides maintenance.

During peacetime, its role includes operations and maintenance in mountainous terrain in adverse circumstances. The four-engine turboprop plane with Rolls Royce engines has the technology and configuration to perform precision low-level flying and airdrops.

Mumbai, February 5
Mumbai's diamond merchants are running scared following revelations that the promoters of Rosy Blue were being investigated for holding unaccounted money in secret accounts at Leichenstein's LGT Bank. Rosy Blue is one of the biggest diamond processing firms in the world with huge establishments in India, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Israel and the USA. The promoters of the company, Dilip, Arun and Harshad Ramnik Lal Mehta whose names allegedly figure in the list have a number of businesses around the world and are best known for their stake in the Kochi franchise of the Indian Premier League.

Others featuring in the list include promoters of Gembel and Beautiful Diamonds, according to reports.

According to sources in Mumbai's diamond industry, there was nothing new in Friday's revelations. "We always knew that some of the biggest names in the industry had accounts in foreign banks," says a diamond exporter. According to him, some of the biggest players in the diamond industry prepared well in advance to save taxes by getting some of their relatives to obtain foreign citizenship.

"Every big family in the trade has relatives who hold nationality of European countries only to save taxes," says the diamond merchant.

The trade in diamonds is conducted secretly. While funds are transferred using the hawala route, rough and polished stones are transported within India and to foreign shores using homegrown couriers known as Angadias. These Angadias are known to be extremely secretive and only use highly sophisticated codes to identify and communicate with their clients.

Helping hand

n A credit society complying with Shariah laws of interest-free loan functional in Lucknow n The Al Khair Credit Cooperative Society already has 150 members and has extended loans of up to Rs one lakh n The model is now in the process of being upscaled nationally

Lucknow, February 5
A small credit society complying with Shariah laws of interest-free loan and risk sharing has successfully been replicated in Lucknow. Originally started in Patna nine years ago, it is now in the process of being upscaled nationally.

The Al Khair Credit Cooperative Society, registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Act 2002, started is Lucknow branch last month. It already has 150 members and has extended loans of up to Rs 1 lakh.

Speaking to Tribune IPS officer S M Nasim(retd), who is one of the members of the board running the Lucknow associate, said the aim is to cater to the loan needs of the daily labourers, rickshaw pullers, small shopkeepers who are unable to carry out the paperwork to avail of bank loans and often borrow money from private money lenders at the exorbitant rate of 120 per cent.

“Take, for example, a rickshaw puller. He pays Rs 100 of his hard-earned money to the rickshaw owner everyday. The cost of the rickshaw is barely Rs 5000 and he can become owner within just 50 days with this money. It is for such people that we extend our loan who pay back in daily or monthly instalments with just a minor service charge of say Rs 35 per thousand,” he added.

Shariah rules prohibit charging interest for loans and emphasise on sharing of profits and losses. 
So, rather than earning interest on deposits, customers get a share of the overall profit reported by credit society.

Arshad Ajmal, CEO of an NGO - Sahulat Micro Finance Society - that is now taking the model elsewhere in the country, further elaborated on the process. He is one of the founders of Al Khair society that started in Patna.

“We do not call it Islamic banking as it is not a bank but a credit society but yes the principles and historical background comes from the Shariah”, said Ajmal.

The original Al Khair society would look after operations in Bihar that already has six branches and a membership base of 3000 members. Operations have already started in UP and about to begin in Jharkhand and Delhi. Maharashtra and Gujarat would also be covered soon.

Under this system, call deposits get no interest at all. For the term deposits, popularly known as fixed deposits having a fixed lock-in period, the money is invested on a profit-and-loss sharing basis.

There are four types of loan provided. The first is demand loan on which 3.5 per cent service charge is taken. The second is cost plus finance in which products are bought at wholesale prices and sold at retail prices at a profit of not less than 8 per cent and not more than 15 per cent.

The third is short-term business loan that is given for a month to shopkeepers and small businesses. They share 30 per cent profit they make with that money.

Similarly, there is a long-term loan re-payable over a period of a year or more and where the loan amount is up to Rs one lakh and the principle of returning remains the same.

While the concept comes from Shariah the beneficiaries are not restricted to Muslims alone. In fact almost 60 percent of users are non-Muslims. “The economy cannot be religion or gender specific. The driving force is to free the most needy from the clutches of the moneylenders and help them become financially empowered”, said Ajmal.

Guwahati, February 5
The Election Commission of India will bank on the Bihar election model to conduct the forthcoming of Assam assembly poll under strict monitoring even as political parties in Assam have expressed their concern before the EC over the availability of unauthorised weapons with surrendered ultras as well as militants who have agreed to a truce in the state.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi said, “We will use a fine-tuned version of the poll expenditure control mechanism that was enforced in the last Bihar Assembly election to keep poll expenditure under leash during the Assembly election in Assam. The new set of guidelines worked wonders for us in Bihar.”

He also said there would be a zero tolerance for poll officials found lacking in offering a neutral approach while discharging their duty. “We will monitor neutrality of polling officials and there will be zero tolerance to officials found being partisan or biased,” he said.

The Booth Level Officers (BLOs) appointed by the EC will distribute voter slips containing voter numbers. This system, too, was first tried in the recent Bihar elections very effectively, he said.

The CEC was on a two-day visit to Assam along with the two Election Commissioners to meet senior civil and police officials as a routine pre-poll exercise. The CEC informed that all political parties in Assam during an interaction with the EC had raised a concern over the availability of unlicensed arms with a large number of surrendered militants and others who are yet to surrender. He said the state administration had been instructed to seize all illegal as well as licensed arms with individuals before the election.

The Assam Government has been directed to execute over 14,000 pending arrest warrants before the poll and put criminals on parole under strict surveillance.

The CEC informed that all political parties in the state wanted a multi-phase election that shouldn’t clash with the forthcoming Rangali Bihu (spring festival).

Guwahati, February 5
Members of the banned insurgent groups in Assam like the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), who are preparing ground for an unconditional dialogue with the Indian Government, have an opportunity at their hands to show their loyalty to the Indian Constitution.

They can very much cast their votes in the coming Assam assembly elections, provided their names are on the state’s voter list. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi without naming any outfit said: “Anybody who has his/her name enrolled in voter list can cast vote even if the person is a member of any banned organisation.”

As on date, a large number of leaders and cadres of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) are moving about freely in the state doing spadework for the proposed peace talks with the government.

Those included some top leaders of the outfit including, its ‘chairman’ Arabinda Rajkhowa, who are now on bail.

Notwithstanding the peace initiative, the Government of India is yet to lift ban on United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the outfit’s fugitive commander-in-chief Paresh Barua is still at large.

Moreover, hundreds of militants belonging to the banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Dima Halam Daogah (both factions) and the United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) are not engaged in peace process and living in truce-time designated camps in the state.

Guwahati, February 5
It seems the ruling Congress is relying on electronic gadgets to have an advantage over the Opposition in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday presented a vote on account in the Assembly for Rs 11,741.42 crore as estimated expenditure up to July 31 during the 2011-12 fiscal and a fraction of this sum is earmarked for mobile phones, laptops and computers.

Even as the Opposition terms the vote on account as populist and focused on the coming Assembly elections, Gogoi announced a slew of schemes to “accelerate the pace of development” in Assam.

The interim budget proposes to provide mobile phones to 26,000 Asha (health) workers, 52,000 anganwari workers and an equal number of anganwari helpers for better connectivity. Not only that, it has also included a scheme to provide laptops to accredited journalists and those scribes who have completed 10 years in the profession. Scribes have also been offered an interest subsidy of 3 per cent on housing loan obtained from the Assam Cooperative Apex Bank. Opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Chandra Mohan Patowary said, “The Congress government is apparently overlooking basic needs of the common people while relying on gadgets to win votes in the coming elections.” However, the ruling party maintains that the provision of gadgets is just a small fraction of the budget estimate and is not at the cost of needs of the common people. The ruling party points out the new schemes that are proposed for providing nutritional support to tuberculosis and malaria patients. Assam has one of the highest incidences of these diseases in India.

Guwahati, February 5
The Opposition political parties in Assam have submitted before the Election Commission of India team led by Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi to instruct the administration in poll-bound Assam to confine all the insurgents engaged in peace process with the government to designated camps once the election process is started in the state.

The opposition parties also demanded multi-phase election in the state under tight security measures. Making a submission before the EC team, the BJP said there should be a three-phase election and demanded seizure of all unauthorised weapons at the hands on individuals or small groups, who are working as private guards of politicians.

“We have also requested the EC to ensure that members of insurgent groups, which are engaged in peace process with the government and have been allowed free movement throughout the state with weapons, should be confined to designated camps once the election process is started in the state,” state BJP leader Siddhartha Bhattacharyya informed. The Asom Gana Parishad has demanded a four-phase election before the Rangali Bihu that begins on April 14.

The regional party also demanded that polling booths should be manned not by unarmed home guards but by armed police and seizure of licenced and unlicenced weapons with individuals in the state before the polls. The regional party sticks to its stand of conducting polls by using ballot papers instead of the EVMs.

The minority political party, the United Democratic Front led by perfume Mogul Badruddin Ajmal has requested the EC to go for a four-phase election.

Hyderabad, February 5
Less than two-and-a-half years of launching his party with twin promises of change and social justice, popular Telugu film star Chiranjeevi is all set to merge his Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress, a move that is likely to trigger realignment of political forces in Andhra Pradesh.

Fiftyfive-year-old actor will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on February 7 to finalise the modalities of the merger.

While broad contours of future arrangement have already been worked out during Defence Minister AK Antony’s visit to the megastar’s residence here recently, the forthcoming meeting with Sonia will give the proposals a final shape.

The Congress chief is expected to formally put forward the merger proposal before Chiranjeevi, who will in turn convene a meeting of his party legislators to take a final decision.

As per the plan, Chiranjeevi is likely to be offered a cabinet berth at the Centre through the Rajya Sabha route while three or four Praja Rajyam Party legislators will be made ministers in Andhra Pradesh. For the beleaguered Congress, facing internal rebellion and Telangana turmoil, Chiranjeevi’s star power could be of help in the 2014 elections.

The actor convened a crucial meeting of PRP legislators and other senior party leaders here yesterday to discuss the future course of action. The meeting resolved to authorise Chiranjeevi to take a final decision on the nature of friendship with the ruling party.

“We have decided to join hands with the Congress to further the cause of social justice. We realise that the PRP alone cannot ensure social justice,” senior party leader C Ramachandraiah told reporters after the meeting, attended by 15 out of the total 18 MLAs.

The Congress has been wooing Chiranjeevi to counter the threat of destabilisation from YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

The development came against the backdrop of instability in the state Congress and growing fears that the Jagan camp may attempt to unseat the government.

The Congress has 155 MLAs in the 294-member House, just seven more than the half-way mark. It is estimated that about 30 legislators are backing Jagan.

Chiranjeevi had time and again assured that he would bail out the government in the event of any crisis. His support will become crucial for survival of the government in case of a split in the ruling party.

The Congress leaders perceive twin advantages in forging an alliance with the film star who has considerable following in coastal Andhra, particularly among the powerful “Kapu” community. First, Chiranjeevi can bring in the much-needed glamour to the party in the wake of a vacuum created by YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s death. Second, the move can help neutralise Jagan.

At present, the Congress leadership is faced with twin challenges. On the one hand, it is worried about the possible erosion of its support base with the proposed launch of a new regional party by Jagan and on the other it is grappling with threats of resignation by its own MPs and the MLAs if the Centre fails to grant statehood to Telangana.

On his part, Chiranjeevi is also aware of his political limitations and needs the Congress platform to further his career.

The megastar’s tryst with politics has been anything but fruitful. Despite being a hugely popular actor, he had failed to convert his star power into votes. As a result, his PRP bombed at the ballot box in the 2009 elections.

New Delhi, February 5
The unique identification number (also known as Aadhar project) for the country’s over billion population will be delivered through the post offices across the country.

An agreement to this effect was signed here yesterday by the Department of Posts and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which is in charge of the UPA Government’s ambitious and mammoth project.

“This is not a tactical but a strategic partnership where the UIDAI will leverage the existing infrastructure of (post offices) to reach out to the masses,” said chairman of the UIDAI Nandan Nilekani.

Telecommunications Minister Kapil Sibal, who was present on the occasion, said this partnership would empower people.

“The empowerment will take place through post offices,” said Sibal. As part of the exercise, the department will also open a request for quotation over the next few days to finalise an agency to manage the infrastructure for registration and distribution of the UID numbers across post offices.

As part of the effort to provide every Indian with his or her own unique identification number, the UPA government launched this process and established UIDAI under former Infosys chief Nandan Nilekani in February 2009.

The Aadhar system will work by establishing one’s identity using the Aadhar code, and any combination of biometric identification, such as fingerprint or retina (iris) scans.

It will provide a unique number with associated identifying biometric data and photographs to all Indians. The ID aims to prevent rigging in elections and check widespread embezzlement of the government subsidies.

Post offices are spread across India and is the only organisation that can provide a comprehensive solution to the requirements of the UIDAI, an official statement said.

The Postal Department signed its first agreement with the UIDAI on April 30, 2010, to cover printing of communication carrying the UID number addressed to a resident.

This facility is expected to print and dispatch about one crore UID letters up to March 31, 2011. In 2011-12, the Postal Department is expected to print and deliver about 12 crore UID letters. More than 3,700 post offices in the country have been identified to become enrolment stations.

Mumbai, February 5
After hitting the headlines for assaulting outstation candidates appearing for the railway examinations, Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has kicked off a campaign to help Marathi youth apply for railway jobs. The party has asked its workers across Maharashtra to help prospective candidates apply and take training for getting hired by the Railways. “We will train our Marathi people to fill up application forms, follow proper procedure in applying for the jobs and later on appear for the examinations and get through interviews,” MNS spokesman Shirish Parkar said.

The party has already published a handbook which explains the procedure to potential applicants. "The handbook will be distributed via our offices and at public places like outside theatres and bus stands apart from railway stations," Parkar added. Releasing the handbook on Wednesday, Raj Thackeray urged Marathi-speaking people to apply for railway jobs in large numbers.

"Let so many people apply that they will not be able to reject your applications," Thackeray said.

While the MNS alleged that Marathi-speaking people were prevented from applying for jobs in the railways, officials from the railways say the vacancies were always advertised in newspapers.

The Railways are in the process of recruiting more than 10,000 persons for the post of porters, sweepers and trackmen, according to reports. According to the MNS, the party will kick off its campaign across the state till the February 15 deadline for applying for the railway jobs.

New Delhi, February 5
Child health strategies under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) have paid off with India reporting its highest five-year decline in the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in 2009. For every 1,000 children born in 2009, 50 died as against 53 the previous year. The rural IMR is higher though it dipped 3 points from 58 to 55 between 2008 and 2009.

The revelation is part of the Sample Registration System 2009 of the Registrar General of India. The India’s IMR for the previous years stood at 58 in 2005, 57 in 2006, 55 in 2007 and 53 in 2008. The 2009 data establishes a critical link between the state’s education status and the health of its children, with best rankers on the education index reporting the lowest IMRs.

The latest statistics put Goa above Kerala as the most child-friendly state, with the lowest IMR of 11 as against Kerala’s 12. Goa was number 3 in 2005 while Kerala was always the best.

Major gains have come from Bihar, Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, J&K, Andaman and Nicobar Islands which reported a 4 point decrease in IMR -- more than the national drop of three points. Bihar’s IMR is down from 56 in 2008 to 52 now; Karnataka’s from 45 to 41; Orissa’s from 69 to 65; Rajasthan’s from 63 to 59 and Uttar Pradesh’s from 67 to 63. J&K has also registered a drop of four points from 49 in 2008 to 45 in 2009 and Andaman and Nicobar Islands from 31 in 2009 to 27 in 2009.

The biggest gainer is Daman and Diu, finishing fifth in the IMR table this year as against the ninth rank in 2005 when the NRHM was launched. It reported the highest drop -- 7 points -- in IMR over 2008 from 31 to 24. Lakshadweep is next with a 6 point drop.

Among states with an IMR higher than the national average are Haryana (51), almost bracketed with Bihar where the IMR is 52. Madhya Pradesh has the highest child deaths in India at 67 followed by UP’s 63, Assam’s 61, Rajasthan’s 59 and Chattisgarh’s 54.

Punjab improved its rank by a point, finishing 19th. Its IMR is 38 as against 41 in 2008. Delhi’s infant death rate is 33, dropping two points from 2008.

Among the not-so-good performers is Chandigarh, with a six point increase in IMR over 2005. Though it has recorded an IMR of 25 in 2009 as against 28 in 2008, its overall performance has been slow because it started with a low IMR of 19 in 2005.

BRIEFLY

Mayawati faces protests by women
Aligarh: A group of slogan shouting women on Saturday tried to stop Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati's convoy in Salaimpur village near here, holding a minister responsible for the death of two persons. Mayawati, who is on a tour of various districts of the state had arrived here in the afternoon. Just when her cavalcade was about to move, about half a dozen women began raising slogans and tried to block its passage. — PTI

Hazare to fast from April 1
AHMEDNAGAR: Noted anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare will go on an indefinite hunger strike from April 1 in protest of the criminal-politician-bureaucrat nexus in Maharashtra. Hazare criticised the unholy nexus and the infamous land, sand and oil mafia in the state, in the backdrop of Additional Collector Yashwant Sonawane's brutal killing. Ahead of his hunger stir, the veteran Gandhian will also organise a 'dharna' on these issues on March 15 in the village here, from where he will launch his fasting. — PTI

Foodgrain scam
SITAPUR: The CBI on Saturday carried out simultaneous searches at different places in two districts in connection with the multi-crore alleged foodgrain scam. Searches were carried out at residences and business premises of a BSP leader and a food contractors in Sitapur and Lakhimpur district, official sources said. In Sitapur, the central agency searched six different places including the house and office of a BSP leader in Maholi. — PTI

Bombs found
BURDWAN: A large quantity of bombs were recovered on Saturday from the houses of local CPM and Trinamool Congress leaders in the district. Without disclosing the identity of the leaders, district Superintendent of Police Humayun Kabir said the raids have yielded 125 bombs, a firearm and a musket from Mangalkot area while 190 bombs were found from the nearby Mullickpur area. No arrest has been made so far, police said. — PTI