Wednesday, March 16, 2011, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 2:30 am (IST)

Radioactivity looms over Tokyo
n 2 more blasts at Fukushima plant
n PM warns of further leakage
Fukushima/Tokyo, March 15
Japan’s nuclear crisis assumed dangerous dimensions today as two more blasts rocked the quake-crippled Fukushima plant spewing large amounts of radioactive material which may float towards Tokyo, with Premier Naoto Kan warning that there was a “very high risk” of further leakage.

DAMAGE SEQUEL
Editorial: Lessons from Fukushima
Nation page: Japanese N-crisis raises fears in AP over Kovvada project
World page: Russia’s N-facilities under lens
Trauma, rebuilding issues haunt Japan
Strong quake shakes Tokyo region again

N-fears set off debate in India
Mumbai, March 15
The Indian nuclear establishment is gearing up to take on the opponents of atomic power plants following the suspected partial meltdown of reactors at Fukushima in Japan.

Centre invites Jats for talks
Chandigarh, March 15
The threat to stop essential supplies, including oil from the Mathura refinery, to Delhi from March 17, today prompted the Centre to invite agitating Jats for a dialogue on their demand for reservation in government jobs under the OBC category.

Jat community women protest in Moradabad. — PTI

Cabinet nod to GST Bill
New Delhi , March 15
The Union Cabinet today gave its nod to a Constitution amendment Bill to bring in what has been termed the most ambitious tax reform in the form of a goods and services tax (GST). The Bill will now have to be approved by Parliament but it is being opposed by the BJP-ruled states.

Panel to look into licence procedure
New Delhi, March 15
In the wake of the frightening reality of fake pilots flying aircraft, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi today said an expert committee would be formed to look into the current system of examination and procedures for obtaining a pilot licence. The committee will also look into areas such as the introduction of e-technology and an effective system of cross-verification of documents filed by candidates, Ravi told the Rajya Sabha.

Watchdog for pvt TV channels soon
New Delhi, March 15
Private television channels will soon be made accountable for the content they are airing. The government today said it was on the threshold of announcing a self-regulatory mechanism to monitor programming content on television and mandate that all channels abide by a predetermined code of content. (Details on Nation page)

2G scam linked to hawala deals: ED New Delhi, March 15 The probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the 2G Spectrum scam has revealed hawala transactions involving transfer of huge amounts of money to other countries as well as into India. According to ED’s status report submitted to the Supreme Court today, the department has so far examined 26 persons, including CEOs and other top officials of companies, in connection with the scam. In all, the ED wants to examine 31 executives.