New Delhi, July 3
Three Union sports ministers, who held charge since 2004, had repeatedly warned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against the structure and working of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee and its chief Suresh Kalmadi, letters accessed by an RTI activist reveal.

While late Sunil Dutt had said that the Organising Committee should be headed by a "government nominee" like Sports Minister, his successor Mani Shanker Aiyar had criticised it for "squandering" money and M S Gill had said that the Executive Committee of the OC "rarely" met and endorsed "post facto decisions taken in high centralised manner".

Letters written by these sports ministers have been made public in an RTI reply to activist S C Agrawal.

In 2004, when the structure of the Organising Committee was to be finalised, the then Sports Minister Sunil Dutt had written to the Prime Minister saying he was surprised by the Indian Olympic Association resolution appointing its chief Suresh Kalmadi as chairman of the Organising Committee saying it was "at variance" with the decision of the GoM.

He had claimed that IOA was "aware" that the GoM had agreed to appoint sports minister as OC chairman for preparation of conduct and preparation of the Games.

Dutt had alleged that minutes of group of ministers meeting issued by Cabinet Secretariat do not reflect the decisions taken during the meeting on "various aspects of composition of Organising Committee".

The notes made on the letter mention "PM has seen" and later an acknowledgement was also sent to Dutt by the Prime Minister.

His successor Aiyar, in his letters to the Prime Minister, had highlighted that the OC was "squandering" money by appointing consultants with cost of up to $ 5,000 per day and providing Rs 2 crore farm house and monthly first class air ticket to Mike Hooper of Commonwealth Games Federation.

Aiyar highlighted that unlike 1982 Asian Games Special Organising Committee which had "powerful public-minded representatives" like Rajiv Gandhi, the present Organising Committee is "packed with yes men (and a few yes-women)".

He said OC Chairman had "dictatorial powers" as there was "no one of influence to press for an alternative option".

"Without a drastic overhaul of both the Executive Board and Organising Committee for the Commonwealth Games, I fear it will prove to be practically impossible for the government to significantly address the excesses of chairman Suresh Kalmadi and his cohorts," Aiyar had warned in October 2007, three years ahead of the Games. — PTI

Chandigarh, July 3
Administration of anaesthesia to patients undergoing surgery would soon be a highly automated process, relieving medical specialists to the task to continually monitoring the patient’s vital signs and estimating doses accordingly.

An Anaesthesia Delivery Workstation (ADW) is being developed by the Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO) here that will take over most of the anaesthetist’s role in operation theatres (OTs).

The purpose of the ADW is to predict the anaesthetic dose to the patient throughout the surgery. The development project involves testing of the existing anaesthesia ventilator in the hospital, monitoring the depth of anaesthesia based upon EEG, monitoring the transfer characteristics between the dose administered and the anaesthesia index, and calculating the dose based upon the transfer data.

During the development process, scientists recorded EEG data of normal healthy persons from different locations of the brain under normal conditions and then during pain stimulus given by ice cube cold pressure.

The area of the brain giving pain signature in the EEG was identified and the parameters of EEG giving clear relation with pain stimulus were extracted.

“The prevailing practice of occasionally looking at the clinical signs and administrating the anaesthetic drug by the anaesthetic’s experience is hardly convincing,” a scientist said.

“Awareness of explicit recall of pain, though rare, still occurs and is often reported by the victims as the worst experience of their life. Obviously there is need to provide technical assistance for better management,” he added.

The Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow and the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, are among institutes associated with the project for data collection.

Leh/New Delhi, July 3
The Home Ministry is likely to oppose a fresh proposal of the Defence Ministry, seeking “operational control” of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) manning over 4,000 km of the country’s boundary with China in three different states.

The move comes in the wake of reported differences between Army and ITBP jawans at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after which the Army moved a fresh proposal for operational control of the paramilitary force in order to have “synergy” among the forces manning the border with China, sources said.

While the Home Ministry is officially quiet on the issue, sources said it was of the view that such a move would be detrimental not only to the morale of the jawans of the ITBP, who have been performing their duties in utmost difficult terrain, but will also lead to confusion among the ranks of the paramilitary force.

They said at a meeting held recently, the home and external affairs ministries found themselves on the same page and were of the view that this would unnecessarily complicate issues along the LAC with China.

The Army had sought operational control of the ITBP because of the aggressive patrolling across the LAC by Chinese troops saying this would help in better border management. The ITBP has nearly four battalions comprising around 4,000 personnel in Leh.

The ITBP maintains all its forward posts in higher reaches along the border with China at tri-junction located at a height of 22,420 feet on Mount Gya.

The paramilitary force conducts long and short-range patrols to keep an effective vigil on inaccessible and unmanned areas on the border.

“While we should be aligning the forces available with the Home Ministry, handing over the control of the ITBP was a far-fetched idea,” a senior Home Ministry official said. — PTI 

Puttaparthi (AP), July 3
Silver and gold articles worth over Rs 76 lakh have been found during a joint inspection by government officials and Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust into a room adjoining late Sathya Sai Baba’s personal chamber - the Yajur Mandir, the Trust said today.

The inspection came over a fortnight after Rs 11.56 crore in cash, 98 kg gold and 307 kg silver was found from the chamber and officials said that they may survey the Yajur Mandir again in coming days.

Following a request from the Trust to conduct an inventory of valuables in a room adjoining the Yajur Mandir, a team of officials, including the trustees, council of management members and representatives of the state government, came for inspection yesterday. The team was led by Anantapur district Joint Collector Anitha Ramachandran. The officials found 116 kg silverware worth Rs 57.96 lakh, 905 grams of gold jewellery worth Rs 15.83 lakh and a diamond ring worth Rs 3 lakh. However, no cash was found.

The private chambers of Sathya Sai was also inspected and no valuables were found, a release issued by the Trust said.

Joint Colletor Anitha Ramachandran said today that they may again carry out another inspection in the Yajur Mandir in the coming days.

“We may again conduct another inspection as there are lot of covers and envelopes that contain cheques given by devotees and kept inside the Yajur Mandir,” the senior official said, adding all the articles found yesterday will be kept in the bank account of Sai Central Trust. — PTI

Thiruvananthapuram, July 3
Gold ornaments, gold and silver coins, stone-studded crowns, idols and figurines inlaid with precious stones and jewels estimated to be worth a whopping over Rs 90,000 crore have been found from the cellars of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple here.

The inventory list of jewellery after the opening of the chambers, some locked up for several decades, on Supreme Court orders, is expected to go up substantially.The0 exercise which began on June 27 to assess the value of the articles has been undertaken by a seven-member panel of observers, including two former High Court judges. It will continue tomorrow after a day’s breather. According to the temple sources, the treasure trove has so far been estimated at around Rs 90,000 crore, throwing up security concerns with the police deploying two platoons of armed personnel to guard the area as an interi, step.

While similar treasures possessed by many other princely states in pre-colonial India were plundered by attackers or wasted on luxuries by members of the royal houses themselves, the Travancore kings are believed to have zealously guarded them as reserves of the state.

Coins from other princely states like the Vijayanagar empire and European countries have also been found which might be part of the gifts received by the rulers of the time.

While all major temples of the area were handed over to the Travancore Devaswom Board after merger of the princely state with the Indian Union after 1947, control of Padmanabhaswamy temple was retained by the royal house through a covenant with the government.

Narayanan, former Indian History Congress President said, “The state or Central government cannot take over these assets as they are part of the temple coffers according to the system followed by the Travancore kings.” — PTI

Chennai, July 3
A teenage boy today died of bullet injuries, after being allegedly shot by an Army jawan for trespassing into their premises, triggering protests from locals.

Condemning the incident, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa alleged that a jawan had opened fire at 13-year-old Dilshan, a charge denied by the Army.

The family of the boy, who later succumbed to injuries at a government hospital, also alleged that an Army jawan had shot at him.

“The Army jawan could have easily realised that the boy who tried to climb a tree was not an extremist or a terrorist,” the CM said.

Jayalalithaa, who announced a Rs 5-lakh compensation to the victim’s family, said the Chief Secretary had written to the General Officer Commanding to hand over the jawan, who committed the “brutal act”, to the state police.

Dilshan was allegedly shot by a jawan when he tried to pluck some fruits from the premises housing residential quarters. An Army spokesperson, however, said there was no armed guard inside the Island Ground colony. The incident sparked tension in the area with locals protesting against the firing. — PTI 

Ahmedabad/New Delhi, July 3
In a damage-control exercise, the Narendra Modi government has said all “crucial” intelligence bureau records relating to the 2002 riots were intact and available and only some of “temporary” nature have been destroyed.

“The State Intelligence Bureau records pertaining to communications that took place during the 2002 riots have been classified as of permanent nature and have not been destroyed and are available,” a Home Department official said.

“These records are preserved permanently...there are other records which are of temporary nature and are deemed to be destroyed in one year, five years, 10 years or 30 years time as per their classification,” he said.

Only some of the records or data which were of temporary nature or those classified to be destroyed after five or 10 years under the rules of the department have been destroyed, he said.

In Delhi, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: “This is a classic slip done slop then again a slip by the Gujarat Government, which is doing somersault because it has much to hide. A very senior counsel on behalf of the state government said records were destroyed in usual course.” Singhvi said no one explained how records could be destroyed when more than five proceedings, including Supreme Court proceedings, are going on.

Senior counsel SB Vakil, representing the state government before the Nanavati Commission probing the 2002 riots, had last month told reporters that telephone call records, officers' movement registers and vehicle log books of the State Intelligence Bureau pertaining to the period of 2002 riots were destroyed in 2007, as per government rules.

Asked about Vakil's submission, the official said he seemed to have been misquoted or misinterpreted. — PTI 

New Delhi, July 3
Have you ever seen or flown a small sports plane which can both take off and land on water or ground, has foldable wings so that you can carry it on your trailer-truck and park it in your garage?

Now this may not remain a dream, as a prototype of the American light-sports aircraft (LSA) which is being tested for the past three years is likely to enter the production line in the second quarter of 2012. The two-seater ICON A5 is being developed by California-based Icon Aircraft. Its wings can be folded easily from the cockpit in less than 5 minutes while on water or land.

The company last week announced that it closed a $25 million round of equity infusion in June to fund the project. The financing was led by investors Satyen Patel and Bart Becht, who have deep expertise in building consumer product companies.

Patel has been associated with a top IT-BPO firm and worked at senior positions with global brands like Pepsi-Cola International and Nike. Icon is looking at India to set up a supply chain base for spares and other essential components. Other investors include Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, former chairman and CEO of Boeing Phil Condit and several top Silicon Valley venture capitalists.

“We have a two-pronged strategy for India that will be part of our global strategic plan which will be finalised over the next 3-6 months. India features very importantly in our plans,” Patel, who is now on the Icon Board, said. “The first part of the strategy is to source components for the aircraft, making India an important and reliable supply base along with China,” he said.

“We will try to develop a supply chain with Indian firms.,” he said. The company was started in 2005 by CEO Kirk Hawkins and COO Steen Strand. Patel said A5 could be flown for short business trips from a city to satellite locations around it. “You can fly from Pune to Nagpur or Mumbai or from Ahmedabad to Jamnagar or Surat. It has a range of 50 miles with 20 gallons of gas,” he said. — PTI 

New Delhi, July 3
When it comes to online shopping, Mumbaikars have left behind all other cities in India, a survey released on Sunday said. The random study was conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) between January and June in 10 cities. Exactly 65 per cent of Mumbai residents shop online. Interestingly, the rising fuel price is one of the primary reasons keeping them indoors.

While Ahmedabad ranked second, Delhiites ranked third in their preference for online shopping in the study, for which around 5,000 shoppers in the 16-35 age-group in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, among other cities, were interviewed.

“As per the survey, 45 per cent of Delhiites prefer shopping online while 30 per cent prefer to shop in traditional markets like Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Karol Bagh, Janpath, Paharganj, Sadar Bazar and Chandni Chowk," said the survey.

“Around 15 per cent of respondents said they prefer to visit a mall for their shopping needs, while 10 per cent said they prefer shopping at specialty stores,” the survey stated.

About 40 per cent of those surveyed said that they preferred to shop online because of the convenience of shopping anytime, a variety of products to choose from, the availability of detailed information and the option to compare prices. However, around 25 per cent of the 'high-income' respondents preferred to shop at malls and upmarket shopping complexes. Around 20 per cent preferred local markets because of the familiarity, ease of access and shop owners' relationship with loyal customers.

Facilities like free shipping, product ratings or reviews, multiple payment options, product demonstration videos and free return policy largely influence the purchasing decision of consumers shopping online, concluded the survey.

Those who are averse to online shopping cited various reasons like finding delivery costs too high (20 per cent), researching products online but buying them from a store (30 per cent), not wanting to share personal financial information online (25 per cent), lacking trust for delivery of products in good condition (15 per cent) and not having a credit or debit card (10 per cent).

The ever-increasing penetration of the Internet across the country has had a cascading effect on the online retail industry in India as it is set to be worth Rs 7,000 crore by 2015. According to D.S. Rawat, ASSOCHAM's secretary general, a booming economy and rising disposable incomes have contributed to the evolution of online shopping.

"India is set to become the third largest nation of internet users in the next two years with a large chunk of youngsters eager to adopt new technologies with rapidly changing lifestyles," he said. — IANS

Kolkata, July 3
The Maoists, re-grouping themselves in the Lalghar and Jangalmahal area in west Midnapore, today demanded that all under-trial prisoners arrested on false charges and kept in different jails in the state, should be released by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as per her pre-poll commitment.

They also threatened to re-launch a fresh agitation at Lalghar-Jangalmahal and several other areas in the adjoining Jhargram, Bankura and Purulia districts if their demands were not fulfilled. They also demanded strong penal against former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and other CPM leaders for misusing the police and the administration in arresting people whom they considered political enemies.

According to Monoj Mahato, a leader of the People’s Committee against police atrocities ( PCPA), who was arrested yesterday at Jhargram,

Maoist leader Kishenji, who recently visited several Maoists-dominated areas, also advised them to intensify the movement to liberate the areas from the grip of the district administration and the joint action force, The Bandi Mukti Committee (the BMC is an organisation that campaigns for release of prisoners) today demonstrated in front of Mamata’s residence at Kalighat in support of their demand to release all political prisoners.

They were carrying festoons and placards of Maoists as they raised slogans while marching towards the Chief Minister’s residence. The police, however, cordoned off the procession on the main road, about 500 metres away from the CM’s residence.

Scuffles and clashes between policemen and angry demonstrators who had been forcibly evicted from the area followed. The situation was brought under control at the intervention of several senior police officials.

The Maoists demanded that the joint action force should be immediately withdrawn from Lalghar and Jangalmahal and should be allowed to do development work in the area.They demanded that Maoists and other political prisoners who were now under detention in several jails for the past several years should be freed first.