Patna, August 5
Social activist Anna Hazare’s supporters here burnt copies of the Lokpal Bill today to protest against the alleged "lack of teeth" in the Bill introduced in Parliament yesterday.

A large number of Hazare's supporters under the banner of an apolitical outfit 'India Against Corruption' (IAC) gathered near the Patna High Court and burnt the copies of the Bill to express their dissatisfaction with the Bill that has kept out the Prime Minister and judiciary from the ambit of the Lokpal.

Several advocates of the Patna High Court also joined the protesters in burning the copies of the Bill.

An IAC coordinator Ratnesh Chaudhary said that Hazare's supporters will visit schools across the state from tomorrow to spread awareness among the students against corruption.

IAC's coordinator Arvind Kumar flayed the Centre for drafting a 'weak' Lokpal Bill that was tabled in the Lok Sabha yesterday and said that the proposed legislation in its present form will not be able to check corruption in public life.

The Centre should prepare a strong Lokpal Bill and seek its passage in Parliament if it wanted to eradicate corruption, he said. — PTI

New Delhi, August 5
Expressing concerns over the financial position of the Railways, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) today said that the public sector behemoth suffered a loss of over Rs 3,200 crore for operating on uneconomical routes during 2005-10, while the accumulated losses of its key PSUs also went up significantly.

It recommended rationalisation of freight and passenger tariffs to improve its finances and also suggested that it should take quick decisions about unviable projects and focus on more viable projects.

In the report on the Railways tabled in the Parliament today CAG said, "The way forward for the Indian Railways to improve its finances is to rationalise both freight and passenger tariffs through some form of pre-determined non-discretionary inflation indexing".

It said, "Railways sustained losses of Rs 3,228 crore in operation of uneconomic branch lines between 2005 and 2010 and the loss on operation of such lines increased to Rs 1,198 crore in 2009-10."

It also said that till March 31, 2010, Railways' three PSUs - Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), the BWECL and the PRCL - suffered a cumulative loss of Rs 3,435.67 crore, out of which the loss suffered by the KRCL alone was Rs 3,330.93 crore.

It pointed out that holding of just Rs 75 lakh during 2009-10 as surplus reflected an impending financial crisis and suggested increasing market share in bulk freight where the Railways has an inherent competitive advantage.

"Efforts are required to enhance capacity in such a way that the growing demands are satisfactorily met," it said, adding that the public transporter may consider approaching the government for crediting dividend paid it to a non-lapsable fund to be used for financing network augmentation projects.

CAG pointed out that the Railways suffered losses of revenue due from the Container Corporation of India as the haulage charges recovered from it for traffic handled were at sub-optimal rates resulting in short recovery of operational costs.

It raised concern over the unrealised earnings by the Railways which touched Rs 1368.01 crore by the end of 2009-10 fiscal and said that the major portion of outstanding under traffic suspense was on account of un-recovered freight charges from power houses and state electricity boards.

The auditing body also said the Railways have already incurred an expenditure of Rs 8,549 crore on 50 incomplete lines and balance funds to the tune of 16,800 crore were required to complete these projects.

"Audit examination of the 50 ongoing works of the new lines sanctioned for socio-economic development of backward region revealed that five projects sanctioned more than 20 years ago, nine sanctioned between 15-20 years and 36 sanctioned between 10 and 15 years were still lying incomplete as on March 31, 2010," the report said.

Chandigarh, August 5
Banking operations in the region were impacted with employees of public sector banks going on a nationwide strike today, over wage revision. Estimates suggest that transactions worth Rs 2,600 crore could not be done in this region because of the strike. Employees of 26 public sector banks went on strike today to protest against “forced” merger of banks and allowing privatisation of banks.

Sources in RBI regional office said that cheques of all nationalised banks (participating in the strike) were not sent for clearing yesterday. Retail operations of these banks also remained closed, and cheques were not sent for clearing today as well. Cheques deposited in private banks were cleared today as the RBI had held a contingency clearing session for these banks and 3,800 instruments (cheques), worth Rs 33 crore were cleared.

Due to the strike, cheques issued yesterday and today, will be presented for clearing on Saturday. It generally takes two days for a cheque to be credited in any account, and these cheques will finally be credited in the recipient accounts on Monday evening or Tuesday. Bank officials, however, say that the strike has impacted only the corporate customer and government transactions. The retail customer was not impacted much as he/she continued to use internet banking, ATMs. Most banks had sent out public notices urging their customers to complete their transactions before August 4 to avoid inconvenience. However, a number of people were seen waiting outside banks in the morning today.

New Delhi, August 5
To further increase employability prospects of students the government will introduce vocational engineering in higher secondary and undergraduate courses by the next year, the syllabus for which is being prepared in collaboration with the industry.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal told the Rajya Sabha today that the government was taking help from the industry to prepare syllabus, which will be introduced in the school system from Class IX onward, polytechnics and at the university level so that students could learn what would help them the most in getting jobs after they finish education.

The ministry has already held round table conferences with top honchos of sectors like automobile, telecom, entertainment transportation tourism and infrastructure to prepare the outline of job-oriented syllabi. Considering the importance the issue holds for the future of youngsters, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari asked Sibal whether “there would be engineering degrees in this” to which the HRD Minister replied in an affirmative.

Sibal said there would be a bachelor’s degree in vocational engineering. In the CBSE system, there would be Class XII(Academic) and Class XII (vocational) so that a child can decide at any given point in time, in Class XI and XII, as to which area he or she wanted to opt for.

“There are about 150 courses in automobile engineering. So, he can choose any particular line and get absorbed into the sector. We plan to launch this scheme, hopefully, during the course of the year but certainly by the next year,” he said.

The HRD Minister gave this information in response to a question by Rajya Sabha member A Elavarasan on the employability of engineering students. According to Elavarasan, a survey conducted by a global institute stated that India was producing 3.6 lakh engineering graduates but was providing employment to only 10 per cent of them.

Sibal said the country should not be alarmed by reports carried out by MNCs but conceded that there was a problem- a lack of “soft skills” in engineering graduates. Quoting a study by the Institute of Applied Manpower Research, Sibal said 61 per cent of engineering graduates were employed in India.

“The real problem is they have core competencies in the engineering sector but they lack soft skills. Therefore, the government was trying for training programmes within the institutes to improve the soft skills,” he said.

New Delhi, August 5
Without lifting the ban on the production and sale of the controversial endosulfan pesticide, the Supreme Court today sought an expert panel’s report within three weeks on the advisability of allowing the existing stocks to be exported or destroyed.

A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia clamped the ban on May 13 on a petition filed by the Democratic Youth Federation of India contending that the use of the pesticide had proved to be fatal for people, besides posing serious health and environmental problems.

The expert panel would also study the issue from all aspects and come out with comprehensive suggestions at a later stage.

The immediate report of the panel would also give details of the endosulfan stocks lying in the godowns, the export orders pending with the manufacturers and the quantity that could be exported without violating any international conventions as the pesticide was banned in several countries.

It would also explore the possibility of destroying the stocks, which might be left with the manufacturers even after the exports, in the most economical way and without affecting the environment.

Lucknow, August 5
The state exchequer could have saved Rs 15.6 crore just on transportation of stones for two Dalit monuments, points out the state’s CAG report tabled in the Vidhan Sabha today.

This was underlined by the CAG for the year ended March 31, 2010 while indicting the Uttar Pradesh Rajikiya Nirmal Nigam Limited (UPRNNL) in the construction work of revitalisation and renovation of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal and Manyawar Kanshi Ram Smarak Sthal in Lucknow.

The stone used for the boundary wall and flooring of these two prestigious Dalit monuments were procured from the quarries of Chunar in Mirzapur district of the state.

It was subsequently taken to Bayana in Rajasthan for sawing and carving and the finished stone was transported 450 km from Bayana to Lucknow without taking into account the cost of transportation.

The CAG report observes, “We are of the view that if sawing and carving of sand stone were done at Mirzapur itself by engaging cutters there and transporting finished sand stone from there to Lucknow, expenditure on transportation of sand stone could have been reduced to the extent of Rs 15.6 crore due to reduction of distance of transportation. Such possibility for reduction in cost of the work was not explored by the management.”

The report also rubbishes the explanation given by the UPRNNL that the quarries were situated in the Naxalite areas in the outskirts of Mirzapur, due to which stone processing could not get developed necessitating the carting of the raw material to Bayana in Rajasthan, which was the nearest place for such procedure.

“Justification put forth by the management is not convincing as at later stage, local vendors established machineries and infrastructure at Mirzapur indicating lack of efforts to explore vendors before start of work,” underlines the CAG report.

Hyderabad, August 5
The schools in Andhra Pradesh are all set to witness a role reversal: The students will be asked to evaluate the performance of teachers!

In a novel initiative, the Department of School Education has asked all the schools, both government and private institutions, to implement the system of evaluation of teachers’ work by their students. The evaluation sheets are being sent to the schools and the exercise will commence from December.

The students will be asked to rate the performance of their teachers on a set of parameters, including their teaching methodology, skills, attendance and accessibility. The evaluation sheets will also have questions regarding the teachers’ approach towards slow learners in the class.

“The exercise is a logical extension of the project started by child protection committee about four years ago, whereby a complaint cell against teachers was set up. The process will become integral to the promotion of teachers as their marks will be taken into consideration during the annual appraisals in private schools,” an official of the Education Department said.

In government schools, the promotion of teachers will depend on a plethora of factors, including the marks given by students on a scale of 1 to 10. A report on the performance of teachers will also be sent to the District Education Officers (DEO) concerned. The DEOs have been asked to ensure that teacher evaluation programme was implemented in private schools as well.

“The programme will be introduced in classes V to X and we are even thinking of extending it to junior colleges,” the official said.

The Teachers’ Associations have, however, opposed the idea and said the promotions should not be linked to the evaluation outcome.

“The government is already conducting tests to evaluate teachers as per the instructions of the Right to Education Act. With this new evaluation, the pressure on teachers will increase,” said a representative of the United Teachers Federation.

Guwahati, August 5
Even as the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) faction led by its ‘chairman’ Arabinda Rajkhowa set the tone for formal negotiation with the Centre by submitting their charter of demands today, the Army engaged in counter-insurgency operation in Assam reviewed the security scenario in the state.

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, Lt Gen Bikram Singh visited Gajraj Corps (4 Corps) headquarters at Tezpur in Assam to take stock of the security situation in Assam.

The Gajraj Corps has been playing a key role in counter insurgency operations in the state since the Army was entrusted with the task in 1990.

The spokesman for the Gajraj Corps, Lt Col NN Joshi, said Lt Gen Bikram Singh while interacting with the officers and men of the Corps in Tezpur on Thursday lauded the latter for playing an effective role in ensuring reduction of terrorist activities in Assam.

The Gajraj Corps GOC, Lt Gen Shakti Gurung, briefed the GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command about the prevailing security scenario in the troubled area under the jurisdiction of the Corps headquarters and welfare measures undertaken in the region by the Gajraj Corps to bring the Army closer to the masses.

Lt-Gen Singh said it was because of high level of coordination among the security forces, intelligence agencies and civil administration, peace could be restored in Assam by tackling the insurgents effectively.

Though the faction of the ULFA led by Arabinda Rajkhowa has started peace dialogue with the Government of India, the security has remained a top concern for the government given that the hawkish faction of the ULFA led by its ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Barua has chose to stay away from the peace process terming it a futile exercise between some of its leaders under the influence of the enemy (government) and New Delhi. Barua has reportedly shifted his base to the Myanmar-China border after being hounded out of Bangladesh.

New Delhi, August 5
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is recovering in an undisclosed US hospital after she was operated upon yesterday. An official statement put out by the Congress today said the surgeon had indicated that the operation was successful and she is presently in an Intensive Care Unit.

There was, however, no word on the nature of Sonia’s medical condition or where the operation was performed. The party disclosed that her son and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, daugther Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and son-in-law Robert Vadra were with her.“As this is a personal matter that pertains to her health and medical treatment, her family requests that her privacy be respected,” the statement added.

Congress media department chief Janardhan Dwivedi had yesterday put out a similar statement disclosing that Sonia Gandhi had been diagnosed with a medical condition and had gone abroad for surgery. He had also said that she could be away for two to three weeks.

While Priyanka is expected to stay on in the US, Rahul Gandhi is likely to return earlier to take on his share of organisational responsibilities as his name has been included in the four-member group constituted by Sonia Gandhi to take care of party matters.

Although Rahul Gandhi’s status as heir-apparent has been accepted by the Congress cadres, Sonia’s illness has propelled him into taking on a larger role in the party earlier than planned.

New Delhi, August 5
A sitting Supreme Court judge today supported the inclusion of the Prime Minister's Office within the ambit of Lokpal Bill tabled in Parliament yesterday.

"As a student of law, I see no substance in the debate that the Prime Minister should be outside the (Lokpal) Bill. A public office of such importance cannot shy away from public scrutiny," Justice A K Ganguly said.The judge was addressing a gathering here on the occasion of the release of a book 'Corruption and Human Rights in India', authored by Professor C Raj Kumar, the Vice Chancellor of O P Jindal Global University.Pointing out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had himself expressed his willingness to bring the PMO under the Lokpal's scanner, Justice Ganguly said "more efforts to keep the PM out will add to the suspicion among people."

Justice Ganguly also criticised the Prevention of Corruption Act. —PTI

Kolkata, August 5
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit has been appointed secretary of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC). He recently resigned from the chairmanship of the West Bengal Infrastructural Development Financial Corporation (WBISDFC).

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had been selected Abhijit for the post after his victory as a TMC-supported Congress candidate in the Assembly poll from Nalhati. But in the wake of a controversy in the party about his appointment as WBISDFC chairman, Abhijit had sent in his resignation to Mamata.

Along with Abhijit, another Congress MLA Sukhabilash Burma, former IAS from Jalpaiguri, was also appointed as WBPCC secretary.

Abhijit entered politics on the eve of the last Assembly elections. WBPCC president Pradip Bhattacharyya said Abhijit and Burma had been appointed state secretary in the posts vacated by Sabitri Mitra and Abdul Mannan.

New Delhi, August 5
The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) today despatched a contingent each for the UN Peace keeping mission in Congo.

Both, the BSF and the ITBP have sent 125 men each, who will be based in the African country for one year. For both the forces, this is the sixth time that a team has been sent to Congo.

The BSF contingent was flagged off by Jitender Singh, Minister of State for Home, while the ITBP team was flagged off by RK Bhatia, Director-General, ITBP.

The teams have been trained to combat civil war and assist the local police in maintaining law and order.