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Framed under FEMA
TRAI writes to CBI backing Raja
Anna returns to Ralegan Siddhi
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Manmohan turns to CMs to check skewed sex ratio
PC: Trying to build consensus on AFSPA
BJP MP admits to knowing slain RTI activist Shehla
I connected Bhushan with Mulayam on phone: Amar
NCERT to be accorded university status: Sibal
Black money: SC reserves verdict on Centre’s plea against SIT
AI flight makes emergency landing
BJP rejects CBI clean chit to
Maran, PC
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Framed under
FEMA
The Directorate registered the case on the basis of a report from the RBI for “export outstanding” of few crores by the trusts run by Ramdev and inputs by some banks which were instrumental in channelising transactions of these firms.
Also under the scanner of the agency is the Little Cumbrae Island, off the fishing town of Largs in Scotland, which serves as Ramdev’s base overseas and also as a wellness
centre.
Reacting to the development, Ramdev said he had not done anything wrong or illegal.
“I have not done anything wrong or illegal. During my two-decade-long public life, I have replied to all questions raised about me with ample proof,” Ramdev told reporters in
Haridwar.
ED sources said the agency was ascertaining the status of transactions that were done by these trusts while exporting consignments of ayurvedic medicines to foreign countries.
“The receipt of payments in regard of sale of these consignments are to be explained and it has to be ascertained if these were in contravention of the forex rules laid down by the RBI,” sources said.
The ED is expected to issue summons for want of further information from these trusts, run by Ramdev, soon.
“Regarding media report of the ED registering a case, we state that our trusts don’t have any information about the case so far. We have
been law-abiding organisations,” Ramdev's spokesperson S K Tijarawala said in
a statement.
The valuation of the Scottish island, which is reported to be worth Rs 2 million dollars, is also being probed by the agency which enforces the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the country.
The agency has received some inputs from abroad on the financial transactions done by these trusts, the sources said.
The ED had earlier allegedly found foreign remittances and inflow of certain funds during its
discreet probe in the case and initiated action under FEMA.
In connection with its probe into Ramdev's finances, the ED had approached authorities in the UK seeking financial details about the Scotland island that was ‘gifted’ to the yoga guru by a couple who are among his followers.
— PTI
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TRAI writes to CBI backing Raja
In its communication to the CBI on August 20 last, TRAI has said that neither did it recommend the auction of telecom Spectrum, nor suggest any increase in the entry fee for new entrants in the sector between 2003 and 2007. This implies that there was no loss to the exchequer in the award of licences where the country’s main audit body the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had put the loss to the exchequer at a staggering Rs 1.76 lakh crore. TRAI has clarified that it is not possible to “predict with certainty” the precise value of the Spectrum that could have been earned from the auction of telecom waves. Any retrospective estimates of losses, it says, are inherently risky because of the data paucity. The CBI has said that in 2008, Raja, as the Telecom Minister, conspired with some companies, whose top executives are now in jail along with him, to give them out-of-turn licences for mobile networks and the accompanying 2G Spectrum. The CBI believes this cost India 30,000 crore. Raja, on the other hand, has been asserting that he went strictly by the book, and that the Prime Minister and then Finance Minister P Chidambaram had signed off on his course of action. According to him, the policy at that time required him to sell Spectrum, and not auction it. In fact, the letter from TRAI says that this assertion of Raja is correct. These points may come to the defence of Raja in the court, as they show that the exchequer did not suffer any losses in the award of licences to nine companies in 2008 at seven-year-old prices of 2001. The telecom regulator said it did not recommend “any price” for the Spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz except in August, 2007, when it suggested the imposition of extra charges on telecom waves held by service providers beyond 10 MHz of Spectrum. In the communication, TRAI Secretary RK Arnold said, “TRAI repeatedly held the view that telecom services and Spectrum should not be treated as a source of revenue for the government. It is against this background that TRAI did not recommend any increase in the entry fee for new players, by way of indexation or otherwise.”
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Anna returns to Ralegan Siddhi
Mumbai, September 1 Hazare was given a hero's welcome as he entered the village shortly before 2 am. “Villagers stayed awake all night to give him a big reception playing drums and other musical instruments,” said Vilas Thombre, a resident of the village and an associate of Hazare. Earlier yesterday Hazare arrived in Pune after being discharged from a hospital in Gurgaon where he underwent treatment after his long fast. “Anna will rest for most of today and will be felicitated at a function in the village on Friday,” Thombre said. A big function is scheduled at 3 pm on the grounds of the Shanti Niketan school. Residents of Ralegan Siddhi had originally planned a big Ganesh Chaturthi celebration today to coincide with Hazare's return to the village. However Hazare, who has not yet fully recovered from his fast, decided to rest today and will begin meeting people from Friday, his assistant Suresh Pathare told reporters. The villagers have also decided to heed Hazare's request and not feature horses and elephants at the felicitation function. The ‘mahasabha’ as the event is called will have people participating from the surrounding areas. After his fast at Jantar Mantar earlier this year, villagers brought in horses and elephants to welcome Hazare much to his consternation.
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Manmohan turns to CMs to check skewed sex ratio New Delhi, September 1 In an elaborate letter, referring to provisional census data for 2011 which reported just 914 girls per 1000 boys in the 0 to 6 years of age group as against 927 in 2001, the PM voiced his concern about the issue and sought the help of Chief Ministers in addressing the “challenge” of implementing the PC (pre-conception) and PNDT (pre-natal sex determination) Act with strictness. “We must act in a swift and concerted manner to check pre-natal sex determination which continues to be a challenge in most places,” he wrote in reference to the data that showed a significant drop in child sex ratios even in the hitherto gender neutral states like Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, Puducherry and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Terming as a “matter of serious concern” the decline in sex ratio, the Prime Minister wrote, “It is with great anguish that I write to you on this very important subject.” He has asked the Chief Ministers to respond to the letter with suggestions as to how to tackle the problem. The provisional data had shown a drop of 82 points in the child sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir and 55 points in Dadra and Nagar Haveli where the ratio plummeted from 979 in 2001 t0 924 in 2011. “The disaggregated data for states and UTs reveals a picture that is even more alarming than the average child sex ratio for the country,” the Prime Minister added, pointing to the performance of individual states. This year, Haryana beat Punjab to occupy the worst state slot, with a child sex ratio of barely 830 as against 846 for Punjab. 3 top clinics face music The National Inspection and Monitoring Committee (NIMC) under the PC & PNDT Act, 1994, on Tuesday sealed ultrasound machines in two well-known facilities and issued a show-cause notice to the third for violating the Act. K. L. Chest Diagnostic Clinic, Munirka, was found to be using an ultrasound machine for obstetric procedures. The same was sealed as F-Forms were found to be blank despite several procedures being conducted. At Modern Diagnostic Centre, Tughlaqabad Extension, the ultrasound machine in the clinic was sealed for lack of records. Hospital Fortis La Femme in Greater Kailash II was issued a show-cause notice to explain why two of its radiologists were not registered with the District Appropriate Authority as per the Act.
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PC: Trying to build consensus on AFSPA
“I am trying to revisit the AFSPA, but as you know one needs to build a consensus within the government before amendments can be brought before Parliament,” Chidambaram said while replying to questions after presenting the monthly report of his ministry here today. The Ministry of Defence and the Army, in the past, had made it clear that the forces on the ground need protection. The Army had conveyed to the Defence Ministry that replacement of the AFSPA or any dilution could hamper its operational capabilities to effectively deal with militancy and insurgency. He said in case of J &K, there was a consensus within the Central Government that if the state withdraws the Disturbed Areas Act, the AFSPA will automatically go. “If they are able to lift the Disturbed Areas Act then AFSPA won't be applicable in the state. So that is something that they have to do,” he added.
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BJP MP admits to knowing slain RTI activist Shehla
New Delhi, September 1 Vijay said here today about Shehla that "she was the campaigner and convener for Madhya Pradesh for India Against Corruption (IAC). We were regularly exchanging notes. Even on August 16, we had spoken at 9.30 am about Anna's arrest, about the movement, about the demonstration. It is very sad," he said. The BJP spokesman said, “Shehla Masood as an event manager and owner of Miracle Company had helped us and worked on several projects in Srinagar, Kolkata and New Delhi. We knew her. She was a brave RTI activist...and a very good friend," he said. “It has hurt us very deeply. We knew her. We want justice for her. Shehla's family is passing through a very difficult time. I think that the whole thing got politicised. We stand by the family of Shehla," Vijay said. He exhorted “All those who knew her well should come forward and share information with the investigating agencies,” giving an indication that he may be questioned soon. "We are with them and we will fight it out till the culprits are booked and hanged. With all our friends, we are working vigorously to see that Shehla is provided justice," Vijay said. He concluded by saying, “I will not take any questions since the matter is under investigation.” Meanwhile, even as the Madhya Pradesh Government claimed that it had asked the CBI to probe this murder, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram denied he had received any communication to this effect from the state government. He said today, “If there is a letter from the state government regarding this, we will address it with the urgency required." He said, "If there is a request that the case should be taken over by the CBI, we will take an appropriate decision in consultation with the department of personnel and training (DoPT) which is the administrative ministry and the CBI. But first, there must be a reference from the government." He, however, called it a "serious" matter and said the MP government can request for a CBI inquiry into the killing. Shehla Masood, a RTI activist, a media and event management professional and wildlife protector all rolled into one was a prominent figure in Bhopal’s social circuit with regular forays into the national capital as well, as borne out by Tarun Vijay. She was actively involved with Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement and had hinted at exposing some illegal activities of politicians in her state. Emerging from her bungalow in Bhopal, she sat in her car to go out to work. Sometime later, her relatives noticed that the car was still parked outside. Her father went out to find her sitting motionless in the car, apparently shot dead from point blank range. Initially, the police tried to dismiss it as a case of suicide.
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I connected Bhushan with Mulayam on phone: Amar
New Delhi, September 1 “Shanti Bhushan wanted to talk to Mulayam Singh Yadav. Then he (Amar Singh) connected him to Mulayam Singh Yadav and left the room after handing over the receiver of the phone to Shanti Bhushan. He could not listen to the conversation between them,” said the closure report filed before the court, adding that Singh has admitted his conversation with Yadav in the beginning and end of the conversation available in the CD in question. The CD was left in the offices of all the media houses and newspapers in Delhi on the evening of April 14 this year after anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare ended his fast, demanding a strong Lokpal Bill. Hazare’s close associate, Shanti Bhushan, was named the co-chair of the joint committee to draft the Lokpal Bill and the circulation of the CD was claimed by Bhushan as an attempt to tarnish his image. He had termed the CD as forged and lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police under Section 469 of the IPC (forgery to hurt one’s reputation). According to the Delhi police, the conversation had taken place in presence of Virender Bhatia, the then Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh and Shanti Bhushan had come to Amar Singh’s Lodhi Road official bungalow from Taj Man Singh hotel that night. During the discussion on a pending case in the Allahabad High Court (may be Defection case against Mulayam Singh), Shanti Bhushan had expressed the desire to speak to Mulayam Singh.
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NCERT to be accorded university status: Sibal New Delhi, September 1 The Minister was speaking on the occasion of the 51st Foundation Day of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), which is ready to implement core science and math curricula in Class XII across all schools from next year. Core syllabi in basic sciences and math were implemented in the CBSE schools in Class XI this year. Meanwhile, in a welcome development Sibal backed the university status for the NCERT, saying, “It would enable the NCERT to address diverse issues and upcoming challenges in the education sector and also help its teachers draw professor-level salary. I strongly suggest that we should work very hard to ensure that the university status to the NCERT is brought about as quickly as possible.”
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Black money: SC reserves verdict on Centre’s plea against SIT
New Delhi, September 1 A Bench comprising Justices Altamas Kabir and SS Nijjar reserved the order after senior counsel Anil Divan, arguing for the PIL petitioners, contended that the Centre’s review petition was not maintainable. The Bench has made it clear it would first decide on the maintainability of the Centre’s petition. Attorney General GE Vahanvati has specifically taken exception to the appointment of former SC Judges BP Jeevan Reddy and MB Shah as Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the 13-member SIT, comprising the chiefs of the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), besides the Union Revenue Secretary and others. The investigations in the black money cases could be conducted only by the agencies and the departments which had powers under the Constitution and the law, the AG had contended. Divan, however, argued that the inclusion of two former Judges would only lend credibility to the whole exercise without affecting the probe by the committee which had already been appointed by the government. Another SC Bench, comprising Justices B Sudershan Reddy (who has retired) and Nijjar had passed an order on July 4, directing the government to convert its 10-member probe panel into an SIT by including in it the two former Judges and the RAW chief.
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AI flight makes emergency landing
Mumbai, August 31 All the passengers and crew were safe, the Air India said. All emergency procedures were activated at the Mumbai airport shortly before 1 pm and the aircraft landed at 13.48 hours, sources said.
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BJP rejects CBI clean chit to Maran, PC New Delhi, September 1 Reacting to the CBI submission in the Supreme Court, the chief spokesman of the BJP said, "What amazes us are the double standards and discrimination by the CBI in spite of voluminous evidence on record showing the intimidation by Maran of a particular company. Yet the CBI is saying that there is no evidence." — TNS
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New Delhi/Haridwar, September 1
New Delhi, September 1
New Delhi, September 1