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FDI decision for purely ‘economic reasons’
RBI Governor backs govt decision
Sino-Indian boundary talks postponed
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Maoists say Kishenji killed in
fake encounter; CRPF denies it
Bail hearing of Kani, 5 others deferred
J Dey killing: Woman scribe held
Pawar attacker sent to 14-day judicial custody
Mumbai remains vulnerable
Hi-tech weapons gather dust
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FDI decision for purely ‘economic reasons’
New Delhi, November 25 This decision was taken by the Congress core group, headed by party president Sonia Gandhi, which met this evening to take stock of the strong reaction to the government’s move from the BJP and the Left parties as well as UPA partner West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Parliament was disrupted today on this issue. It is expected to rock both Houses on Monday again as the Opposition is planning to move an adjournment motion to corner the government over its controversial decision. Commerce Minister Anand Sharma was fielded today to explain the benefits of allowing FDI in retail while a similar defence will be mounted by UPA leaders both inside and outside Parliament in the coming days. Congress sources said the government had taken a conscious decision on this long-pending proposal for purely economic reasons although it was well aware of the reservations expressed by the Trinamool Congress and others. Several Congress ministers including AK Antony and Jairam Ramesh had also argued against this move at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, but their objections were overruled. Pitching in for the party, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi maintained that FDI in retail is actually going to "promote employment" and offer a much higher degree of choice, better quality and compensation to consumers. “The government is very clear that FDI in retail is required,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal remarked while defending this decision, adding that individuals may have their views on this issue, but all those in the government are supporting this move. Accused of a policy paralysis and governance deficit, the UPA government has decided to push ahead with its stalled reforms agenda in an effort to refurbish its dented image and revive the economy. “We had to give a signal to the world that we are not holding back on reforms and that India is the desired destination for investment,” remarked a senior UPA minister. Law Minister Salman Khurshid was invited to brief the core group on the Lokpal Bill even as the Parliamentary standing committee examining the legislation is expected to finalise its report by the first week of December. Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Singhvi, who heads the committee, said that 90 per cent of work on the Bill has been completed and that the report will be circulated next week to members for final approval.
RBI Governor backs govt decision Chandigarh, November 25 D Subbarao, RBI Governor, today said that though durable solutions to contain growing inflation would come through better management of supply chain constraints and that will be brought about through various policies of the government. “These also include allowing FDI in the retail sector. This will eventually help in bringing down inflation. But I cannot say how soon this will happen,” he said, adding that the Centre needs to do more to address supply side issues so as to rein in inflation. “I expect that inflation will go down to 7 per cent by March 2012. Since March 2010, we (RBI) have taken many steps to control inflation. This includes raising the repo rate and the reverse repo rate 13 times. But the real solution to control this will be through bridging the gap between demand and supply,” he said. Asked about the consistent depreciation of the Indian currency, the RBI Governor said that the movement in exchange rate is driven by global dynamics. “Till there is a credible solution to the sovereign debt problem in Europe, we will see the movement in exchange rate. Subbarao was in the city to deliver the Haksar memorial lecture, organised by the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID). While delivering the lecture, he said that there were 10 challenges to keeping India's growth story intact and asserted that "providing good governance" would be critical in this regard.
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Sino-Indian boundary talks postponed
New Delhi, November 25 The talks were to be held in New Delhi on November 28-29 between National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon and Dai Bingguo - the SRs of India and China, respectively. “We are looking forward to the 15th round of SR talks in the near future and the two sides remain in touch to find convenient dates for the meeting,’’ External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in response to a question. The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing is also believed to have informed the media that the two sides were discussing the possible dates. The two countries were set to announce a joint mechanism for border management at the talks to deal with any escalation on the nearly 4,000 km border between them. The joint mechanism was to consist of representatives of the Foreign and Defence ministries and armed forces personnel on the two sides. It was not known if the visit of a Chinese defence delegation to India for the defence dialogue between the two countries would go on as scheduled on December 8-9. The postponement of talks between the two SRs took the media and strategic experts by surprise in view of the fact that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a fruitful meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao just last week on the margins of the ASEAN Summit in Bali. The PM had, however, made it clear to Wen that India was undertaking oil exploration in the Vietnamese blocks in the South China Sea purely for commercial purposes. Yesterday, the state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua had put out a lengthy commentary on its website reflecting the Chinese Government’s views on relations with India. It came down heavily on India, observing that New Delhi was jittery at the sight of China gaining prestige in Asia, particularly in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
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Maoists say Kishenji killed in
fake encounter; CRPF denies it
Jhargram/Kolkata, Nov 25 The Maoists demanded an independent probe into the circumstances leading to the killing of Kishenji in Burisole forest in West Midnapore district yesterday. A call for a two-day bandh in West Bengal and adjoining Jharkhand and Orissa from November 26 was also given by Maoists in protest against the alleged fake encounter. "Kishenji was killed in a fake encounter. To protest this we are calling a two-day bandh from November 26 and a week-long protest," Maoist state committee member and spokesperson Akash told PTI on the phone from an undisclosed location. Rejecting the allegation, CRPF Director-General Vijay Kumar said Kishenji was killed in a 'very clean and successful' operation by the joint forces in West Midnapore district. "It was a very clean and successful operation and our boys did not waste a minute," Kumar told reporters in Burisole forest in Jhargram area where Kishenji was killed. "No, no, no" he said when asked about the allegation that Kishenji was eliminated in a fake encounter. Telugu poet and Maoist sympathiser Varavara Rao also alleged that Kishenji had been killed in a fake encounter and demanded a judicial probe into the death. He said on behalf of Kishenji’s bereaved mother, a petition would be filed in the Calcutta High Court in a day or two against the police personnel responsible for Kishenji’s killing in a planned manner. "Kishenji was arrested two days ago and kept in police custody. He was killed in a fake encounter. It is a murder case which should be probed,'' Varavara Rao told reporters at Kolkata airport. Rao had also said that the "story" of an encounter was a fabrication. Kishenji’s body has been handed over to his niece Deepa Rao, who had flown to the state capital this afternoon along with Varavara Rao and two family friends, after the post-mortem examination had been done and other formalities conducted. The body is being taken to Kishenji’s home in Karimnagar village in Andhra Pradesh for cremation. Maoist spokesperson Akash, when asked to substantiate his allegation, said, "He was arrested when our people were present nearby and then murdered in cold blood. We demand an independent investigation into the killing of our leader.”
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Bail hearing of Kani, 5 others deferred
New Delhi, November 25 Justice V.K. Shali heard the day-long arguments on the bail applications of Kanimozhi, Kalaignar TV chief Sharad Kumar, Cineyug Films' Karim Morani, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd directors Asif Balwa, Rajiv B. Agarwal and former telecom secretary Siddharth
Behura.
The six co-accused had moved the court on Wednesday for early hearing of their bail applications after the Supreme Court granted bail to five corporate executives co-accused in the case —Sanjay Chandra of Unitech Wireless, Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom and Reliance Group's Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair. Following this, the pleas of the MP and the five others which were scheduled to have been heard on December 1 in the Delhi High Court were brought forward to Friday.
—IANS
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J Dey killing: Woman scribe held
Mumbai, November 25 Vora had been questioned by the police twice in the past and her statement recorded as to her links with the gangster Chotta Rajan who is wanted for the murder of J Dey. Vora was produced before the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act later in the day. Her lawyer submitted that Vora had not committed any crime and was merely in touch with Rajan professionally. The journalist's counsel also filed an application before Judge SM Modak of the MCOCA court that Vora was afraid that the police may force her to make a confession. She went on to submit that she did not wish to make any such disclosure as she had not committed any crime. However, the court remanded her to police custody till December 1. A weeping Vora was comforted by her colleagues in the court room. “We have prima facie evidence against Jigna Vora, who works with the Asian Age as Special Correspondent,” Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik told reporters. He also denied that the police were rounding up people in order to convince their bosses about their efficiency. “It’s a sensitive case and we have been very cautious. We have taken each step after a lot of caution, only after being 100 per cent sure," Patnaik said. He went on to say that Vora had been detained on suspicion of conspiracy and aiding and abetting the killers of J Dey. “The police is verifying her phone records and our officers are also trying to ascertain if she has any underworld connection,” Patnaik said. The police had earlier said that Vora had spoken to Rajan and provided him with information like the number of J Dey’s bike. According to them, some remarks she had made to the gangster about J Dey’s reports may have angered
Rajan.
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Pawar attacker sent to 14-day judicial custody
New Delhi, November 25 Harvinder was remanded to the judicial custody after the police pleaded that
he has become "a threat to the society" and should not be released. The attacker was arrested by the security guards just after he slapped Pawar he was coming out of a literary function at a public auditorium on Parliament Street. Harvinder was produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Jasjeet Kaur in the Patiala House Court, who passed the order saying that Harvinder be kept in judicial custody till December 9. Activists of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) gathered at the court premises in the morning with an intention to take revenge from Harvinder. While he was coming out of the court room, they attempted to attack him, but the security personnel made a human chain around him and foiled their attempt. Over 30 NCP workers led by Dinesh Prasad Joshi, heads of the Haryana unit of the NCP, later shouted slogans like “Sharad Pawar zindabad”. They also tried to block traffic at the India Gate, but they were dispersed by the police.
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Mumbai remains vulnerable
Mumbai, November 25 Promises to beef up coastal security in the wake of the 26/11 terror attacks remain unfulfilled and various agencies tasked to monitor traffic off Mumbai continue to work at cross purposes. The most glaring gaps in security came to light earlier this year when two cargo ships ran aground at Mumbai. In June last, a ship - MV Wisdom which was being taken from Colombo to Alang in Gujarat where it was to be scrapped - broke away from its tug and drifted towards Mumbai where it ran aground. Officials noticed the ship only when it reached the Juhu beach. A month later, a cargo ship, MT Pavit, ran aground at Mumbai’s Versova beach. Fishermen who saw it drifting close to the shore on the night of July 30 called the nearest police station at Santa Cruz. Local policemen, who went to check, passed the buck on Versova cops, as the ship had by then drifted away. Officers at both police stations, meanwhile, decided that the actual jurisdiction lay with the Sagari police station responsible for coastal security and informed the authorities attached to that unit. The matter was resolved only when Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik personally intervened and informed the Coast Guard about the listless ship. However, it was too late by then, as the ship had run aground. Both incidents revealed glaring loopholes in security procedures. To add to it was the blame game that started amongst the security agencies.
Glaring lapses
l
No coordination among security agencies. To add to it is the issue of jurisdiction. Agencies pass the buck on each other whenever some security breach occurs l There is no mechanism for officials of individual police stations to co-ordinate directly with their counterparts of the Navy and the Coast Guard even though police stations dot the entire coastline of Mumbai l After the 26/11 attack, the Maharashtra Government had decided to establish a battalion comprising 1,200 fishermen to monitor the coast. But nothing has come of it
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Hi-tech weapons gather dust
Mumbai, November 25 A recent audit of weapons in the police armoury conducted at the behest of Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik revealed that 30 per cent of the weapons issued to the force were defective. A report containing details of the purchases of the weapons, their suppliers and other details has been submitted to the Maharashtra Home Ministry, sources said. "It was found that many of these weapons cannot be used at all. Thus, these are not issued to policemen," a state government official said. Officials say the Mumbai police is facing a severe shortage of personnel who are trained in maintaining these weapons. "It was found that many of these weapons in the police armoury lack adequate spares because of which they are unusable," said a senior official. The Mumbai police had come in for severe criticism for the poor quality of weapons deployed to them. Most of the armed policemen deployed to tackle the terrorists who hit Mumbai on 26/11 had been issued with rifles of World War II vintage, which in many cases malfunctioned. The Ram Pradhan inquiry committee, which looked into the functioning of the police force, had found a number of irregularities in the purchase of weapons, bullet proof jackets, uniforms and other equipment. It went on to recommend an urgent revamp of the police armoury to tackle modern-day terrorism. However, the state government has been slow in implementing the recommendations of the report. Sophisticated weapons worth Rs 127 crore purchased in the wake of the terror attacks are gathering dust as the police personnel are yet to receive training to use them. Among this equipment are fibre-glass boats purchased to enable policemen tackle threats from the sea.
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Even as the government battles widespread opposition on its decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector, the Governor of the country’s apex regulatory bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), today said that the move could improve constraints in supply chain management, and eventually help contain inflation.
The Delhi High Court today adjourned till Monday the hearing on the bail pleas of DMK MP Kanimozhi and five other co-accused in the 2G spectrum scam case.
Justice V.K. Shali heard the day-long arguments on the bail applications of
Kanimozhi, Kalaignar TV chief Sharad Kumar, Cineyug Films' Karim Morani, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd directors Asif
Balwa, Rajiv B. Agarwal and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura.
"We will hear the arguments on Monday," Justice Shali said.
Mumbai, November 25
