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Japan hints at exporting arms tech to India
Anna ends fast, calls off jail bharo stir
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lokpal
vote
Sonia, Sushma blame each other for Lok
Sabha fiasco
Poll
code violations
Sacked UP minister hits out at Mayawati
Judicial
Accountability
Mukesh, Anil come closer for memorial to Dhirubhai
High tidal waves lash Andhra coast
India’s infant mortality rate down
Nalanda farmers create world record in paddy yield
9 killed in fire accidents in Kerala, TN
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Japan hints at exporting arms tech to India
New Delhi, December 28 Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda today held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on bilateral issues as well as international developments. The prospects of reviving civil nuclear cooperation figured prominently in talks between the two PMs, official sources said. A joint communiqué issued at the end of talks between them said the two PMs decided to enhance the earlier bilateral currency swap arrangement from $ 3 to 15 billion. They hoped that this enhancement would further strengthen financial cooperation, contribute to ensuring financial market stability and further develop growing economic and trade ties between the two countries. Manmohan Singh said the two countries have also begun negotiations have begun on a social security agreement, and would hold t he first ministerial level economic dialogue in 2012. He said he had discussed with Noda the possibility of a new Chennai - Bengaluru Industrial Corridor project in south India, where many Japanese firms have invested. Japan has also offered India high speed rail technology for India’s passenger networks. The two PMs indicated that their two countries would soon revive negotiations on the civil nuclear cooperation accord. “As part of our energy cooperation, we reviewed the ongoing discussions on furthering civil nuclear cooperation between our countries. These are moving in the right direction.” Singh said. Addressing a lecture organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs, Noda indicated that the civil nuclear talks with India would be revived soon and hoped "mutually acceptable results" would be achieved. He, however, urged New Delhi to understand Japan's position on disarmament and maintain its moratorium on testing. "I am paying close attention to the progress of the agreement on peaceful uses of nuclear energy. At the working level, discussions have proceeded. I welcome this progress," the Japanese Prime Minister said. India and Japan have already held three round of civil nuclear negotiations, but the talks stalled after the March 11 Fukushima radiation disaster, fuelling security concerns in that country. Earlier this afternoon, a spokesman for the Japanese PM told Indian journalists that Japan was not seeking any commitment from India on signing the CTBT for resuming the talks over a civil nuclear cooperation agreement. India, he said, has already announced its commitment to moratorium on further testing at the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) and Tokyo was confident that New Delhi would abide by its promise. The spokesman also responded to questions on Tokyo ’s decision yesterday to lift the 40-year-old ban on the export of military technology. Asked if Tokyo could now export its sophisticated weapons technology to India too, he said, “We don’t want proliferation…under very strict guidelines, we have decided to export military technology to friendly countries.” About the recent trilateral dialogue in Washington involving India , Japan and the US which drew sharp criticism from China , the spokesman said the meeting was not aimed against specific country but to identify areas in which the three countries could cooperate.
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Anna ends fast, calls off jail bharo stir
Mumbai, December 28 A girl from Ralegan Siddhi, Hazare’s village, gave the activist a glass of juice to break the fast. Hazare offered juice to his team members Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Mayank Gandhi. "It is saddening to see what happened in Parliament (when the Lokpal Bill was passed). I am calling off my fast today. Now we have to start a campaign in five states which go to the polls and awaken the people there. I will tell them not to vote for the traitors," Hazare told his supporters who had gathered at the MMRDA grounds here this afternoon. The activist who was suffering from ill health even before the fast suffered a serious decline as his temperature soared to 102°F. According to an update put out by doctors from the JJ Hospital who examined him, Hazare's blood pressure fell sharply when he stood up, indicating severe health problems. Unlike during his fast in Delhi earlier this year, Hazare was not able to stand up properly and addressed the gathering and the media lying down. He said not been eating for the past four days, that is even before beginning his fast. However, Hazare's voice remained firm and he told reporters that he would kick off a campaign that would last till the next general elections. "In the next two years till the general elections, I will travel across the country and carry out my campaign," Hazare said. The activist also added that the jail bharo agitation too has been called off for the moment. He admitted that the turnout at his fast in Mumbai was lower than the expectations of Team Anna. "I have no money, power... nothing. Still many people turned up.
See how people come together during the elections," Hazare said. Day two at the MMRDA grounds began on a very tepid note with just a few hundred people. Volunteers of India Against Corruption sent frantic SMSes asking for people to show up in support of Anna Hazare. "Why are Mumbaikars still asleep when Annaji is fasting," one message asked. The organisers even deployed private buses at the Bandra and Kurla railway stations
to ferry people to the MMRDA grounds. According to members of Team Anna, they would now have a meeting to plan their next course of action. "There will be a meeting of the core committee which will sit together and decide what to do," Arvind Kejriwal
told reporters at the MMRDA grounds. Responding to questions from reporters, the former bureaucrat-turned-crusader hit out at the UPA coalition for what he said was a weak Lokpal. "We have been cheated by the UPA
and given a weak Lokpal," Kejriwal said. Responding to remarks from reporters that other parties were equally responsible, Kejriwal insisted that only the UPA should be held responsible for the shape of the Lokpal law enacted
by Parliament.
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lokpal
vote Our Political Correspondent
New Delhi, December 28 Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal today said that he would be writing to the 13 Congress MPs to explain their absence, adding that two of these members had informed him in advance that they would not be able to make it. In addition to the 13 Congress members, seven MPs from the alliance parties were also absent. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is learnt to be extremely upset with yesterday’s fiasco and has asked the party’s floor managers to issue show-cause notices to the absent MPs. She also asked Congress MPs Girija Vyas Sandeep Dikshit to draw up a list of the errant MPs and seek the reasons for their absence. Bansal, however, played down yesterday’s development. According to him, the UPA does not have the numbers to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill on its own for which it needs a two-thirds majority on the House. The ruling combine can only pass such a Bill with the support of the BJP, he added. “Even if all 277 UPA members had been present during the vote, the Bill would have been defeated,” he said. The Constitutional amendment Bill requires the support of two-thirds of those present and voting and not less than a simple majority. In this case, he said, the Opposition had agreed to vote for the Bill but backed out subsequently. In any case, he said, the BJP stood exposed as it has been pressing for a strong Lokpal Bill and it had voted against a Bill, which now proposes to strengthen the anti-corruption body. Lone member of Kerala Congress M in the Lok Sabha Jose K Mani was not present. Of the absentee MPs, six Congress members are from Gujarat, including Union Minister Dinsha Patel who was at home in connection with the marriage of his grand daughter. Among others who were said to be absent were K Sudhakaran (Kerala), Sanjay Bhoi (Orissa),Hamdullah Sayeed (Lakshadweep), K Raj Gopal Reddy (Andhra Pradesh) and M Rajamohan Reddy.
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Sonia, Sushma blame each other for
New Delhi, December 28 Sonia and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi have charged the BJP with playing a double game
on the Lokpal Bill issue, seeking a strong Lokpal on the one hand and opposing the constitutional status
on the other, even while agreeing to it in the standing committee. Speaking to the media today, Sonia said, “The BJP’s real face stands exposed. We wanted to strengthen the Lokpal Bill, but the BJP did not want it. It was committed to constitutional status for the Lokpal in the standing committee,” she said. Reacting to the charge, Sushma wondered whether it was the responsibility of the Opposition to bail out the government on a Bill, with which it does not even agree fully. “We had suggested to them to add the Lokpal and Lokayukta under Article 252, but they rejected our suggestion. Our commitment was only to a legal and constitutional Bill and not for something which was patently unconstitutional,” she
said, adding in mock address to the Government, “How can you expect us
to get an unconstitutional Bill passed?”
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Poll
code violations
Sitapur/Lakhimpur, Dec 28 The Lakhimpur district administration has issued notice to the party for alleged violation of model code of conduct, besides asking details of expenditure of public meetings of Gandhi. The administration has raised objections over the use of publicity material "beyond permissible limit and misuse of public property by erecting hoardings and banners", sub-divisional magistrate Alok Verma said. He said that as far as expenditure on public meetings was concerned, details have been sought in this regard. In Sitapur, the district administration has sought details from Congress regarding expenditure on three public meetings of Rahul Gandhi held on December 26, two days after tshe EC announced poll schedule for five states, including UP. "As per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India, a notice has been issued to Congress district president as Rahul Gandhi's rallies were held after the model code of conduct came into effect," Additional District Magistrate Arvind Kumar Chaurasiya said. Though the permission for the three meetings was taken earlier, it was actually held after the code of conduct came into effect, official sources said. The ADM said that the party has been asked to furnish details of expenditure on the three meetings of Congress leader. "If a reply is not received, then the expenditure will be distributed equally among all nine candidates of the party at the time of nomination," he said. — PTI
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Sacked UP minister hits out at Mayawati
Ghaziabad, December 28 Tyagi, who represents the Muradnagar constituency of the district, said yesterday that he fell victim to internal party politics and alleged that some influential party leaders indulged in corrupt practices and did not want him to continue due to his clean image. He said he had tendered his resignation from the post due to repeated victimisation five months ago, but it was turned down by the Chief Minister then. On charges of corruption, Tyagi said no such complaint against him had been filed in any administrative authority in the country.
— PTI
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Judicial
Accountability
New Delhi, December 28 The much-delayed Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill 2010, which is an amended version of the one introduced last year, provides for a mechanism to investigate complaints against judges. The 114th Constitution Amendment Bill seeks to raise the retirement age of High Court judges from the present 62 years to 65 years, bringing it on par with the retirement age of Supreme Court judges. After five hours of debate on the two Bills, the Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj insisted that voting should be taken up as the four hours earmarked for the debate had been over. Girija Vyas, who was in the chair, said the debate should continue as more members wanted to speak. She agreed that the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) had decided on four-hour debate, but said, "the House is supreme." She, however, paused the debate and called Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed to make a statement on government's decision on providing 4.5 per cent reservation to to minorities within 27 per cent the OBC quota. While the Minister was making the statement, BJP members shouted slogans protesting against reduction of seats reserved for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The Speaker later adjourned the House for the day. — PTI
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Mukesh, Anil come closer for memorial to Dhirubhai
Chorwad (Gujarat), Dec 28 The entire Ambani family, including Mukesh and Anil, has been here together for the last two days to inaugurate a memorial for Dhirubhai Ambani, the legendary industrialist and founder of the Reliance Group. The Chorwad house where Dhirubhai lived before leaving for Eden (now Yemen) has been transformed into a memorial that was inaugurated by the Ambanis' family guru Ramesh Oza (Bhaiji) in the presence of Kokilaben Ambani, her two sons, two daughters and other family members. A few years after Dhirubhai's death in July 2002, the two brothers had parted ways and formally split the business empire in 2006 after months of bitter rivalry and a public spat. After the split, Mukesh took control of the flagship Reliance Industries with interests in mostly energy and textiles businesses while younger sibling Anil got telecom, power, entertainment and financial services among others. The family reunion in Chorwad in Junagarh district of Gujarat took place after more than a year after the two brothers agreed in May 2010 to end their disputes and work together for an environment of harmony, cooperation and collaboration between their groups. Soon after arriving here on December 26, family matriarch Kokilaben had said that the two industrialist brothers had no differences between them and were now together. "There are no differences or ill-feelings between Mukesh and Anil. Both the brothers will come to Chorwad with their families tomorrow (December 27)... This is our family function and the entire family will be present at the function," Kokilaben had said. Asked about the reported discord between Mukesh and Anil, Kokilaben had said: "There is love between the two brothers. That is why they are coming together."
— PTI
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High tidal waves lash Andhra coast
Hyderabad, December 28 According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the cyclonic storm over southwest and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal remained practically stationary and lay centred at about 600 km east-southeast of Chennai. "The system is likely to move west-northwestwards slowly, intensify into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 24 hours and cross north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coasts between Cuddalore and Nellore around the morning of Dec 30," the IMD bulletin said Wednesday morning. Under its influence, heavy rains and squally winds with a speed of 45-55 kmph are likely from Thursday. Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning Centre said the sea condition would be rough and advised fishermen not to venture into the sea. Those who were out at sea were advised to return to the coast. Meanwhile, due to high tidal waves of eight-10 feet, sea water inundated some places in Nellore, Prakasam and Srikakulam districts. Fishing boats anchored along the coast were either washed away or damaged due to the tidal waves since Tuesday night. The road between Uppada and Kakinada in East Godavari was cut off Wednesday as the waves damaged the embankment and the sea water overflowed the beach road, an official said. High tidal waves accompanied by squally winds damaged boats in several villages in Srikakulam district. Two fishermen were drowned when their boat capsized in high sea Tuesday evening close to the coast at Malkipuram in East Godavari district. Five others swam to safety. About 200 fishermen of Guntur district who were reported missing returned safely with the help of Coast Guard Tuesday night. The families of the fishermen spent anxious moments as they had not returned home despite the cyclone warning by the weather office.
— IANS
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India’s infant mortality rate down
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The country’s latest Infant Mortality Rate is 47 as against 50 in 2009, indicating a reduced mortality of three infants per 1000 live births
New Delhi, December 28 The country’s latest IMR is 47 as against 50 in 2009, indicating a reduced mortality of three infants per 1000 live births. If this rate of drop is sustained, India could achieve the target of bringing down infant deaths to 30 by 2015, as planned, Health Secretary PK Pradhan today said. The highlights of 2010 Sample Registration System (SRS) data, released today by the Registrar General of India, is - greater reduction in rural IMR (four points) as against urban IMR (3 points); massive improvements in problem states with Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh leading the national IMR declines by reporting the highest reduction of 5 points each in IMR in the respective states. Overall, rural IMR came down from 55 to 51 while urban IMR dropped from 34 to 31, nationally. Himchal’s overall IMR dropped from 45 in 2009 to 40 in 2010; rural IMR falling 5 points from 46 to 41 this year though urban IMR rose by a point from 28 per 1000 live births in 2009 to 29 this year. “Himachal Pradesh has done very well in home based infant care. The availability of doctors in primary health centres of rural areas is also very good there. Unlike the other hilly state Uttarakhand, where doctors are unavailable in remote areas, in Himachal, we have seen the opposite. More than 70 per cent doctors are deployed in villages,” Pradhan said. In the region, Punjab’s IMR plummeted from 38 to 34, a four point drop. The state, however, managed a five point reduction in rural IMR figures from 42 in 2009 to 37 per 1000 live births as per 2010 SRS data which provides details of estimated birth and death rate, natural growth rate and IMR nationally. Haryana’s IMR dropped from 51 in 2009 to 48, rural IMR decline being four points from 54 to 51. But Madhya Pradesh, another problem state with the highest IMR of 67 last year, sprung a surprise by managing, like Himachal, the highest five point drop in IMR this year. The state’s IMR is down to 62 with rural IMR falling from 72 to 67. Kerala, Mizoram and Dadar and Nagar Haveli reported a one point increase in infant deaths from 12 to 13 per 1000 live births in 2010. The heartening news is that almost all states managed to report IMR reductions particularly in rural IMR indicating better delivery of child related health services in villages. Nine states reported a 4 point drop in IMR. These include Bihar, where inter regional disparities in IMR are shocking - 43 in Patna as against 73 in Madhopur. Odisha, Punjab, Tripura, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya and Sikkim also saw four point declines in infant mortality rate. Andhra, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Nagaland, Uttrakhand and Chandigarh saw a decline of 3 points in IMR between 2009 and 2010. Jharkhand, UP, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur and Andaman and Nicobar Islands fared the worst nationally with only 2 point drop in infant death rates. In Lakshadweep and Puducherry the IMR remained unchanged.
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Nalanda farmers create world record in paddy yield
Patna, December 28 The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has certified that Sumant Kumar (36), a resident of Darveshpura village, had achieved a world record by producing 224 quintals of paddy in a hectare by using the SRI technique, commonly known as ‘Srividhi’. According to a senior officer of the Agriculture Department here, the world record for maximum paddy yield on a hectare of land so far was 190 quintals. A Chinese agricultural scientist named Yuan Longping had grown it before the adoption of the SRI technique. According to him, Sumant is not alone in smashing the world record in paddy production. His three co-villagers had also achieved this feat and the fourth one had equalled it. The five farmers, Sumant Kumar (224 quintals/hectare), Krishna Kumar (202 quintals/hectare), Nitish Kumar (196 quintals/hectare), Vijay Kumar (192 quintals/hectare) and Sanjay Singh (190 quintals/hectare) -- were felicitated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a public function in Nalanda yesterday. Jubilant over the world record achieved by the farmers of his state, the Chief Minister said his government had given nod to the agriculture road map prepared by the scientists for a rainbow revolution in Bihar that would be implemented in 2012. Nitish Kumar said the state government’s has decided to include agriculture as a
subject in the curriculum of high schools to create skilled farmers. “Unless we have skilled persons in farming and the farm sector is mechanised on a massive scale, it would not be possible to achieve a rainbow revolution in this sector,” said the Chief Minister. Calling for an equal focus on dairy, fishery, horticulture, animal husbandry and other allied sectors, he said it was required for ushering in a rainbow revolution in the state. The SRI method of paddy cultivation was introduced in the state on January 27 this year. Initially the farmers were reluctant to adopt this new technique despite the state government providing free seeds, fertilisers and experts to guide them. But with the news of breaking the world record by the farmers of Nalanda spreading across the state, more farmers are interested in adopting this method in paddy cultivation.
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9 killed in fire accidents in Kerala, TN
Athani (Ker)/Madurai (TN), December 28 Five persons were killed and seven others suffered burn injuries when a cracker manufacturing unit caught fire and exploded at Athani in Kerala's Thrissur district today.
— PTI
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Chorwad (Gujarat), Dec 28
