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President unveils UPA’s agenda
Manmohan Singh to host dinner for UPA allies today
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Vote-recording system in Parliament obsolete
Govt wants Lokpal Bill passed this session: Bansal
Hyderabad history comes alive at this unique museum
To make air travel safe, govt to set up Civil Aviation Authority
Act against Adarsh scam accused, HC tells CBI
Police uses force on youth at employment exchange
ICC clean chit to Indo-Pak WC semi-final
Jagan Assets
Illegal Mining
Minister to represent Bihar CM at Badal’s swearing-in
Miscreants damage Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Arunachal
Tremors in UP realty market after poll verdict
Little reason to cheer for
cotton traders, exporters
Boost likely for military hardware production
No agreement on location of Central varsity in Bihar
Probe against ex-CJI
7 youths rape Gurgaon pub employee
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President unveils UPA’s agenda
New Delhi, March 12 Opening the Budget session of Parliament in the Central Hall this morning, President Pratibha Patil appealed to members belonging to different parties to work together in a spirit of cooperation to discharge the business before the two Houses. Obviously what was weighing in her mind was the fact that Parliament had witnessed repeated adjournments and transacted little business during the last two-three sessions, thanks to the confrontation between the UPA government and the BJP-led Opposition. That the Budget session too would be a stormy affair became quite clear as the President was frequently interrupted by the members on issues like Telangana, atrocities on Sri Lankan Tamils, sub-quota for minorities, and shortage of fertilisers as she delivered her last address to Parliament before demitting office in July. Despite the drubbing the Congress received at the hustings, UPA managers were hopeful that they would manage to push through important legislations in both the Houses. In her 70-minute address, the President outlined the government’s action plan, expressing confidence that the country would soon be back to on the high growth trajectory of 8-9 per cent. “The long-term fundamentals of the Indian economy remain robust. India’s growth prospects arise from factors such as high domestic savings and investments rates, favourable demographics and a stable democratic polity,’’ she added. On the creation of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, she said the NCTC and the National intelligence Grid were aimed at improving India’s capability to counter internal security threats. Patil said the government would work on five important challenges that the economy faced today. It would strive for livelihood security for the people and work for the removal of poverty, hunger and illiteracy. It would also seek to achieve economic security through rapid and broad based development and creation of jobs for the people. She said it would be the government’s endeavour to ensure energy security for the country’s rapid growth. She said the government has initiated action to tackle the menace of black money. “We are taking many steps to contain the generation and outflow of illicit funds from the country and for opening channels for getting wider information on black money from other countries.’’ Noting that the outstanding loans to minority communities by public sector banks had increased to 14.5 per cent of priority sector lending for 2011-12, the President said the government would strive to each the target of 15 per cent during 2012-13. Emphasising that inflation, particularly in food articles, has been a major challenge in many countries, including India, Patil said rising global prices of commodities, industrial materials and fuels have contributed to inflation. The government has taken several measures to ease the supply constraints. She emphasised that the government would not compromise on safety of the livelihood of any section of society in the pursuit of its nuclear energy programme. The government’s aim was to make the armed forces among the technologically most advanced in the world. “Active measures are being undertaken to maintain the three Services as a modern and evolving force that is capable of meeting the security challenges of the future, including coastal security.’’ On India’s foreign policy, she said the government was committed to resolving all outstanding issues with Pakistan through dialogue. “We look forward to building upon the progress made so far mindful of the need for Pakistan to take credible action against terrorist groups and the related infrastructure on its
soil.’’ Patilspeak
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Manmohan Singh to host dinner for UPA allies today
New Delhi, March 12 Pre-poll allies - the DMK, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the NCP - are among the invitees as the PM seeks to put the UPA house in order. In a separate move, the Congress has reached out to the BSP and the Samajwadi Party (SP) for their cooperation in the smooth functioning of Parliament. The UPA managers have decided to avoid any confrontation with its allies or the opposition and will not push for any legislation unless it can muster the support for its passage. While the Capital is abuzz with talk of a snap poll and the formation of a third front, the government is drawing solace from the reactions coming in from various regional leaders who have rejected such suggestions. Bihar Chief Minister and JD-U leader Nitish Kumar said in Patna that the Third front has no concrete framework, adding that his party is an integral part of the NDA. His bete noire RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav maintained there are difficulties in the formation of a third front while UP chief minister-designate Akhilesh Yadav said there was no move,as of now, to form a third front.While the BJP is preparing to corner the government in Parliament, it is unlikely to push for an early poll as the saffron party is not exactly in the pink of health. The BSP is expected to be more sympathetic to the Congress after its own poor showing in UP. TMC ministers, Sudip Bandhopadhyaya and Sultan Ahmed, have also clarified that their party will not disturb the UPA despite differences with it. Congress insiders said though West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata may not destabilise the government, her party will not hesitate to join the opposition in Parliament in stalling crucial legislations to project the ruling combine as a dysfunctional government. The ruling combine has been at the receiving end of the opposition’s ire for the past several sessions while its own allies, particularly, Mamata Banerjee, have been giving it a hard time by joining hands with the Congress’ opponents in blocking the Lokpal Bill,foreign investment in retail trade and the establishment of a national anti-terror body. The Congress’ dismal performance in the recently-concluded assembly polls has rendered the UPA government more vulnerable to the combined pressure of an aggressive opposition and assertive allies. Speculation about a midterm election gained momentum after Rail Minister Dinesh Trivedi of the TMC spoke publicly about the UPA government’s vulnerability post Assembly polls and suggested that a snap poll was possible since it suits the 19-member Trinamool Congress and the 22-member SP, which hope to improve their tally in the Lok Sabha as they are still riding a popular wave in their states. With regional parties gaining in strength, there is talk of the emergence of a Third Front comprising non-Congress and non-BJP parties like Naveen Patnaik’s BJD, AIADMK chief J.Jayalalithaa, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP,Mulayum Singh Yadav’s SP and Mamata Banerjee who have recently been working in tandem to thwart the Centre’s attempts to undermine state governments.The invitations extended to Mamata Banerjee by the Akali Dal and the SP to attend the swearing in of their respective governments in Chandigarh and Lucknow were also seen as signs of a realignment of political forces. More to it
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Manifesto first priority: Akhilesh
New Delhi, March 12 Speaking exclusively to The Tribune later at his home, Akhilesh declared that he will first devote energy to the task of implementing all the promises that the SP has made to its voters in the party manifesto. Leaving behind the acrimony of the recent election campaign, Akhilesh greeted and sought the blessings of all the senior leaders who had assembled at the Central Hall, including UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the two Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and even President Pratibha Patil today and later said, “I will concentrate on UP. This is a very big responsibility on my shoulders. Netaji told me there will be no dearth of people who may try to distract me from the task at hand. He told me, ‘You have to work to deliver without blemishing your image.’ That is my immediate responsibility.” Terming his invitation to West Bengal and Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers for his swearing-in ceremony as part of established traditions, he denied any role in formation of third and fourth fronts. The SP leader also disclosed that he paid a visit to CPI headquarters Ajoy Bhawan today and added, “Fronts are for Netaji to delve in. My visit was merely a social call,” hinting that he might call on CPM leaders as well. Nevertheless, he stressed, “Secularism and socialism are in my blood. I was born a secular socialist.” He however clarified in reply to another question, “We are supporting the Congress in Delhi,” and left it at that, without further elaborating on his relationship with the BSP and BJP, also major players in UP. Securing support of almost all sections of society in the recent election, the Yadav leader hinted that unlike his predecessor Mayawati charged with promoting Jatav community, and despite SP’s record of promoting the Yadavs, this time, it could be different. “We don’t have too many officers from Yadav community. So even if we want, we cannot be partisan towards them. Our government will be fair and even-handed towards all communities,” he claimed. But he was quick to remark that 2012 is not the 1970s or 1990s. “In the 1970s (when Mulayam Singh found his feet in UP politics as a Samajwadi leader), the situation was different. Back then, in the 1990s, Babri Masjid was the issue and my father stood firm. Things have moved on. I was pleasantly surprised when my candidate Abhishek Mishra, an IIM graduate, won from Lucknow. That just demonstrates how people perceive us today,” he said. Though he entered Parliament in the company of CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta, leading to speculation about the revival of a third front, he vehemently denied this to the media when mobbed outside Parliament gate, saying, “Definitely not, definitely not. Nothing now. I am only meeting people (leaders),” adding, “I am just having tea with them.”
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Vote-recording system in Parliament obsolete
Reason behind the snag (witnessed twice during the last session) was not known then. But it now turns out that the Parliament is running on a 16-year-old Automatic Vote Record System whose replacement is long overdue. The System, comprising microphone arrangement for both House Chambers and simultaneous language interpretation system, was installed way back in 1995 and should have ideally been replaced in seven to 10 years for effective delivery. But the process of replacement has been stuck since 2008 when the Parliament awarded the contract for the new vote record system to Bosch, a German firm, leading to litigation by Brahler ICS, the rejected bidder which moved the High Court, alleging favour to Bosch. Documents in possession of The Tribune reveal that the High Court ruled in favour of the Parliament but Brahler went on to file a Special Leave Petition against the HC order in the Supreme Court, which stayed the contract operation on September 9, 2010. Since then, the Parliament CPWD, which looks after maintenance of the Houses, has been awaiting disposal of the case by the Supreme Court whom they recently pleaded for an early hearing, citing urgency of the issue. “The appellant has failed to file a rejoinder even after the Supreme Court gave them the last opportunity on April 20, 2011. Since the matter is sub judice, requisite steps for the installation of Automatic Vote Record System in the Lok Sabha have been stalled. This facility is critical to the functioning of the Parliament and requires utmost priority. The present petition may therefore be heard expeditiously and disposed of,” states the application the Lok Sabha Secretariat filed in the Apex Court recently seeking early hearing of the case. Meanwhile, top LS officials told The Tribune that the current system is so old it can develop a snag anytime. “We are worried. We saw what happened during the Lokpal Bill debate last winter session. LS TV conked off for a while. In another instance, votes were wrongly recorded and had to be manually sorted out. Such snags can develop again and functioning of the Parliament affected,” a top LS Secretariat official said. He said they were keeping their fingers crossed for the Budget Session which is again expected to take up the Lokpal Bill. The contract for the new vote record system awarded to Bosch in July 2009 was worth around Rs six crore. The cost would have doubled by now. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal said problems had arisen during voting last winter session. “These problems arise sometimes. But we can always sort them out manually though that’s very time consuming,” he said.
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Govt wants Lokpal Bill passed this session: Bansal
The Bill, pending in the Rajya Sabha, had seen the Opposition moving 187 amendments at the fag end of the Winter Session in December. The Bill could not be passed as the Opposition pressed for changes while the government dithered. The situation has now changed with all amendments to the Bill lapsing with the prorogation of the Rajya Sabha by the President. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal today said members who wanted to move amendments would have to do so afresh and the government would have to reconsider them all over again. "Rule 225 of the Rajya Sabha procedures says any notice given in a certain session will lapse with the prorogation of the RS by the President. Accordingly, amendments moved to the Lokpal Bill have also lapsed. One member has given fresh notices for amendments. Others will follow," Bansal said.
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Hyderabad history comes alive at this unique museum
Through various artifacts, photographs, old maps and manuscripts, the 'Hyderabad Museum' showcases the city's history and heritage from the times before its inception to the times of the Qutub Shahis and then Asaf Jahis, popularly known as Nizams, to the present times. The museum provides a compendium of everything one wants to know about Hyderabad: its culture, arts and artisans, fabrics, coins, cuisine, gems and stones, education, heritage, calligraphy, transport, stamps, arms, roads and buildings, palaces and bungalows. The museum was inaugurated by Prince Muffakham Jah, the grandson of the last ruling Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan. "The research and groundwork for this venture took two years to complete and involved contributions from many historians. The museum showcases evidence that humans inhabited the city nearly 4,000 years ago and also displays various achievements of the people over the years. One can find the answers to many intriguing questions about the city in this museum," said Jah who is chairman of the Nizam's Jubilee Pavilion Trust which established the museum. The history of Hyderabad did not get the attention it deserved as most of the historians tended to focus on Moghul rule, the Nizam's grandson said. The museum has brought nearly 4,000 years of history of the city, through archaeological evidence such as the neolithic pots, megalithic sites, European styled terracotta figurines, coins of Satvahana period among others. This confirms the presence of continuous habitations dating back though the popular thinking is that the Hyderabad was founded in 1591. This exciting development of Hyderabad has been shown for the first time through maps, artifacts, photographs, illustrations, written material and other paraphernalia. On display for the first time are seven specifically designed maps that trace Hyderabad's fascinating journey from the 13th century to the present times. There is also a touch screen kiosk that will reveal to the visitors a pictorial history of 50 of the city's "mohallahs (localities)" in English, Hindi, Telugu and Urdu. The display area sheds light on trade and commerce, weights and measures, textiles, post and communication, transport, education, calligraphy, architecture, art and craft, Hyderabadi cuisine and people. about the Facility
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Kingfisher pilots report sick, 30 flights cancelled
Mumbai, March 12 A large number of the flights cancelled today were on the busy Mumbai-Delhi sector. In Mumbai, the airline cancelled 11 flights while nine were cancelled from Delhi. In some centres like Kolkata not a single flight was operated. Kingfisher had earlier said that it would deploy pilots 100-odd pilots from the management cadre to operate flights. So far, it is not known if pilots in the management cadre joined in the larger protest. Later in the afternoon, the airline issued a statement confirming that flights were affected today. "Some flights are being cancelled as a result of the employee agitation on account of delayed salaries. This situation has arisen as a consequence of our bank accounts having been frozen by the tax authorities," Kingfisher said. The statement said flight loads of the airline had reduced because of the suspension and Kingfisher was combining flights on many sectors. The Vijay Mallya-owned airline, however, said it was working to remedy the situation. "We are making all possible efforts to remedy this temporary situation. We will operate approximately 80% of our planned schedule. We expect to return to our full schedule shortly," the statement said.The airline also confirmed that it could not sell tickets after IATA suspended its registration. Jet told to pay pending dues
New Delhi:
Jet Airways, which is having problems of cash crunch, was on Monday jolted by a Service Tax department directive to global airlines body IATA to pay the carrier's tax dues of about Rs 69 crore. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) was sent an advisory by the department to remit the tax dues of Jet to the department before settling the bills of the airline, IATA sources said. CBEC officials confirmed that the Service Tax Department had sent such a directive. The department, which had sent a notice last Friday to Jet Airways cautioning the airline that its accounts would be frozen if it fails to clear the service tax by Monday. — PTI
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To make air travel safe, govt to set up Civil Aviation Authority
New Delhi, March 12 These promises were made by the government in President Pratibha Patil's address to the joint sitting of Parliament. "Measures will be taken to protect the interests of air travellers. A bill will be introduced this year for a Civil Aviation Authority to ensure safe, secure and affordable air services," Patil said. She said an independent Air Accident Investigation Board would also be constituted and "air traffic management services and airports will be upgraded and modernised". A legislation to set up a powerful Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for better regulation of the aviation sector has already been drafted and was in an advanced stage of getting the official nod, official sources said. They said the draft was being vetted by the Law Ministry and would be taken up by the Union Cabinet for approval before it is placed in Parliament. The functions and powers of the proposed CAA, which would replace the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), have been based primarily on the British model. It would have financial and administrative autonomy to take expeditious decisions on matters relating to a range of activities - from regulation of air traffic services and licensing to ensure financial fitness of airlines, they said. The CAA would take over the responsibilities of the DGCA in areas like air safety, airspace regulation, setting aviation standards, licensing of airlines, pilots, air traffic controllers and consumer protection. The government also proposes to provide certain economic regulatory functions to the new authority, including airfares and areas like consumer protection, environmental research and consultancy. The CAA would come up at a time when the total aircraft fleet in India stood at over 450 and is estimated to cross 1,000 in a few years. In addition, there are over 200 helicopters and private jets. The passenger handling capacity of Indian airports, which was just 66 million in 2005, has reached 225 million now and is expected to cross 500 million in the next 10 years. An accident investigation panel is being proposed to separate the functions of the DGCA of making rules and monitoring whether these were being followed in cases of accidents and air incidents.
— PTI A step towards modernisation
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Act against Adarsh scam accused, HC tells CBI
Mumbai, March 12 "Why have you not arrested any of the accused yet? Are you feeling shy or are you just protecting the accused? If prima facie case is made out against anyone, action should be taken irrespective of who that person is," the judges said. The court said the CBI should not hesitate to arrest even those ranked high up the social ladder so that a message is clearly sent out to wrongdoers. "Take action without fear or favour. We agree that some of the accused are influential politicians, but by initiating action, CBI should send out a message that any wrongdoer, irrespective of who he is, will be punished," the court said. Counsel for the CBI however pointed out that the agency did not make arrests as it was nearing the end of the probe and a chargesheet would be filed in the case shortly. "Filing of chargesheet should not stop you from arresting the accused. In several cases, CBI arrests the accused first and then files the chargesheet. Why are you making an exception in this case?" the court questioned. The judges also asked the agency why proper procedure was not being applied in the case of government officers. "When there is preliminary evidence against certain government officers, why haven't you written to the department concerned seeking their removal? Take action against everyone who is found guilty," the judges said. Adjourning the matter to March 22, the Bombay High Court asked the agency to make amends. "We are giving you a last chance. If you don't take concrete steps, we will summon the CBI Director from Delhi," the court said. The Special Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was present in the High Court as ordered by the Bench during the last hearing.
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Police uses force on youth at employment exchange
Kanpur, March 12 Today being the first working day since the Samajwadi Party was elected with a landslide win on March 6, the youth - mostly young men and women from the city’s colleges, had queued up at the REE to get their names registered in the hope of becoming eligible for the Rs 1,000 per month unemployment dole promised by the SP in its election manifesto. Women constables were seen slapping girls who had become restive after waiting in the sun for hours. Some women even fainted during the wait. Speaking to a local channel, Satish Kumar, an aspirant, accused the employment exchange staff of discrimination in distribution of forms for registration. “The forms are not given to everyone but selectively handed over to a chosen few, leading to chaos,” he alleged. After the premises had remained deserted for years, life had suddenly returned to the state’s employment exchanges since January this year, days after the SP and BJP election manifestoes had announced unemployment dole of Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 per month respectively. In 2006 and 2007, 69,787 and 23,407 registrations of unemployed applicants were made. This was when the then Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had announced an unemployment allowance of Rs 500 per month.
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ICC clean chit to Indo-Pak WC semi-final
The ICC also dismissed the claim that it was investigating the semi-final. "The story carried by the newspaper, in which it has claimed that the ICC is investigating the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final between India and Pakistan, is baseless and misleading," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said in a statement. “The ICC has no reason or evidence to require an investigation into this match,” he added. ICC asserted that Indo-Pak clash was clean and the 2011 World Cup was one of the most successful World Cup organised so far. "It is indeed sad for spurious claims to be made which only serve to cause doubt on the semi-final of one of the most successful ICC Cricket World Cups ever," Lorgat said. Earlier, allegations that the World Cup semi-final was fixed were also rubbished by players and those associated with the game even as the Bollywood actress at the centre of the fresh controversy threatened to sue a British newspaper which carried the report. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly found little substance in the report published in a London newspaper Sunday Times. "I don't know how they have got the information but let me tell that India are world champions and nobody can take that away from us," Ganguly told reporters here today. Former India spinner Bishen Singh Bedi also did not find any merit in the allegations. "I am hurt as a cricketer that the name of the Indian team has been dragged into it when they played the semifinal against Pakistan. I think that is a load of rubbish," Bedi said. The newspaper carried out a sting operation on a Delhi-based bookie, who claimed that the Indian bookmakers are fixing the results of England county games and international fixtures and they are using a Bollywood actress as a honeytrap to recruit players from countries. The report also claimed India's semi-final match in last year's World Cup was rigged.
— PTI actress nupur denies role Mumbai: Bollywood actress Nupur Mehta has rubbished allegations she was involved in match-fixing in last year's World Cup Cricket semi-final between India and Pakistan at Mohali and threatened to sue a London daily. The Sunday Times carried out a sting operation on a Delhi-based bookie who claimed that the 2011 semi-final was rigged. It said a Bollywood starlet was used to lure Pakistani players to underperform. An image with a blurred face was published in the newspaper with a report claiming match-fixing is rampant in international cricket and UK's domestic county. — PTI
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Jagan Assets
New Delhi, March 12 A Bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra passed the order on a petition filed by an advocate P Sudhakara Reddy seeking a CBI probe into the role of the six ministers who were also in the council of ministers of YSR Reddy, who died in an air-crash in September 2009. The six ministers are Geetha Reddy, Sabitha Reddy, Ponnalia Laxmaiah, Dharmana Prasadarao, K Laxminarayana and M Venkataramana. The first five were holding the portfolios of industry, home, irrigation, revenue and housing respectively in the ministry of YSR Reddy.
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Illegal Mining
Bangalore, March 12 Reddy was picked up by the CBI from his Bellary mansion on September 5 last year and produced before a court in Hyderabad in connection with illegal mining by his Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) in Andhra Pradesh. From Hyderabad’s Chanchalguda Prison, where he was incarcerated, Reddy was brought to Bangalore after summons were issued by the Bangalore CBI court in connection with the illegal activities of two more mining companies owned by him.
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Minister to represent Bihar CM at Badal’s swearing-in
Patna, March 12 An aide of Bihar Chief Minister said Badal had invited Nitish to attend the function and the latter would have loved to witness the ceremony. But he would be unable to go there in view of the ongoing Budget session of the state legislature. He has thus authorised Bhim Singh, a minister and senior party leader of JD (U) to represent him at the function. Badal and Nitish share a cordial relation. Moreover, migrants from Bihar who have become voters in Punjab are understood to have voted for SAD in large numbers. Nitish, wearing a pink turban on the occasion of Holi, told mediapersons, “I am wearing a pink-coloured turban to mark happiness and respect for a record victory of Punjab Chief Minister Badal by bucking anti-incumbency in Punjab.”
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Miscreants damage Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Arunachal
Guwahati, March 12 Miscreants damaged a portion of the Mahatma Gandhi’s statue and threw it into a nearby drain, while a portion of the statue of Dying Ering was also recovered from near Gandhi Chowk. The incident took place just a few metres away from a police beat post. East Siang Deputy Superintendent of Police (headquarter) BS Mahara said efforts were on to nab the miscreants involved in the vandalism. The miscreants also damaged nine statues of different gods and goddesses set up near Pasighat IGJ Higher Secondary School. State Education Minister Bosiram Siram has directed the police to apprehend the culprits within seven days. BJP national secretary Tapir Gao said the state government should take up the matter seriously and book the culprits under the National Security Act (NSA). He termed the incident
as “shameful” and “anti-national”. East Siang Deputy Commissioner Talem Tapok said an FIR has already been lodged and a magisterial inquiry is being conducted.
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Tremors in UP realty market after poll verdict
New Delhi, March 12 Hundreds of small builders who acquired 4,000-7,000 square metre plots to construct apartment are keeping their fingers crossed as the transition of power takes place. “We are watching out for the impact of the change of guard on Noida and Greater Noida’s realty market. Several builders acquired land during the BSP regime and it remains to be seen how the new regime treats them, as certain allotments of prime agricultural land for residential purpose have been mired in controversy. The recent agitation by Bhatta-Parsaul farmers is just a case in point,” a real estate agent operating in UP pointed out. He said the sentiment of small builders had been affected and that might lead to delay in the construction of flats and some amount of rise in pricing if the investment climate changes in the course of time on account of any change in the policy of state government. Small builders who don’t have very deep pockets and have to construct fewer flats -- say 100 to 200 -- are expected to be hit more in terms of delayed projects if the new regime chooses to revisit the allotments made by the Mayawati government. Real estate agents said big builders like Ponty Chadha of Wave Infrastructure, JP Gaur of JP Group, Anil Sharma of Amrapali and RK Arora of Supertech won’t be affected as they have deep pockets and the capacity to absorb compressions in the market.
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Little reason to cheer for
cotton traders, exporters
New Delhi, March 12 "Exports orders already registered with the DGFT but not yet exported will be scrutinised to ensure that their papers are in order and revalidated. The first priority will be given to those consignments which have been handed over to Customs," the Textiles Ministry said. The GoM will meet within the next two weeks to assess the situation and take an appropriate decision on the issue. Considering the political volatility of the matter, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma also met MPs from main growing states - Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh - on the issue and "apprised" them of the rational of various decisions taken on the issue. The latest decision means that exporters can ship out 2.5 million bales committed to overseas sales before the government imposed the ban on March 5 and avoid any defaults. This latest decision also means that India will be exporting a record 12 million bales of the fibre in 2011-12, 54 per cent more than the previous year. The Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), an advocacy group fighting for the cause of cotton growers in Vidarbha, termed the DGFT's "so-called roll back" order a mere "eyewash with hidden restrictions." Kishore Tiwari of the VJAS demanded "pre-export ban conditions to protect the interest of farmers, traders and exporters". "The order clearly says that issue of new registration certificates (RCs) stands suspended until further orders," he says.
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Boost likely for military hardware production
New Delhi, March 12 President Pratibha Patil said the government is aiming to develop the three Services as "modern and technologically most advanced forces" to meet the security challenges. "Our focus is on enhancing domestic defence production capabilities as well as achieving technological self-reliance in weapons and delivery system," she said. India is one of the largest importers of military hardware in the world but relies heavily on imported systems for more than 70 per cent of its defence needs. In the recent years, Defence Minister AK Antony has taken several measures to enhance self reliance including the formulation a Defence Procurement Policy and a Defence Production Policy (DPP). The President in her address said in the years ahead, "our aim is to make our armed forces among the technologically most advanced in the world." She listed the successful test-firing of 3,500 km-range Agni-IV missile and the proposed induction of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas into the Indian Air Force (IAF) as the major milestones in the recent
past. — PTI
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No agreement on location of Central varsity in Bihar
Patna, March 12 Ever since the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development announced to open the CUB and sought land for this purpose from the state government, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been wanting the project to come up at Motihari from where Mahatma Gandhi had launched his satyagraha against the colonial rule. The Bihar Chief Minister not only announced his wish to have the CUB at Motihari in public, but also named it ‘Mahatma Gandhi Kendriya Vishwavidyalay’. The district administration of Motihari arranged the land required for the CUB at two suitable locations at the behest of the state government. But the Centre wanted land in or around Patna. Union Minister for HRD Kapil Sibal and Bihar Chief Minister wrote quite a few letters to each other in support of their respective pleas, but there has been no agreement yet.
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Probe against
ex-CJI
After going through the report submitted by Attorney General GE Vahanvati in a sealed cover, a Bench comprising Chief Justice SH Kapadia and Justice Swatanter Kumar wanted to know what the government intended to do further. As the AG sought time, the Bench granted three weeks for the purpose. Vahanvati said the Income Tax Department was still assessing the properties of Balakrishnan’s two sons-in-law and a brother. The Bench is hearing two PILs, filed by an NGO, Common Cause, and advocate ML Sharma. According to the petitioners, the ex-CJI and his relatives accumulated wealth in excess of their known sources of income during the tenure of Justice Balakrishnan in the SC. The PILs plead for a Presidential reference to the SC under the human rights Act for going into allegations of misbehaviour against the ex-CJI. He should be removed as NHRC chairman if the charges turned out to be true, the petitioners said.
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7 youths rape Gurgaon pub employee
New Delhi, March 12 Everyday, the victim would hire a private taxi from outside the mall to reach her residence at Badarpur in Delhi. On Monday, after completing her work at the pub, ‘The Last Chance’, at 2.30 am, she, with her 20-year-old brother, hired a private taxi, Gurgaon Police says. “About half a kilometre away from Sahara Mall, a Maruti van intercepted their taxi. Six youths who were sitting inside the van abducted her. The taxi driver and her brother tried to save her, but the culprits took her to an apartment at Chhatarpur in Delhi, where there was another youth. The seven kidnappers then raped her. They then left her outside Chhatarpur metro station,” said a Gurgaon Police officer. A case has been registered.
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New Delhi, March 12
New Delhi, March 12
New Delhi, March 12
Hyderabad, March 12
Dubai/New Delhi, March 12
New Delhi, March 12