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President election likely to be a keen contest
VIP security a priority, law & order can wait
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MP slaps privilege notice on Kejriwal
YSR doled out largesse to Reddys: CAG
Italian
Hostage crisis
Chandy: Won’t send Italians home for trial
Ministry told to give complete data on rivers
Trained professionals for elderly & child care soon
Nod to pension fund for overseas Indian workers
1,500 kids go missing in Assam in a year
Tribals to take on Maoists in M’rashtra
3 teens kill ‘friend’ for ransom in Pune
Jantar Mantar
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President election likely to be a keen contest
New Delhi, April 1 A 'give and take' formula on the Vice Presidential election that follows the Presidential poll is also not ruled out if a successful consensus is evolved on the nominee who will occupy the Rashtrapati Bhavan next. Both the Congress and the BJP and their respective alliances do not command a majority in the electoral college and have to work on getting the support of parties outside their combinations to get their candidates elected if they are keen on a contest. The Congress has 31 per cent of the total votes against 24 per cent of the BJP in an electoral college. The UPA has a little over 40 per cent of the total votes against 57 per cent it had in the last elections. The NDA has less than 30 per cent. Hence, the role of parties like the TMC, the SP, the AIADMK, the BSP and the BJD assumes significance in the elections over which speculation has started on the names. Last time the Left parties suggested dark horse Pratibha Patil and her sailing was smooth. With just a little less than 4 months to go for the Presidential election, no names have emerged as a possible candidate so far. There was speculation earlier over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's name but Congress President Sonia Gandhi ruled out that possibility after the UP Assembly elections. Another possible name is that of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee but will the Congress leadership be ready to sacrifice his services which are considered indispensable for running the coalition that is increasingly hopping from crisis to crisis? This time the Samajwadi Party and the BSP as also the Trinamool Congress are going to call the shots. The three parties are not in a hurry to firm up their stand. Mulayam Singh Yadav's SP is euphoric after UP victory while Mamata Banerjee is a hard ally for the Congress to please either at the Centre or in West Bengal. BJP has not been approached by the ruling alliance on the issue. Senior party leader Arun Jaitley has said sometime back that the Government should first decide its candidate and come to it for consultation. He was asked whether the BJP would help Congress in the matter. As media reported that the Congress could be cosying up to Jayalalithaa, there was speculation that the BJP may also make attempts to woo her. Jaitley is said to have sought time for a meeting with Jayalalithaa in Chennai this week. In such a scenario, the BJP-led NDA would insist that the Vice-Presidentship should come to it in return for support in the Presidential polls. A Congress Chief Minister, who declined to be named, said the ruling alliance could not afford giving the Vice Presidentship to the Opposition given the fact that he is also Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. "It will be like giving the Upper House to the opposition on a platter at a time when the UPA does not have majority there," he said. TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has kept the Congress guessing. She has sidestepped questions whether she would like the next President to be from her state. JD-U's Shivanand Tewari said it would be best if the Congress "gives up its arrogance" and talks to all parties and unanimously decides the name of a "dignified leader" to succeed Pratibha Patil. Reports quoting an unnamed senior UPA leader had it that Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal could be a probable candidate in the next Vice-Presidential elections.
— PTI
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VIP security a priority, law & order can wait
New Delhi, April 1 According to a Home Ministry report, these 16,788 VIPs, mostly ministers, MPs, MLAs, judges and bureaucrats, were guarded by 50,059 policemen in 25 states and Union Territories in 2010 for six months or more. Interestingly, only 28,298 police personnel were actually sanctioned to be deployed for protection to these VIPs in that year. The story was worse in 2009 when more than double than the actual alloted strength of policemen were deployed to provide security to 17,451 VIPs across the country. The alloted strength of policemen for VIP security in that year was 23,637 but actually 47,355 police personnel were deployed to protect these prominent people. During 2010, the maximum of 3,030 VIPs were given protection in Bihar followed by 1,685 in Punjab and 1,640 in West Bengal. For protection of VIPs, Punjab deployed the maximum of 5,410 police personnel followed by 5,001 security men by National Capital Territory Delhi and 3,958 by Andhra Pradesh in 2010. The report, released by Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday, said manpower for protected persons' protection duty is drawn from available resources generally without corresponding increase in sanctioned strength for the purpose. "The increase in the protected persons' protection deployment has strained the already limited manpower resources of state police. Therefore, there is a need for periodic review of the deployment of police for protected persons' protection against need based assessment coupled with proportionate increase in the sanctioned and professionally trained manpower commensurate to the bona fide protected persons' protection requirements," the report said.
— PTI
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In 2010, 16,788 VIPs, mostly ministers, MPs, MLAs, judges and
babus, were guarded by 50,059 policemen in 25 states and UTs for six months or more. Sanction was given for 28,298 personnel n
In 2009, more than double the allotted strength of cops was deployed to provide security to 17,451 VIPs |
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MP slaps privilege notice on Kejriwal
“I will respond in a week's time,” Kejriwal told The Tribune, confirming the receipt of the notice from the Lok Sabha following Pal missive to the Speaker in which he alleged that Kejriwal's remarks had “demeaned the institution of Parliament, its custodian and its members”. “It is shocking that they have not even spared a senior of the stature and status like Sharad Yadav. Going berserk, Kejriwal questioned the proceedings of the House. He (Kejriwal) states that while the House did not take note of the death of Narendra Kumar, IPS, it devoted sufficient time discussing on attack on Sharad Pawar. In fact, I had raised the matter of death of the officer under Zero Hour," Pal said. The Congress MP said “baseless” charges have been levelled by the social activist against Union Ministers, MPs labelling them criminals and "even questioning the proceedings" of the House was breach of privilege. Earlier in the week, Union Minister Virbhadra Singh had sent Kejriwal a letter, threatening to file a criminal defamation suit if the social activist did not tender an “unconditional apology” for “maligning” his name and “levelling incorrect allegation”. Virbhadra Singh figures in the list of 14 ministers against whom Team Anna has demanded registration of an FIR and investigation into charges of corruption. Kejriwal had accused him of being caught on tape asking for bribe.
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YSR doled out largesse to Reddys: CAG
Hyderabad, April 1 The latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) laid bare the nexus between the mining baron and the former Chief Minister who allegedly gifted away huge tracts of land to “Bellary brothers” for construction of an airport and setting up a steel factory in Kadapa district. The report, which examined the land allotments made during 2006-11, pointed out how YSR went out of the way to alienate 3,115.64 acres of land to the mining baron to build an airport and a flying academy, though the proposed commercial airport was just 50 km away from the existing airport at Kadapa. Ironically, the Kadapa airport is spread over just 600 acres of land. The YSR government had in March 2008 allotted land near Ambavaram village to Brahmani Industries Limited (BIL) floated by the Reddy brothers at a nominal cost of Rs 25,000 per acre. The airport, which was intended for captive use of the company’s mega green field integrated steel plant, was also to be used for commercial operations. In June 2007, the government had allotted land to the BIL at the rate of Rs18,000 per acre. Another benefit doled out by YSR to the Reddy brothers was the allotment of 304.66 acres of land at Obulapuram village in Anantapur district to their Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) which is now under a CBI probe.
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Italian Hostage crisis
Bhubaneswar, April 1 A day after the two Maoist mediators left giving time for the state government to take a stand on the demands of the ultras, a senior official said, "The whole issue, including conditions like release of jailed ultras, is being examined." As the Maoists have demanded release of about 40 rebels from different jails, it would take some time to form a view on the issue after thorough examination, he said adding, "We are examining as to how the process can be initiated." Expressing hope that the prospects appeared to have brightened for the release of Paolo Bosusco, 54-year-old Puri-based Italian tour operator, another official said the abductors of the Italian are expected to honour the appeal made by their mediators - B D Sharma and Dandapani Mohanty. The two Maoist mediators left yesterday after 10 days of talks stating that the Odisha government needed time, but promised to be back when needed. "The issues are complicated and the talks are yet to yield result. Since the government needs more time to examine the demands, we need not wait here. We are returning," they said. "Whenever the government needs our assistance, we will be back," the duo said, adding, "We appeal to Odisha State Organising Committee of CPI (Maoist) to free the Italian, abducted on March 14, on basic human considerations." Meanwhile, there has been no information about the fate of the tribal MLA from Laxmipur, Jhina Hikaka, who had been abducted from Koraput on March 24. Though Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had invited Maoist-backed Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS) to join talks and name their negotiators for the release of the MLA, two days ago, there was no response from the Sangha. While the Koraput-Srikalulam Division of Maoists, which owned responsibility for abduction of the MLA, had refused to have talks through mediators, the CMAS had earlier claimed that it had no role in the kidnapping. — PTI
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Chandy: Won’t send Italians home for trial
New Delhi, April 1 Chandy made it clear that the crime was committed in Indian waters and the two marines must face the Indian law. "Our stand is very clear, very open...The two soldiers of Italy committed a crime within the purview of Indian law.... They have to face this trial. That is our stand," he said. His statement came at a time when Italy has been building pressure on the Centre as well as the state government for transfer of the two marines to their home country for trial. Italian Defence Minister Giam Paolo di Paolo met Chandy three days back to press this issue. Marines Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Gironi, on board vessel 'Enrica Lexie', were arrested for allegedly gunning down the two fishermen of Kerala on February 15. Italian counsel has approached Kerala High Court seeking quashing of the FIR against the marines. Chandy underlined that the Indian judiciary is "very fair, very open and very independent" and the accused can seek justice in this country.
— PTI
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Ministry told to give complete data on rivers In its report submitted to Parliament last week, the committee headed by Dip Gogoi reiterated that the government should compile the entire data of India’s major river systems, indicating the volume at the point where a river enters the country and the volume at the point where it either falls into the sea or into the territory of adjoining nation. The volume of water diverted or utilised for irrigation purposes within the country - for every river - was important for planning and judicious management and utilisation of the natural resource, the committee said, “deprecating the half-baked reply furnished by the ministry” in response to its concerns over apprehension of diversion of waters of some international rivers by China. In its reply to the committee, while the ministry had provided data on Siang, Subansitri and Lohit regarding the estimated volume during monsoon and pre-monsoon, it was silent on other major river systems in the country. In fact, according to the committee, even the data pertaining to Brahmaputra’s tributaries was incomplete as it did not specify the exact period it pertained to.
The standing committee on water resources wants the govt to compile a data indicating the volume of water in every major river at the point where it enters the country and the volume at the point where it either falls into the sea or flows into the territory of any adjoining nation
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Trained professionals for elderly & child care soon
New Delhi, April 1 In the first bold move to create a professional cadre of new age professionals, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (through the All India Council for Technical Education) has signed a formal contract with the prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) which will help the Government design courses and teaching methodologies for vocational training in social and industrial sectors. The three-year MoU will help the Government roll out its ambitious National Vocational Curriculum Framework which was launched about two months ago to train unskilled workers in India. Against 12.1 million Indians who require skills training annually, only three million actually receive any and the rest is added to the unskilled workforce pool, denting the otherwise huge benefits India could derive from the demographic dividend. That explains why in the first two years of the MoU (it is a three-year deal), TISS will work to develop curricula and teaching processes for creating a cadre of professionals in five social fields - child care, geriatric (elderly) care, mental health volunteers, medical technicians with special focus on dialysis operations and child protection volunteers. It will also develop courses in 15 industrial sectors. Once the courses are ready and institutions capacitated to undertake vocational training of professionals, working mothers, who don’t have families to look after their children, can hire professionals and won’t need to quit work. Likewise, the elderly can help themselves. “India needs at least five lakh geriatric care professionals and even more child development professionals. An increasing number of older people are living longer and away from their families. The idea is to create professionals who take care of both the physical and psychological needs of the aged and children,” Dr S. Parasuraman, Director, TISS, told The Tribune today. The demand for these vocations is estimated to be huge but there is no current capacity to address it. In India, out of the 157 lakh students who appeared for Class XII exam in 2008-2009, only 79 lakh passed. The MoU will also have TISS research gaps in the vocational education sector and create study models and content for various skill sectors.
TISS will work to develop curricula and teaching processes for creating a cadre of professionals in five social fields — child care, geriatrics, mental health volunteers, medical technicians with special focus on dialysis operations and child protection volunteers.
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Veteran Congman NKP Salve dead
New Delhi/Nagpur, April 1 The veteran Congress leader is survived by his son Harish Salve, an eminent advocate, and daughter Arundhati. His wife had predeceased him some time back. He was admitted to the hospital a few days ago. The body would be taken to Nagpur and the burial would take place tomorrow, sources said. Born in Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh), Salve remained associated with cricket administration for several years. He was instrumental in bringing the cricket World Cup to the Indian subcontinent in 1987, the first time it was organised outside England. The Challenger Trophy was named after him. Salve was a strong votary of a separate state of Vidarbha to be carved out of Maharashtra. He and another Congress veteran Vasant Sathe had even floated a group to press for the demand. As a Congressman, he first represented Betul Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, and later became a Rajya Sabha member. He served in successive Union Cabinets of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao.
— PTI
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Nod to pension fund for overseas Indian workers
New Delhi, April 1 The fund will take effect during financial year 2012-13. The scheme would provide overseas Indian workers the opportunity to voluntarily save for their return and resettlement, save for their old age and obtain a low-cost life insurance against natural death. The scheme would be implemented using the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, Security and Exchange Board of India, and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority regulated products and institutional architecture. There would be an integrated enrolment process for the subscribers. The subscribers would be issued a unique PLIF account number upon enrolment and a bank account would be opened for each subscriber upon enrolment. Savings of such overseas Indian workers will be channelled to designated fund managers through their bank accounts. On return to India, PLIF subscribers would be
able to continue saving for their old age using their bank account. As regards return and resettlement savings, these would be withdrawn as a lumpsum upon the subscriber’s return to India. However, savings from the pension will remain invested with a PFRDA-regulated pension fund. Part of the retirement savings will be returned as lumpsum and the remaining savings would be converted into a monthly pension. All withdrawals will
be paid into bank account of the individual PLIF subscriber. The benefits available under the scheme would include a government
co-contribution of Rs 1,000 per annum for all PLIF subscribers who save between Rs 1,000 and Rs 12,000 per year, a special additional co-contribution of Rs 1,000 per annum
by the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry for overseas Indian women workers who save between
Rs 1,000 and Rs 12,000 per annum, and a special return and resettlement co-contribution of Rs 1,000 by the ministry to
overseas Indian workers who save Rs 4,000 per annum towards return and resettlement.
n Subscribers would get a unique PLIF account number upon enrolment
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1,500 kids go missing in Assam in a year
Guwahati, April 1 According to the data, 1,071 female and 494 male children remained untraced in Assam during the year 2011-2012 which is the highest among all northeastern states. During the same period, investigating agencies were able to trace 965 missing children - 283 male and 682 females. All these victims of child trafficking are under 18. Unicef defines a child victim of trafficking as any person under 18 years of age who is recruited, transported, transferred, harboured and received for the purpose of exploitation either within or outside the country. According to a source in the state CID, most of these children and women from Assam are being trafficked for prostitution, forced marriage or to be employed as domestic help in the northern states, including Delhi and Haryana. The fact has been corroborated by Delhi-based NGO Shakti Vahini that is involved in anti-trafficking project. Under the trafficking racket, usually girls from very poor families in remote villages in Assam are targeted. They are lured out of the state in the promise of job and lucre. Police said many illegal placement agencies are involved in the trafficking racket. A police source said the trafficked children are usually forced to live under poor conditions first by agents of placement agencies and then by the “employers”. Recently, 22 girls from Assam were rescued from a placement agency in Delhi by Assam Police with the help of Shakti Bahini volunteers.
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Tribals to take on Maoists in M’rashtra
Mumbai, April 1 reserve police force (SRPF) as part of a new initiative to take on the rebels. According to state government sources, the work on the plan has been going on for the past one year. It will be fast-forwarded following last Tuesday's landmine blast on the CRPF. The mishap left 12 CRPF personnel dead and several injured. The first step will see a recruitment drive to hire around 1000-1200 youths from these areas into the SRPF who will then be sent for training before deployment against the Maoists. "We would like to hire local youth who are familiar with the terrain and can thus take on the Maoists," Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil
told the state legislature on Friday. A section of bureaucracy has, however, suggested that the government relax the selection criteria so that the local people can be
accommodated in the SRPF. "Educational and nutritional levels are poor in these parts so more concessions must be granted in order to
increase recruitment of the locals in the SRPF," a senior Home department official felt. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has announced a five-fold increase in reward for informers from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh in order
to motivate more people to share information with the law-enforcement agencies. The recruitment of the tribals to be inducted into the SRPF will be part of a larger development programme that is being carried out in the Naxal-hit areas. Last year, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had suggested that the Maharashtra government invest in development
projects specially targeted at Naxal-dominated areas. Since then, the state government has earmarked Rs 654 crore only for the development
of Gadchiroli district, said to be the epicentre of Naxal activities in Maharashtra. Around Rs 125 crores have already been sanctioned for roads, bridges, irrigation dams, etc, according to state government sources. However, reports from the ground level indicate that progress is slow as bureaucrats are reluctant to be posted in this district. |
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Zardari to meet PM, visit Ajmer on April 8
New Delhi, April 1 As of now, indications are that it would be a purely private affair with no bilateral meeting scheduled with any top Indian leader. Zardari is expected to arrive in the morning along with some members of his family and fly out the same day. Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed is expected to present a ‘chadar' to President Zardari. Farhatullah Babar, the spokesperson for President Zardari, was quoted as saying by a TV news channel that the Pakistani leader had expressed a desire to visit Ajmer a long time ago. However, the date has not been finalised yet, he said, adding he would check if the Indian Government had proposed it for April 8 as reported in a section of the Indian media. Meanwhile, there is speculation that the two countries could explore the possibility of a brief meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Zardari given the steady improvement in Indo-Pak relations. The two had last met at Yekaterinburg in Russia on the margins of the SCO Summit in June 2009, a few months after the Mumbai terror attacks. “I am happy to meet you, but my mandate is to tell you that the territory of Pakistan must not be used for terrorism," Singh had firmly told Zardari at the meeting that took place soon after the general elections in India. Manmohan Singh had invited both President Zardari and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani to Mohali in March last year to witness the World Cup cricket semifinal between India and Pakistan. Though Zardari could not come, Gilani did visit Mohali and witnessed the match in the company of Manmohan Singh. Manmohan Singh had recently met Gilani at Seoul on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit and told him that he could consider a visit to Pakistan provided the two countries could work out "something solid" to make the trip substantive.
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First visit to India by a Pakistani head of state since 2005
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3 teens kill ‘friend’ for ransom in Pune
Mumbai, April 1 The police said Shubham Shirke (15) was murdered by his classmate and two others after they kidnapped him on Saturday afternoon. Shortly after Shirke left for his classmate’s house, his parents received a phone call asking them to cough up a ransom of Rs 50,000. This was later brought down to Rs 15,000, the police said. Following the caller's instructions, the boy's father left the money on a footpath which was collected by two of the youths who arrived at the scene on a two-wheeler. When Shubham did not return home, the family approached the police who picked up the classmate as the victim was supposed to go to his house before the incident. DCP (Zone IV) Sanjay Jadhav said that the three accused would keenly follow television serial ‘CID’ based on real crime incidents.
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Jantar Mantar Anita Katyal
The Vijay Bahuguna-led government in Uttarakhand may have sailed through the trust vote last week, but it is not going to be easy for the new Chief Minister to administer the state. Not only will he have to contend with a strong Opposition, but he will also have to deal with a sizable group of his own party legislators owing allegiance to Union minister Harish Rawat, who is still smarting over being denied the Chief Minister’s post. Congress leaders, who were sent from Delhi to oversee the smooth election of the new Speaker in Dehradun, have reported that the tension between the new Chief Minister and his party MLAs was hard to miss. Most legislators sauntered in leisurely for the party meeting prior to the election while a lone Vijay Bahuguna was seen making frantic enquiries to make sure that everybody was present. However, the CM’s attempts to assert his authority were immediately rebuffed. For instance, when he questioned an MLA for coming late, the unapologetic legislator quickly shot back aggressively, ”Don’t you know the Navratras are on these days. There is a lot of work at home and we also have to perform puja.” As for Bahuguna, he was left making placatory noises. Porngate hits iPad use in House
When MPs were sanctioned free iPads by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats last year, the new gizmo generated considerable excitement among the Parliamentarians. Even the least tech-savvy MPs proved to be adept learners as many of them were soon seen using their newly-acquired tablet. However, the initial enthusiasm appears to have somewhat ebbed after the infamous porn-viewing scandal erupted in Karnataka. With several ministers caught viewing porn clips on their high-tech cellphones and tablets, many MPs admit they are now wary of using their iPads as it immediately arouses suspicion among others.
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The Vijay Bahuguna-led government in Uttarakhand may have sailed through the trust vote last week, but it is not going to be easy for the new Chief Minister to administer the state. Not only will he have to contend with a strong Opposition, but he will also have to deal with a sizable group of his own party legislators owing allegiance to Union minister Harish
Rawat, who is still smarting over being denied the Chief Minister’s post.
New Delhi, April 1
New Delhi, April 1
