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Centre: Haj subsidy to be
once-in-a-lifetime affair
Involve locals in developing tourism products: FICCI
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Odisha hostage crisis
New protocol for monitoring of tigers out
Mission to empower women runs into rough weather
Asia’s first dolphin research centre in Bihar
Mumbai attacks
YSR Congress launches mobile app
Maya: Parties conspired to dethrone me
job fair
Nitish in Mumbai, launches charm offensive
Six peacocks found dead in AP village
Jantar Mantar
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Centre: Haj subsidy to be once-in-a-lifetime affair
New Delhi, April 15 In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the government said the new guidelines have been framed to ensure that priority is given to those applicants who have never performed Haj. "This is a major change introduced for the first time. This will ensure that the Haji will benefit from government subsidy only once in his/her lifetime. It will also ensure that priority is given to those applicants who have never performed Haj," the Centre said. The government, however, refrained from disclosing the amount of subsidy being incurred by it for 2012 saying, "The exact figure in respect of the travel subsidy to the pilgrims going through Haj Committee of India for 2012 will be known after the Hajis completed their Haj journey and return to India." According to the government, priority will be given to those who are in the 70 plus category and those who had unsuccessfully applied thrice earlier for the subsidy. The Centre's affidavit comes in the backdrop of certain searching questions raised by the apex court on February 24. A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai had directed the Centre to provide details of subsidy given by it and criteria adopted for allocation of seats to state committees. The apex court frowned at the practice of sending official delegations to accompany the pilgrims and had asked the Centre to furnish entire details regarding Haj subsidy, as also to the criteria adopted. The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by the Centre challenging a Bombay High Court judgement which had directed the Ministry of External Affairs to allow certain private operators to operate the services of 800 of the 11,000 pilgrims earmarked under the VIP quota subsidised by the government. Earlier, the bench had pulled up the Centre's practice of "politicising" the annual Haj pilgrimage by permitting official delegations to accompany the pilgrims, for which the government offers huge subsidy, saying, "It's a bad religious practice."
— PTI New guidelines
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Involve locals in developing tourism products: FICCI
Cases of resistance to ventures of rural tourism, which is now emerging as the niche segment for the industry world-over, have prompted a study to strongly advocate making local community a part of the product right from the point of conceptualising to avoid antagonism from the local populace at a later stage.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) -Yes Bank report on indigenous tourism, released at the launch of the “The Great Indian Travel Bazaar” in the Pink City on Sunday, attributed the failure of a large number of rural projects in India to the alienation of locals from the ventures. A major reason for community antagonism is the disruption in traditional lifestyles, which developers often make the mistake of ascribing as “compliance” or “standards”. The study is of the view that while some basics like safety and hygiene are indispensable to any business, or even subsistence in general, certain facets of the “cold drink-potato chip” scenario are wholly avoidable and should not be enforced as they not only affect business models but try to detriment socio-cultural fabric of the society and this is where the antagonism emancipates from. The report says a lot of rural projects in the country have been unsuccessful because local community was not involved in strategising and decision-making processes, often leading to antagonism and even violence in extreme cases. “Rather than forcing business options upon communities, it would be wiser to make them a part of the process from the beginning,” it recommends. Scant regard for preserving the environment and absence of a policy framework based on the ground realities stops the indigenous tourism from realising its complete potential in contributing to social and economic inclusive growth community tourism. Inadequate involvement of the community in developing products is a primary reason, due to which India has not been able to tap its inherent potential and join the exclusive club of community tourism, which is changing the landscape of rural economies in developing countries across the world. While rural economies in developing countries have allotted sufficient funds and policy frameworks for the purpose, Indian policies are very basic and principle-oriented in nature, alienating them from ground scenarios and making execution strategies difficult to implement. While the study advocates reframing the framework to bridge the lacunae, it also calls for ironing out ripples in marketing and promotion. The study says the Incredible India campaign has taken rural tourism as a key niche and there is ample representation in advertising, but these products are often marketed as “standalones”. A better strategy, therefore, might be to assimilate the ethos into traditional tourism products like New Zealand has done in case of certain adventure activities. Another reason why India, despite great potential, is losing on footfall is due to the lack of quality human resource, especially when it comes to service-oriented roles. The quality of training resources and infrastructure needs to get to the next level to churn out a competitive workforce. While the training infrastructure for the sector is evolving, the focus is still upon the operations and logistical aspects rather than establishing businesses. The Indian tourist, or more specifically his or her “behaviour”, is also proving to be a difficult area. The growth of the Indian travel industry is a recent phenomenon and with the rise in disposable incomes and the quality of services demanded is also growing up. However, the Indian tourist has still not evolved to a level where “quality” can be differentiated from “leisure” or “comfort” and often turns out demanding a resort-like experience in a village atmosphere. Therefore, even though the niche is evolving fast and new tourism models boast of world-class infrastructure even for homestays, tourists also need to be discerning in respecting the local environs. Community antagonism
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Golf course threatens World Heritage status of Golconda Fort
Hyderabad, April 15 The majestic fort, built by the Qutub Shahi dynasty, may slip into history if the unbridled encroachments around the area and the government-sponsored construction activity are not stopped immediately, the environmentalists have warned. At the centre of the controversy is the proposed 18-hole golf course being laid out on 212.17 acres within the protected areas around the fort. Out of this, 50 acres are in the Naya Qila area inside the fort walls, representatives of several NGOs have pointed out. Naya Qila is an extension of the original fort and was built around 1629 with an aim to protect the old one from the Mughals. Apart from causing environmental damage to the monument, the development of golf course might prompt UNESCO to remove Golconda Fort from its proposed list of World Heritage sites. “The golf course is being developed in gross violation of the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. “No formal permission has been obtained yet from the Archaeological Survey of India under whose protection the monument exists,” said M Vedakumar, president of Forum for Better Hyderabad, a city-based NGO. He pointed out that the ASI, in a notification in January 1986, declared the fort as a prohibited area for the purpose of construction and mining operations. Any construction within 100m of a protected monument is prohibited. But conservationists alleged that the promoters of the golf course have been violating the rules. Ignoring these declarations, the state government accorded permission for the golf course in 2001, ostensibly for promotion of tourism and to prevent further encroachments in the area. The serious violations include changing the contours of the land, digging the soil in the prohibited area, filling up of the moat around the fort, using of heavy machinery, cutting and blasting rocks in the Naya Qila area endangering the foundation of the fort and preventing access to tourists and the public. Representatives of the NGO are demanding cancellation of the golf course project in the fort area and restoration of heritage structures by undoing all damages done. The UNESCO has already expressed its concern over the construction of the golf course. “They initially developed a nine-hole golf course at Jamalikunta area adjoining the fort. Now, they are concentrating on extending the course inside the walls of Naya Qila,” the NGO representative said adding that the promoters had done lot of damage to the monument. However, the HGA claimed the golf course would not damage the heritage site. “We have the necessary permission and work is being executed under the direct supervision of an expert committee,” HGA Chairman Captain Asadulla Pasha said.
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Odisha hostage crisis
The Maoists, who had earlier demanded release of 30 prisoners to free the tribal MLA, have also omitted the name of Chenda Bhusanam alias Ghasi, accused of killing at least 55 police personnel, from the list, he said. The demand for release of Ghasi had drawn protest from different quarters including the police force with Odisha Police Association (OPA) threatening to boycott anti-naxal operations if hardcore Maoists like him were freed to secure the release of the 37-year-old Laxmipur legislator. The abductors, however, stuck to their condition of a prisoner-hostage exchange. They want the abducted MLA's wife, Kaushalya and the lawyer to accompany the 29 freed rebels to release Hikaka, Patnaik said. The message about extension of deadline was the first communication from the MLA's abductors in the last four days. The Odisha Government was yet to respond to the fresh message from the Maoists. "We have come to know about it from the media. It needs to be examined," a senior official said. Hikaka, who was abducted by Maoists on March 24 in Koraput, continues to be in their captivity. Two Italians, abducted by a separate Naxal group on March 14 in Kandhamal, have been set free. Though Ghasi's name is out of the list now, it may still be difficult for the Odisha government to arrange physical presence of freed prisoners at Balipeta in naxal hotbed of Narayanpatna in Koraput district. The government has agreed to release 23 prisoners -- 15 Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS) members and eight Maoists -- but another problem is the rebels' reluctance to seek bail as they want complete withdrawal of the cases against them. State Home Secretary UN Behera said efforts were on to convince lawyers of Maoists and CMAS members to move bail petitions and the government was hopeful that they would file bail petitions by Tuesday. "However, the government is yet to take a decision on the demand of abductors to free more people," he said. The fresh message from the abductors came as a sign of relief for Odisha government which had started exploring back channel
negotiations with the ultras to strike a swap deal. — PTI Fresh message
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New protocol for monitoring of tigers out
Bangalore, April 15 Welcoming the step, Ullas Karanth, Bangalore-based expert on tiger conservation, said the new protocol would put India’s tiger monitoring programme well ahead of big cat monitoring programmes in other countries. Karanth is a recipient of the Padma Shri award for his contributions to wildlife conservation and environment protection. “I and my colleagues have been working with the NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India, in a supportive technical role, in developing the protocol since 2009. When implemented fully, these refinements will put India’s tiger monitoring programme well ahead of any other monitoring programme for big cats, anywhere in the world,” said Karanth, the second Indian after late ornithologist Salim Ali to receive the prestigious J Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership. The new protocol would enable state forest departments to formally collaborate with qualified scientists to get an estimate of minimum numbers and population density of tigers, change in number of tigers over time, survival and other crucial data. The protocol specifies strict standards for conduct of camera trap and fecal DNA surveys of important source populations of tigers as well as conduct of line transect surveys to find out density of prey. According to the new protocol, the camera traps deployed should be left open for a period of 40-60 days. If deployment of camera traps in an entire reserve or parts of it is not feasible for any reason, fecal DNA samples may be collected over the entire tiger reserve for the “capture-recapture” analysis. The tiger population size may then be estimated over the entire tiger reserve using mark-recapture methodology. With regard to line transects data for ascertaining prey density, the new protocol laid down that these must be systematically placed with a random start and the data should be analysed in collaboration with a technical expert or scientist conversant with the “distance sampling” analysis. The protocol will work in tandem with a national tiger photographic data base repository to be developed and maintained at the NTCA. THE REFINEMENTS
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IAF facing critical shortages, officials tell House panel
New Delhi, April 15 The IAF has 34 fighter squadrons against the sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons and the number is likely to reduce further to 31 during the 12th plan period, the parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence was told during a recent presentation by top officials of IAF and the Defence Ministry. The number of fighter aircraft due for retirement after completion of their technical life far exceeds the rate at which their replacements can be inducted in the IAF, the officials said. The different variants of MiG-21s and MiG-27s are being phased out during the 12th and 13th plan period and these are planned to be replaced with Su-30 MKI, medium multi-role combat aircraft, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and fifth generation fighter aircraft. They noted that it was "very much apparent" that the induction process has not been commensurate with the de-induction exercise. With regard to trainer planes, the Committee was told that IAF has requirement of 181 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA), 85 Intermediate Jet Trainers (IJT) and 106 Advanced Jet Trainers (AJT). The IAF does not have a Basic Trainer Aircraft as HPT-32 fleet has been grounded after a fatal accident on July 31, 2009. The Committee was told that Kiran aircraft are presently being used for training of pilots at stage-I, fighter pilots at stage-II and under trainee flying instructors.
— PTI Reality Bites
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Mission to empower women runs into rough weather
There is a quiet move to convert this mission, under the National Resource Centre for Women (NRCW), into a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The Ministry of Women and Child is learnt to be grappling with the note floated recently on the methodology to be followed to let the mission function outside the day-to-day supervisory control of the Ministry. The mission was set up on the recommendations of the Committee of Governors that went into the issue of holistic empowerment of women with emphasis on socio-economic empowerment. The role of the mission was to establish coordinated planning and convergence of socio-economic projects of various ministries both at the Centre and the states to achieve synergy in budgeting and implementation of women-centric programmes. While the Prime Minister is the supreme head of the mission, its state-level chapters are to be headed by Chief Ministers. Though at a nascent stage, efforts to launch state-level missions are facing resistance from more progressive states such as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which see the role of the mission as intrusive and an unnecessary burden on their already successful programmes. But some less developed states like Bihar and Rajasthan have responded positively to the overtures. Survival of the mission would not only depend on the extent of positive participation that it elicits from 13 participating ministries, but also on the Planning Commission agreeing to include the financial requirements of the mission in the 12th Plan. Viewed in these circumstances, the conversion of the mission into a society, independent from the ministries’ control, would appear to be premature. Presently, under the administrative and financial control of the ministry, the mission is headed by 1979-batch IAS officer of Additional Secretary-level Nilanjan Sanyal in the role of Mission Director. The Executive Director is a 1989-batch officer of the Delhi Administration and Andaman and Nicobar cadre, Rashmi Singh. It is staffed with subject specialists recruited on annual contract. Sources at the DoPT said that the move to make the mission into a society is apparently aimed at conferring “greater functional autonomy” to the Executive Director and assist in continuing with her services at the mission. The present recruitment rules of the mission require the Executive Director to be recruited openly, instead of getting some one on deputation. Though selected through a recruitment process, Rashmi Singh’s tenure was treated as a “deputation” despite resistance from the DoPT, as she had not been empanelled by the department for a central staffing pattern deputation. However, her tenure has been “regularised” till June 2012 by the Home Ministry under which Delhi Government officials work. If the post were to be made available on deputation basis, the Ministry of Women and Child Development would necessarily have to pick an officer from the panel made available by the DoPT. Formation of the society would open up an opportunity to redraw recruitment rules afresh, which would enable the Ministry to directly borrow the services of officials like Rashmi Singh. This would help the Ministry bypass the DoPT as it will amount to “a deal between the Society and the Delhi Government”. But the long-term impact of such a move may be far-reaching in so far as it overturns the basis for creation of a mission with the PM at the helm, namely to achieve greater coordination between the ministries in implementing various programmes for empowerment of women. Many announcements in the Finance Minister’s Budget speech were aimed at pleasing the huge woman vote bank. Obviously, the UPA government recognises the importance of the woman vote bank for 2014, particularly after the recent setbacks in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Presidential Push
President Pratibha Patil had backed the proposal for the mission for empowerment of women wholeheartedly. She had ensured its implementation, with the reluctant Planning Commission making funds available for setting up of the mission for two years to begin
with.
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Asia’s first dolphin research centre in Bihar
An official in the Chief Minister's Office said the Gangetic dolphin research centre would be set up in Patna, where dozens of dolphins can still be seen in the stretch of the river near the state capital. The man behind the proposal is RK Sinha, an expert on Gangetic river dolphins and chairperson of the working group for dolphin conservation set up by the Centre. He said the Centre was suggested by the Planning Commission and subsequently received "in-principle" approval by the state government. "A final decision in this regard is likely soon," said Sinha, popularly known as the dolphin man. Gopal Sharma, a scientist with the Zoological Survey of India here, said the centre would carry out research activities on the dolphin and also conduct a census in rivers in Bihar. The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, India's only dolphin sanctuary, spread over 50 km along the Ganges, is located in Bihar's Bhagalpur district. Last year, the Bihar Government decided to set up a task force for the conservation of endangered species. The Gangetic river dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world. The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China, the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river in South America. The Gangetic river species - found in India, Bangladesh and Nepal - is blind and finds its way and prey in the river waters through 'echoes'.
— IANS
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Mumbai attacks
New Delhi, April 15 Outalha, during her stay in Pakistan, had met Saeed and complained about Headley to him. She had also gone to the US Embassy in Islamabad to complain against the American-born terrorist and his links with terror groups like LeT and Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami, sources said, adding her statement would be recorded as a witness. The Letters Rogatory was recently sent to the Indian Mission in Rabat, the Moroccan capital city, which was passed on to the Moroccan Foreign and Cooperation Ministry, requesting access to Outalha to record her statement, official sources said. Sources said Outalha could give crucial evidence in nailing the lies of Saeed, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) boss who has been attempting to throw a veil over his terror activities under the garb of being associated with the humanitarian activities of Jamaat-ul-Dawa (JuD). The request was passed following approval of a plea of the National Investigation Agency seeking the cooperation of Moroccan authorities in recording her statement, which was also likely to be annexed with the production warrant for Headley to be sent soon as the special court of HS Sharma has sought his appearance on May 31. Outalha, who married 50-year-old Headley in February 2007 and divorced a year later, had been able to give security agencies an insight into the personal life of Headley which included connections he had in Mumbai, including with some socialites. While Outalha claimed that she had since been divorced as Headley allegedly had affairs with several women, investigators also got information from her about his alleged links with some upcoming Bollywood actors, prominent party-hoppers of Mumbai and socialites. — PTI Hopes to bring out role of Hafiz Saeed in the 26/11 attacks Ms KNOW-ALL?
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YSR Congress launches mobile app
Hyderabad, April 15 The party has launched an application for Andriod-based mobile phones to make all information about its activities accessible to the people. The photographs and video footage of events covering Jagan’s road shows, news and press releases can now be downloaded on mobile phones. The mobile application can be downloaded from the “play.google.com” or “ysrcongress.mobi” using any android-enabled smart mobile phones. While launching the MobiApp, Jagan said it would help in reaching out to the masses across the state, especially the youth, students and smart phone users. The application is freely available for download.
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Maya: Parties conspired to dethrone me Lucknow, April 15 Inaugurating the Bhim Mela, she urged party supporters, former ministers, party MLAs and MPs to brace for the 2014 parliamentary elections. She charged the SP of indulging in political vendetta by targeting Dalit voters, workers, officials and even BSP members in recent weeks. Terming the Samajwadi Party rule as the return of "jungle raj" and "goonda raj", she said anarchy had returned to the state. After garlanding a statue of Dr Ambedkar at the Gomti Nagar Park in Lucknow yesterday, she had dared the CM against tampering with her Dalit icons. From her speech and style it appeared that the electoral defeat had not blunted the sting nor did taught her any lesson.
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job fair
Bangalore, April 15 Sixty-five (65) private sector firms, including biggies such as Infosys, Wipro, TVS Motors, etc, participate in the fair where 1,500 ex-servicemen, nine widows and 21 children of martyred soldiers were present. In all, 2,435 vacancies were on offer at the job fair. While 435 vacancies were filled on the spot, appointment letters to 600 more aspirants were being sent by post, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. Major-General KS Venugopal, GOC, Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area, said today’s job fair was a small step. Similar job fairs would be held every six months at various places in Karnataka and Kerala, he said.
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Nitish in Mumbai, launches charm offensive Mumbai, April 15 He began his speech in Marathi at a function organised in Mumbai to mark the centenary of the foundation of Bihar state. — PTI
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Six peacocks found dead in AP village
Karimnagar, April 15 Forest officials from Sircilla division have sent the carcasses for post mortem. — PTI
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Jantar Mantar
Singhvi was singled for this special favour for purely technical reasons. Singhvi heads the standing committee on the Law and Justice ministry. But he was unable to convene the committee meetings till he was sworn in again since his earlier term as Rajya Sabha member ended last month. A special swearing in had to be arranged quickly to enable Singhvi to chair the panel as the standing committee has to scrutinise the budgetary proposals and submit its report to Parliament when it reconvenes after the recess. Mukul Roy means business
The Trinamool minister took exception to the decision not to extend the proposed royalty revision on coal to the state of West Bengal till it withdraws the cess imposed by it. Roy then raised objections to certain provisions in the new Public Procurement Bill on the plea that the Railways would suffer as it would slow down the process of acquiring goods and material. He also restated his party’s unequivocal opposition to the present Lokpal Bill as it makes it incumbent for state governments to set up lokayuktas.
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The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to restrict Haj pilgrimage at government subsidy to Muslims only as a
"once-in- a-lifetime" affair as against the existing policy of "once in five years".
Bangalore, April 15
Koraput/Bhubaneswar, April 15
New Delhi, April 15
Patna, April 15
All the newly elected Rajya Sabha members are slated to take oath when the second half of the budget session of Parliament resumes on April 24. However, an exception was made in the case of Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi who was sworn in alone following his re-election by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari in his chamber last week.
Trinamool Congress nominee and new Railway Minister Mukul Roy made his presence felt at last week’s Cabinet meeting. Following in the footsteps of his fiery leader, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Roy let it be known that his party could not be taken for granted.