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Cong, BJP spar over Sonia’s foreign visits, health bills
Permanent forum to solve state water disputes likely
‘Dead’ KCF terrorist arrested in Delhi
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Northern Railway safety awards for 4
Centre to develop 2 ‘smart’ cities in each state
Elderly count in India to treble by 2050
Judges in info panels: AG advises Centre to file review plea
Each state to have two ‘smart’ cities
DRDO develops hybrid cows,
goats for high-altitude areas
All set for 2-day world women Speakers’ meet
IAF to upgrade UAV fleet
2,000 km, 56 days, 9 crore people Vidya Balan
Rhino poaching exposes cracks in Gogoi ministry
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Cong, BJP spar over Sonia’s foreign visits, health bills
New Delhi, October 2 Taking forward the charge, first levelled by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, that Rs 1,880 crore was spent on Sonia Gandhi’s travel and health, the BJP said the Congress should make it clear how much money was spent on these things instead of trying to divert attention from the issue. “We give good wishes for the health of Sonia Gandhi, but please clarify if the expenses were paid from the public treasury,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said. “We condemn the Congress’ approach in diverting and adding issues that have not been raised by the Gujarat Chief Minister. He has very clearly quoted media sources and raised a question. If you are genuinely interested in answering the question, you would say what was the amount spent,” the BJP spokesperson said. “If the figure quoted was not correct or the amount was not spent from public exchequer, then what is the correct position?” he said. Modi, meanwhile, reiterated the charge in Gandhinagar today. He sought disclosure about the money spent on Sonia Gandhi’s foreign visits ever since the UPA came to power in 2004. He said his comment quoting the figure was based on a newspaper report on reply to a Hisar-based RTI activist. He expressed willingness to tender a public apology if the charge was found incorrect. Separately, the activist disputed the contents stating he never received this information in response to the RTI he had filed in that regard. Congress dismissed Modi’s charge as “falsehood” and said it was regrettable that he resorted to “blatant lies” that now stood exposed after disclosures by the activist. Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said Modi levelled allegations against Sonia just to divert attention of the people of Gujarat from the real issues confronting the state. He said the Chief Minister did never answer to the charges levelled by MPs in a representation to the Central Vigilance Commission that a sum of Rs 1 lakh crore has been “plundered over the past 11 years in 17 different scams”. The BJP Chief Minister’s frontal attack comes at a time when his government is preparing to face an electoral battle to retain power in the state for the third time with the Congress being the principal party challenging it.
— Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP spokesperson
— Manish Tiwari, Cong spokesman
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Permanent forum to solve state water disputes likely
New Delhi, October 2 Water resources and irrigation ministers from states will discuss these tricky issues at a national level conference being held here tomorrow. Officials say a possible solution to the increasing controversies between states on water-related issues is to build consensus in favour of a permanent forum at the national level to deliberate upon the issues relating to water on regular basis and evolve consensus, co-operation and reconciliation. However, the issues of ‘permanent forum’ and ‘over-arching national legal framework’ are expected to result in fireworks during the discussions. Water is a state subject and even a remote hint of infringement of rights is not expected to be taken lying down by the states like Punjab and the non-UPA-governed states alleging infringement of federal structure. The issue of over-arching national legal framework had come under attack from states when the Draft National Water Policy 2012 was being discussed earlier this year. The issues relating to water governance have not been addressed adequately. Mismanagement of water resources has led to a critical situation in many parts of the country. The problem is that water resources projects, though multi-disciplinary with multiple stakeholders, are being planned and implemented in a fragmented manner without giving due consideration to the optimum utilisation and environment sustainability. Inter-regional, inter-state, intra-state as also the inter-sectoral disputes in sharing of water further hamper the optimal utilisation of water through scientific planning.
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‘Dead’ KCF terrorist arrested in Delhi
New Delhi, October 2 Gaganpreet and Pradeep are also residents of Hoshiarpur. Ranjit Singh, an alleged international drug trafficker, had escaped from Delhi Police custody on September 24 in Ludhiana. Delhi Police sources said Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukhi belonged to the banned Khalistan Commando Force (KCF). They said in 1992, he managed to get himself declared dead in an encounter in Punjab and went underground till August 1995. He started working in Jalandhar under the fake identity of Harjeet Kahlon and also had a passport issued through a tout in 1998, it was added. Police said he started travel and tour operations but went underground again following registration of a case of obtaining a passport on fake identity. He went on shifting bases in Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, Ramgarh, Rajasthan and different cities of Punjab. Police said Sukhwinder was a close aide of Ranjit Singh and was asked to arrange supply of ephedrine. “Ranjit Singh is an international drug trafficker and had escaped police custody on September 24. Gaganpreet Singh was arrested at the same location,” said a police officer. Police officers said they had recovered three pistols along with 15 live cartridges and 411 gram heroin, ephedrine, one BMW car, one Accent car and one Twister motorcycle from the possession of those arrested. They have
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Northern Railway safety awards for 4
New Delhi, October 2 Those honoured on the occasion included Ashutosh Singh, Cabin Assistant Station Master, Dhandari Kalan, Firozpur division. On June 14, 2012, Ashutosh noticed a hot axle in Jammu-Tawi goods train. He promptly got the hot axle wagon isolated and a fire incident was averted. Somatya Ram Meena, permanent way maintenance staff of the Makrauli station in the Rohtak-Gohana section of Delhi division, found some fish plates loosened during an inspection of the Rohtak-Gohana track on July 28, 2012. He immediately put up a banner flag, thus avoiding a possible mishap. Surya Pratap Yadav, a technician of the Carriage and Works Department at Sultanpur Washing line, discovered a crack in the axle box cover plate in a coach of the Sadbhavana Express on July 31, 2012. Early detection helped averting an accident. Ram Raj, a porter at the Arkha station in Rae Bareli-Unchahar-Prayag section, noticed side-bearer bolts of an empty wagon missing. He informed the station master. His timely action helped avoid a possible accident.
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IAF working to phase out MiG-27 by 2017
New Delhi, October 2 The IAF operates about 80 (four squadrons) of these aircraft in its fleet and due to the recurring problems in their engines, it had to ground all of them after a crash about two years ago. "We are planning to phase out the MiG-27s, of which around 80 are still in service, by the year 2017," senior IAF officials told PTI here. The IAF has deployed two squadrons each of the aircraft in Jodhpur in Rajasthan and Kalaikunda in West Bengal at present. About two years, a study was conducted to check the problems in the engines of the aircraft and it was found that the R-29s engines have developed some defect which was very difficult to be corrected, they said. After the report, IAF took a considered decision about retiring these aircraft from operational service in a phased manner, the officials said. "The first to be phased out would be the two squadrons based in Kalaikunda and then by 2017, the remaining two deployed in Jodhpur would also be on their way out of the force," they said. The squadrons based in Jodhpur had undergone upgrades at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited recently and that is why they have more life left in them, the officials said. The IAF is also planning to phase out the crash-prone MiG-21 combat aircraft around the same timeframe. The MiG-23 fighter and bomber aircraft that were inducted in the 1980s have already been phased out. — PTI
On its way out
The IAF operates about 80 (four squadrons) of MiG-27 aircraft in its fleet Due to recurring problems in its engines, it had to ground all MiG-27 after a crash about two years ago It was found that the planes' R-29s engines had developed a defect that was very difficult to be corrected
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Centre to develop 2 ‘smart’ cities in each state
New Delhi, October 2 The minister disclosed this after discussing the issue with an Austrian delegation. It was decided that the Union government would take the issue forward after taking the state government into confidence. “In the beginning, we will not take up big cities. We will take up cities that have less that half a million population,” Kamal Nath said. He said in Madhya Pradesh, the government had decided to make Ujjain and Jabalpur model smart cities. “We have an urban renewal mission. Under this scheme, the Centre funds the cities and one of our programmes is that we propose to have two smart cities in every state. Austria has expertise of the latest technology for developing infrastructure for smart cities. The government of India will take help from the Austrian Institute of Technology for the purpose,” he said. “The smart cities will incorporate features right from broadband and intelligent transport to carbon neutral status. There are many components for a model smart city for which we propose to collaborate with the Austrian Institute of Technology,” he said.
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Elderly count in India to treble by 2050
New Delhi, October 2 A new UNFPA-HelpAge International Report titled, “Ageing in the 21st century” released yesterday on the occasion of International Day for the Elderly, forewarns Indian policy makers on the consequences of an ageing society by saying that India is already home to the world’s second largest ageing population. Contrastingly, China will have almost 33.9 per cent of its people in the 60-plus range as against 13.3 per cent today. Japan would still remain the oldest country in the world with its distinction of being the only nation globally where over 30 per cent of the people are already 60-plus. The report says that by 2050, there will be more people in the above-60 age group than in under-15 by 2050. The number of centenarians alone will rise from 3,15,600 today to 3.2 million by 2050, requiring new interventions. India has 11,000 to 22,000 centenarians today. It will have more 100-plus people than China by 2050, says the report. It also says that the number of older persons globally is projected to reach one billion in less than 10 years and by 2050, nearly 80 pc of the world’s older persons would be living in developing countries, with India and China contributing to over one-third. The report warns India that “between 2000 and 2050, overall population of India is anticipated to grow by 60 pc while the population of elderly and above would shoot up by about 360 per cent. By 2026, the elderly population in India will be 173 million.” A countrywide analysis shows that today, around 75 per cent of the Indian elderly live in rural areas of which over 48 per cent are women and of this, 55 per cent are widows. “This calls for targeted action,” the report adds. Another challenge for India is-one-fifth of the elderly live alone or with their spouse. This proportion has registered a sharp increase over the past two decades and is more evident in case of elderly women. “The percentage of elderly living alone or with spouse is as high as 45 pc in Tamil Nadu. Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala are other states that have a high proportion of elderly living alone or with spouse. This indicates that with the demographic transition and youth migrating out for economic reasons, there will be a drastic change in living arrangement of elderly in rural and urban areas of the country,” the report adds. It says that 12 million elderly out of 90 million in India are blind and 65 pc suffer from chronic diseases requiring proper health coverage.
GREY MATTERS
Elderly population will be 315 million, constituting 20% of the total population by 2050 The number of above-60 year women would exceed the number of elderly men by 18.4 million Around 90% elderly have to work for a livelihood; majority of them are illiterate 12 million Indian elderly are blind The number of old persons will be 1 billion over the next 10 years world over; India and China will house one-third of them
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Judges in info panels: AG advises Centre to file review plea
New Delhi, October 2 In a far-reaching ruling, the Supreme Court had said since the Central and State Information Commissions are quasi-judicial bodies, these should function as two-member benches with one person being a judicial member. It also asked all the information commissions to frame rules for proper appointment of Information
Commissioners. The Law Ministry had sought Vahanvati’s advice following pressing demands from activists that the Centre seek clarifications from the apex court on this ruling as it had hit working of the state information
commissions. After examining the order and following detailed discussions with officials of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Vahanvati said in view of its far-reaching effects, the government should immediately file a review petition “pointing out the patent errors, contradictions and inconsistencies in the judgement”. He underlined the need for a swift response on the ground that the order “is capable of creating disarray in the working of the Central and State Information
Commissions”. The Attorney General also maintained there is no question of referring the matter to a larger bench at this
stage. “Since the judgment states it would operate prospectively, in my opinion, the CIC and the State Commissions may continue to act despite the cloud in the qualifications,” he
advised. Vahanvati suggested that an application for an oral hearing must be made along with the review petition in view of the fact that one of the grievances of the DoPT has been that it was not given a proper opportunity to place its view before the
court. While the Centre is yet to act on the Attorney General’s advice, the SC order has resulted in a virtual shutdown of as many as one-fourth of the information commissions across the country. The legal departments of several states are said to have advised information commissions to stop work till further orders.
The order
In a far-reaching ruling, the Supreme Court had said since the Central and State Information Commissions are quasi-judicial bodies, these should function as two-member benches with one person being a judicial
member It also asked all the information commissions to frame rules for proper appointment of Information Commissioners
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Each state to have two ‘smart’ cities
New Delhi, October
2 The minister disclosed this after discussing the issue with an Austrian delegation. It was decided that the Union government would take the issue forward after taking the state government into confidence. “In the beginning, we will not take up big cities. We will take up cities that have less that half a million population,” Kamal Nath said.
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DRDO develops hybrid cows,
goats for high-altitude areas
New Delhi, October 2 The animals — cows, goats and mules — have been developed by Leh-based Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR). "Earlier soldiers were using packaged milk and meat. But the hybrid cow- crossbreed of Ladakhi yak and high-yielding Sahiwal cows found in the plains- is able to give 25 litres of milk everyday," DRDO Chief Controller Research and Development W Selvamurthy
said. "With these new varieties in place, over 25 per cent of milk and meat requirements of the armed forces can be met locally," he said
here. Similarly, the high altitude resistant goats can withstand minus 50 degree Celsius to meet the daily requirement of meat for the soldiers posted there, he
added. The defence scientists have also developed hybrid mules — termed as 'Zanskar ponies' — that can carry loads to heights, earlier considered out of range for these
animals. "The development of these mules allows us to ensure regular supply of fresh food and other essentials to posts located in higher mountains," Selvamurthy
said. Development of these animals has also provided the local people an additional livelihood opportunity as increasing number of people are showing their interest in rearing these animals. — PTI
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Jaiswal sparks row with sexist remark
Kanpur/New Delhi, Oct 2 Facing flak for his remarks at a kavi sammelan in Kanpur on Sunday night, Jaiswal offered an apology, saying he had no intention to hurt the sentiments of
women. Jaiswal also came under attack from opposition BJP which raised questions on his continuance in the Union
Cabinet. Protesters including women burnt effigies of Jaiswal and blackened posters with his face on it in his home town in
Kanpur. Jaiswal, who was addressing the sammelan when news of India's victory over Pakistan in a ICC World Twenty20 match in Sri Lanka came in, said that like an old victory wives lose charm as time goes
by. Observing that people became excited after India's victory, Jaiswal said, "new new victory and new new wedding, both of them have their own importance. As time will pass, the victory will become old. As time passes wife also becomes old, that charm does not sustain."
Jaiswal claimed today his comments were misconstrued and taken out of context and that he apologised for the same if they have hurt the sentiments of
women. "When I was inaugurating a kavi sammelan news came that India beat Pakistan and people started bursting crackers. I stopped the sammelan and said that you celebrate the victory first since the charm of celebration is for new victory only. If it will get old the charm will get lost like the way a wife gets old then celebration of marriage does not remain that enjoyable. Similarly, if the victory will become old you will not enjoy celebration in the morning. My remarks have been misconstrued," he told reporters in
Delhi. "The comment is really derogatory," said Mamata Sharma, Chairperson of National Commission for Women (NCW) while BJP's women's wing chief Smriti Irani called the remarks "preposterous and disgusting." Congress distanced itself from the remarks of
Jaiswal. "Since he has already clarified/explained/apologised, the matter should rest there," Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari told reporters in Delhi. — PTI
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All set for 2-day world women Speakers’ meet
New Delhi, October 2 The two-day women Speakers’ meeting, to be hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, has on its agenda a discussion on how to make parliaments gender-sensitive. It will also debate the IPU study before coming out with an action
plan. The IPU rankings rely mainly on women’s representation in parliaments where India is placed behind all South Asian parliaments except Sri Lanka’s which is 133rd. Globally, Nepal is the best-ranked with the 21st position, courtesy one of the highest global representations for women in its Lower House which has 33.2 per cent women MPs. Rwanda with 56.30 per cent women in its Lower House and 38.5 per cent in the Upper House leads the world
rankings. India has 11 per cent women in its Lower House (60 out of 545 MPs) and 10.6 per cent (26 out of 245) in the Upper House and is bracketed with Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire at the 109th
position. Ahead of India on gender sensitivity is the Parliament of Afghanistan (37th with 27 per cent women), Iraq (43rd with 25.2 per cent women); Pakistan (56th), China (63rd with 21.3 per cent women) and Bangladesh 69th. Even Sierra Leone and Jamaica with 98th and 100th positions are better than
India. The conference, to be attended by 35 Speakers and inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee, comes at a time when the IPU has revealed that only 37 women currently preside over one of the Houses of the 190 parliaments globally; 77 of these are bicameral (two Houses).
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IAF to upgrade UAV fleet
New Delhi, October 2 The three services operate a fleet of more than 150 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) procured from the Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) over the
decades. "Under the Rs 5,000 crore project, we will upgrade the capabilities of the UAVs in all the three services with the help of the original equipment manufacturer, IAI," a senior IAF official said
here. The IAF flies the Israeli-made Searcher II and Heron UAVs for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes and about 100 Searchers are in operation on Indian borders in western, northern and eastern
regions. After the upgrades, the IAF would be capable of operating these aircraft from far-off distances and control them through satellite communication system, he
said. The IAF has been saying in the recent past that it wants to increase the number of UAVs in the force and a team has also been formed at the Air Headquarters which is looking at the requirement of these machines in the force, the official said. The Army also operates a sizeable number of UAVs and has deployed them in borders along the western and eastern fronts. — PTI
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2,000 km, 56 days, 9 crore people Shiv Kumar/TNS
Mumbai, October 2 The yatra will cover 2,000 km across five states over the next 56 days. The campaign, which will conclude at Bihar's Bettiah district on November 19, will reach out to 9 crore people, the state government statement said. The Central Government has roped in Balan as the brand ambassador in the campaign against open defecation. So far, Sikkim is the only state to have completely eradicated open defecaton. Some other states like Kerala, HImachal Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra have announced that they plan to completely eradicate open defecation. According to Ramesh's ministry, more than 626 million people in India still defecate in the open since much of the population do not have access to toilets. Maharashtra Government officials say the yatra has been planned on the lines of a travelling fair with entertainers and local celebrities using themes varying from Bollywood to cricket to pass on the message of hygiene in the country. The campaign also aims to promote the benefits of washing hands using soap. The yatra which kicks off from Wardha will pass through Indore, Kota, Gwalior and Gorakhpur before ending at Bettiah. The Rural Development Ministry says local politicians and cricketers will participate in the yatra in various stages.
Reaching Out
Over 626 million people in the country do not have access to
toilets Sikkim is the only state to have completely eradicated open defecation States such as Kerala, Himachal, Haryana and Maharashtra have announced that they plan to completely eradicate open defecation
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Rhino poaching exposes cracks in Gogoi ministry
Guwahati, October 2 With the spurt in rhino killings hogging headlines, one of the local satellite TV channels, which is owned by the wife of Assam’s Health, Education and Assam Accord Implementation Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, broadcast in detail how suspected illegal migrants from Bangladesh settlements in and around Kaziranga Park were posing a threat to animals inside the Park. The broadcast, however, offended the Forest and Environment Minister Rakibul Hussain who dashed off a letter to Dr Sarma asking him to take immediate steps in the capacity of Assam Accord Implementation Minister to evict illegal Bangladeshi migrant settlers, if any, from Park. A copy of the letter was also sent to the Congress high command and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Though the matter has exposed differences within the ruling Congress, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, instead of dismissing it as a routine official communication between two ministerial colleagues, stated that “it was up to the person (Dr Sarma) who has received the letter from Rakibul Hussain to reply” thereby adding fuel to speculations about growing differences among a section of senior leaders in the ruling Congress. Assam Accord implementation minister Dr Sarma has so far refrained from making any comment on the issue. Dr Sarma had offered to quit from the ministry over a month back due to differences with the Chief Minister in the wake of the communal riots recently.
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IAF to airlift stranded rhino
The Assam Forest and Wildlife Department has sought the help of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to airlift a one-horned rhino that is stranded on a sandbar in the Sualkuchi area in the Brahmaputra that is in spate.
Assam Forest Minister Rakibul Hussain, who had gone to witness the beast’s plight this morning, said the rhinoceros had strayed from Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Kamrup district before it was swept ashore the sandbar at Sualkuchi by the strong current of the Brahmaputra. The minister said the only way to save the rhino was to airlift it to safety. It will be unprecedented event in the country as airlifting of rhinos has only been done in Africa. “Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has requested the Defence Ministry in this regard. The IAF has already carried out a mock drill. We are waiting for the weather to improve,” the minister said. Meanwhile, Dr Rathin Barman, a wildlife expert from the Wildlife Trust of India who is associated with the efforts to rescue the beast, said the rhino has to be tranquilised before airlifting. “However, the rhino is now stuck in a swamp where tranquilising is not possible. It has to move to a dry area nearby to enable its tranquilisation. The animal looks healthy. The current bad weather conditions have to improve to airlift it with a chopper.” — TNS
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The population of 60-plus people in India is set to treble by 2050, when the country will have 315 million 60-plus people, comprising around 20 per cent of its population. The number of elderly at present is around 90 million, about 8 per cent of the population.
A new UNFPA-HelpAge International Report titled, “Ageing in the 21st century” released yesterday on the occasion of International Day for the Elderly, forewarns Indian policy makers on the consequences of an ageing society by saying that India is already home to the world’s second largest ageing population.
The killing of one-horned rhinos by poachers near Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in Assam, besides sparking unrelenting mass protests in the state, also exposed differences within the ruling Congress with one of its senior ministers dashing a letter to another senior minister asking the latter to take steps to evict illegal Bangladeshi migrants, if any, from the Kaziranga Park area.
We give good wishes for the health of Sonia Gandhi, but please clarify if the expenses (on her foreign visits and health bills) were paid from the public treasury.
The Gujarat CM has no answer to the charges made by MPs of Gujarat in a representation to the CVC that Rs 1 lakh crore has been plundered over the past 11 years in 17 different scams.
Our Parliament is ranked a distant 109th out of 144 national parliaments which the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the umbrella body for world parliaments, ranked this year to assess gender sensitivity of representative
bodies.