|
|
|
|
|
Differences with Russia over Tamil Nadu N-project persist
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Army’s makeover on course, says Gen Bikram Singh
Govt, Cong come out in Khurshid’s defence
Rs 71 lakh small amount for a minister: Beni
Kejriwal ends stir; to start fresh campaign against Khurshid
Australian PM arrives; N-talks on agenda
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard shakes hands with Minister of State for Communication Sachin Pilot in New Delhi on Monday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal
Coalgate: CBI registers two more cases
Tehsildar almost burnt alive by sand mafia
Made-in-Punjab flu pill turns into a party drug in Myanmar
Enhance rehab package
for freed bonded labourers: SC
Varsities can’t have centres outside jurisdiction
Mamata plans anti-UPA rallies in Delhi, Chandigarh
Assam sounds alert against ULFA rebels
Govt at loss over rehabilitation of landless riot-hit
3 Navymen killed in copter crash
PM
visits Hyderabad today
‘Dead’ Madhubani boy found in Delhi Rani Mukherji’s brother held for molestation
|
|
Differences with Russia over Tamil Nadu N-project persist
New Delhi, October 15 “The nuclear facilities at Kudankulam are the safest in the world,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin asserted at a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna in an obvious reference to the prolonged agitation against the nuclear reactors at Kudankulam. Earlier, the two leaders co-chaired a meeting of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) and discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations. They also finalised the agenda for Putin’s visit for the 13th India-Russia annual summit with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Responding to questions, both Krishna and Rogozin emphasised that their two countries were engaged in negotiations over Kudankulam units III and IV. The objective was to sign an agreement over these units during Putin’s visit. Asked if the two new nuclear plants would be covered under India’s civil nuclear liability law, Krishna did not give a straight reply but stated that the two sides were doing the preparatory work for units III and IV and the talks were progressing. The credit agreement for the two reactors was finalised in July and a techno commercial agreement was being negotiated. “I have no doubt that we will reach mutually satisfactory results.”
|
|
Army’s makeover on course, says Gen Bikram Singh
New Delhi, October 15 “The Army Chief mentioned that new direction is being carved out by incorporating relevant transformation issues including several emerging technologies and required operational changes,” said Army spokeman Col Jagdeep Dahiya. Under the process of transformation, the force is looking to provide its troops high-end technology to boost their speed and accuracy in respect of striking capabilities. Once aspects of transformation are incorporated, it will bring about quicker deployment of land and air forces. The soldier will operate the next level of battle-technology, which is totally networked and fully backed by real-time intelligence inputs provided by over-flying UAVs, geo-stationary satellites, ground-based sensors and human
intelligence. Force of
the future
Says tech boost, operational changes to turn Army into force of the
future Lays stresses on need to address hollowness in defence preparedness The General said “extremely high levels of operational preparedness” was needed at all times. He specially mentioned about India’s land borders in the West and the North and asked the force to be ready at all times. The Army Chief said there was a further need to address hollowness in defence preparedness and undertake modernisation with added vigour. “Hollowness’ is term used by the Army to explains gaps in the security architecture. The Army Chief also stressed on the need to uphold the core values of the Army and concentrate on management of units to ensure group cohesion and high levels of motivation and morale. Fresh modes of re-employing ex-servicemen in the government set-up were also discussed at the meeting. The Army is keen that more avenues are available to the Junior Commissioned Officers and other ranks. Most of them retire between the age of 36 and 42 and are skilled in specialised tasks and have the tenacity required in some high-security work.
|
||
|
Govt, Cong come out in Khurshid’s defence
While activist-politician Arvind Kejriwal came out with fresh revelations of irregularities in Khurshid’s NGO, the Law Minister and his wife Louise Khurshid are all set to take the matter to the court. A defamation case is being filed in Delhi, Mumbai and London against the news channel that first aired the “expose”. While Khurshid is preparing to fight it out both politically and legally, his Cabinet colleagues, Ambika Soni and Ghulam Nabi Azad, spoke up for him today. They denied that the Law minister had been isolated. AICC general secretary Digivijay Singh put up a spirited defence, saying the charge that Khurshid’s trust did not hold camps for the disabled for which he received government funds had been proved wrong. “Why should Khurshid resign.. because of a media trial or because Kejriwal is sitting on dharna at Parliament Street with 150 persons,” he said. “There is no question of isoaltion or not backing him,”Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told media persons today. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke on the same lines, saying, “There is no question of distancing from Salman Khurshid .. he has already made it clear there is no wrongdoing in the functioning of the NGO.” Sources close to the Law Minister said he had not met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Congress president Sonia Gandhi after these allegations came out but he had kept both leaders informed about the developments,including his decision to approach the courts. Congress insiders said the overwhelming view in the party and the government was against Khurshid’s removal under Kejriwal’s pressure. “We cannot set such a precedent.Today, he is levelling charges against Khurshid...tomorrow it would be somebody else,” remarekd a party leader. Consequently, the Congress today backed Khurshid and dismissed suggestions that the minister should step down following the allegations made against him. Party spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit maintained the minister had effectively countered the charges.
|
||
|
Kejriwal ends stir; to start fresh campaign against Khurshid
New Delhi, October 15 Kejriwal also alleged that there was a quid pro quo between the Congress, which is supporting Khurshid, and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav who was facing a disproportionate assets case in the Supreme Court. Announcing the end of his protest at Parliament Street, Kejriwal said they had not received a response from the Prime Minister's Office for an appointment and now they are shifting their battle to Farrukhabad. "Now the volunteers will go to Farrukhabad. We are getting more documents against Khurshid. Public will make a disabled person fight against him in the next elections and defeat him," he said. Claiming that the Congress and parties like BJP and SP have been "exposed" in the fight against corruption, he also targeted Manmohan Singh. "He too has been exposed. He does not speak. The Congress and the BJP are hand in glove. In a couple of days, BJP chief (Nitin Gadkari) will be exposed," he said.
— PTI
|
||
|
Australian PM arrives; N-talks on agenda
New Delhi, October 15 She will hold extensive talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday and also meet other Indian leaders. She will also address a luncheon meeting organised by apex chambers of commerce the same day. Australia has agreed to consider the sale of yellowcake to India even though it is not a signatory to the NPT. "The two PMs will discuss the sale of uranium to India but the whole process of an agreement between their two countries will take some time," an official said. The Australian media quoted officials there as saying that an announcement was likely to be made in New Delhi on how safeguards would be guaranteed. Australia's ruling Labour Party voted to overturn its ban on uranium sales to India last year after a long debate about nuclear weapons and reactor safety following Japan's atomic crisis. Bilateral relations between India and Australia were elevated to the level of a strategic partnership during the visit of then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to India in November 2009. Gillard's visit is expected to lead to further strengthening of the cooperative relations between the two countries and provide further impetus for the future development of the strategic partnership.
|
||
|
Coalgate: CBI registers two more cases
New Delhi, October 15 The first company against which a case has been registered is Green Infrastructure Private Limited, (now Athena Infra Projects Private Limited), New Delhi. A case has also been registered against company directors MS Ramkrishna, Yugandhar Meka, Allure Raju Sitarama, Vemuri Ramesh, Parthasarthy Commandur, Prasad N, and some unidentified persons, including public servants. The second company to be booked is Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Limited, Satna (MP). Those booked include directors of the company Pavan Kumar Ahluwalia, Kamaljeet Singh Ahluwalia, Prashant Kumar Ahluwalia, Amit Goyal chartered accountant; and some unidentified persons. Just after the case was registered, the CBI sleuths raided the premises of these companies in New Delhi and Madhya Pradesh besides the residential premises of their directors. Searches were conducted at 16 locations in seven cities, including Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Rourkela, Satna, Jaipur, Vishakhapatnam and Delhi. The CBI also conducted searches at official and residential premises of public servants and persons who names were mentioned in the complaints. The agency said it had got sufficient evidence to prove irregularities in the allotment of coal blocks to these private companies. Earlier, the CBI had registered seven cases in connection with coal block allocations.
|
||
|
Tehsildar almost burnt alive by sand mafia
Mumbai, October 15 Police said Ashok Jagdeo, tehsildar of Amalner village in Jalgaon district, intercepted three trucks being used by the sand mafia to quarry sand from Bori river on Sunday morning. As he began the process of seizing the trucks, several hoodlums involved in the sale of sand mined illegally from the river bed caught hold of Jagdeo and beat him up. "They poured some diesel on him and were trying to burn him alive after Jagdeo's cries attracted the attention of villagers," a police official at the Jalgaon district headquarters told The Tribune. The villagers rescued Jagdeo and also nabbed one of his attackers who was handed over to the police. "We are on the lookout for three people who own the trucks and were involved in quarrying sand for sale to builders," the police official said. A few months ago, tehsildar of Chalisgaon, another village in the same district, was trailed by some truck owners he had caught red-handed while mining sand from a river. The tehsildar's car was set afire though the official himself was unhurt. Last year, the additional district collector of Nashik Yashwant Sonawane was burnt alive by members of the oil mafia which syphoned off petroleum products from tankers belonging to public sector oil companies.
|
||
|
Made-in-Punjab flu pill turns into a party drug in Myanmar
New Delhi, October 15 These tablets consist of a chemical, ephedrine. Ephedrine is also an essential ingredient of party drugs - methamphetamine
(meth) and amphetamine - which are also known by their street names, ‘ice’ and ‘speed’. According to
NCB, a large number of anti-cold tablets are smuggled to Myanmar through the porous border with the northeastern states. Ephedrine is extracted from these tablets and is supplied to makers of synthetic drugs that find their way into India, Thailand and other hot-spots in South-East Asia. In 2011, the NCB seized 1 crore such tablets. Until August this year, officials had seized close to 2.5 crore such pills. Compared to natural drugs such as heroin and cocaine, synthetic drugs are more dangerous as they adversely affect the person’s memory, say NCB sources. “Synthetic drugs are fast entering into the Indian market. Women are most vulnerable to these drugs,” sources said. These drugs are possibly transported by fly-by-night operators known in NCB parlance as “bathtub chemists”, who are not qualified and trained in producing them. “The anti-cold pills are mainly produced in Punjab and HP, sources said. A small quantity is produced in Delhi. These tablets are transported in large quantities by road to Manipur and
Mizoram. The tablets are taken out from strips near the border and are placed in polythene bags. A courier is instructed to take it across the border to Myanmar in small quantities,” sources
said. NCB officials claimed to have seized ephedrine in raw form in Tamil
Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Hyderabad and Delhi. On October 6, three natives of Manipur were arrested from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport with 96 kg raw
ephedrine. NCB officials assert that they have arrested several couriers attempting to take anti-cold tablets to Myanmar.
How it is done
|
||
|
Enhance rehab package
for freed bonded labourers: SC
New Delhi, October 15 A Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra also asked all states and UTs to submit status reports to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) every six months on the efforts being made by them to eradicate bonded labour under the relevant law passed in 1976. Pointing out that such labour was “rampant” in brick kilns, agriculture, construction work, stone quarries, crushing mines, beedi-manufacturing, carpet-weaving and at homes, the Bench rejected the claims of many governments that the practice was no longer in existence in their states. Such claims “might be due to the faulty methodology” adopted by them for conducting surveys, the SC noted. The states and UTs should follow the methodology formulated by the expert group headed by SR Shankaran with some modifications to suit local conditions, it said. The District Magistrates and the state governments should also enforce the Minimum Wages Act, the Workmen Compensation Act, the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act and Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, the SC directed. Gram panchayats and other local bodies should inform the respective district magistrates about the presence of bonded labour for taking suitable action, it said. In all, the apex court has issued 12 directives while disposing of a PIL filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties
(PUCL).
|
||
|
Varsities can’t have centres outside jurisdiction New Delhi, October 15 In a relief to learners who have long been fleeced by private operators of distantly based centres, which universities open in states other than their own, the Distance Education Council (DEC), apex regulator for Open and Distance Learning in India, has barred franchising of these centres by state universities. A policy to this effect was approved by the DEC in its last meeting held in the Capital, where the council said: “The delivery of education through distantly based study centres is questionable. Franchising of centres is playing havoc with the learners in terms of high fee and low quality of education.” Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, and Sikkim Manipal University have opened up many such centres outside of their states of operation, with the MDU agreeing to close down most of them. Approval to the new policy (there was none so far) on territorial jurisdiction of universities having the DEC approval to offer distance courses will prevent people with commercial interests from getting franchises of such centres even though they have little or no experience of running these. The policy says: “No university or institution can franchise study centres. They must operate the centres themselves.” In case of private institutions (which are not universities), the territorial jurisdiction would be their headquarters. “If such institutions want to offer programmes beyond headquarters, they must establish new institutions in such areas under the norms,” says the policy.
|
||
|
Mamata plans anti-UPA rallies in Delhi, Chandigarh
Kolkata, October 15 At these rallies, Mamata plans to project a secular anti-Congress national front with the participation of all the like-minded political parties like the BSP, BJD, SP, AIDMK, JSD and the Telegu Desam Party. She had already started initial talks with leaders like Mulayum Singh Yadav, Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik, Mayawati and Chandrababu Naidu. Former Railway Minister Mukul Roy and TMC Rajya Sabha MP KD Singh will arrange the party’s rallies. Mamata asked the party men and the people at large to get themselves prepared for the mid-term Lok Sabha poll after the budget session of Parliament in February next.
|
||
|
Assam sounds alert against ULFA rebels
Guwahati, October 15 State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who is also in charge of the state Home Department, said the government had intelligence inputs about the anti-talks faction of the ULFA acquiring sophisticated devices. A group of well-armed ULFA cadres has already sneaked into the state, probably from the outfit’s Myanmar base, to carry out subversive activities during the coming festive season. The move seems aimed at terrorising those who have defied outfit’s extortion demands. The Chief Minister said the ULFA faction had also geared up its extortion drive in eastern and western areas of the state. The police and the Army have stepped up the vigil all over the state.
|
||
|
Govt at loss over rehabilitation of landless riot-hit Guwahati, October 15 This section of violence-displaced people, mostly from Bengali-speaking Muslim community, are not in possession of land ownership document to prove that they are permanent resident of the area. The BTC administration has been insisting that all violence-displaced must have proper land ownership document to become eligible for rehabilitation in the area. The BTC authority has refused to accept documents like ration cards, PAN card or MNREGA job cards for allowing rehabilitation of riot-hit families. The reason is to prevent settlement of suspected Bangladeshi migrants in the area in the guise of riot-displaced. Several organisations representing indigenous communities of the state have demanded that only those riot-displaced who are in possession of land ownership document or had their names on the voter list prior to 1971 should be rehabilitated in the areas. The state government is, however, trying to persuade the BTC administration allow rehabilitation of even those riot victims who don’t have land documents, on the basis of other documents.
|
||
|
3 Navymen killed in copter crash
Panaji, October 15 "All three personnel on board have died in the crash which took place at about 10 am. A board of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the causes behind it," a Navy spokesperson said in Delhi. The chopper, which was flying from Mumbai to Bangalore, was making a scheduled refuelling halt at 'INS Hansa' naval air base here, he said. The rotor of the helicopter broke while landing, Navy sources said here, adding that the chopper then caught fire. Civilian flights from the airport here were likely to be delayed as the chopper had crashed on the runway, they said. This is the first crash involving a naval helicopter this year. The Navy operates more than 60 of the ageing Chetak and Cheetah helicopters and has been looking for their replacement.
— PTI
|
|
Hyderabad, October 15 The PM will inaugurate the session at the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity, which began last week, at Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) during his one-day visit. Director General of Police V Dinesh Reddy and other senior officers reviewed the security arrangements and inspected the venues, where the PM would visit. — PTI
|
||
|
‘Dead’ Madhubani boy found in Delhi Patna, October 15 Director General of Police Abhayanand told newsmen here that Prashant Kumar Jha (17) and his girlfriend Priti Chaudhary, with whom he had eloped last month were found at Mehrauli police station in New Delhi. He said the Mehrauli police station inspector Jarnail Singh had confirmed over phone to him that the two had been found. Prashant and Priti had also spoken to him over the police inspector’s mobile phone and confirmed that they hailed from Madhubani district, Abhayanand said. The Delhi police inspector said the couple were purchasing some goods from a shop at Mehrauli when an elderly person from Bihar identified them on the basis of media information and spoke to them to find out their antecedents. — PTI
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
New Delhi, October 15
New Delhi, October 15
New Delhi, October 15