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Cabinet defers decision on NIB, urea policy Rajya Sabha Debate
20th Anniversary of
Demolition
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Ayodhya, Faizabad calm
India, Ukraine to ink defence, N-pacts
Out of 421 GCs passing out of IMA, 50 hail from Haryana
EGoM meet on telecom today
Armed with a 'clean chit', Ajit to be back as Deputy CM
Delhi court blocks Zee chief Chandra’s arrest till Dec 14
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Cabinet defers decision on NIB, urea policy New Delhi, December 6 Finance Minister P Chidambaram had last week said the Cabinet would take up the issue of setting up of the NIB, which is being deemed crucial for fast-tracking infrastructure projects stuck for various clearances. The NIB will monitor and advise ministries on expediting projects entailing investments of more than Rs 1,000 crore. The proposal faced strong opposition from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). In a letter to the Prime Minister in October, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan had alleged that the proposed NIB would bypass environmental clearances for mega projects and only benefit large firms and investors, while having no provision for redressing the concerns of the affected people. She had also said the proposed board would seriously jeopardise the working of her ministry. She had said the proposal seemed to have been mooted only to benefit large firms and investors, having no provision for redressing the concerns of the affected people. The Finance Minister had earlier noted that over 100 projects, each involving investment of Rs 1,000 crore or more, had been delayed for various reasons. “Our problem is not conceptualising projects. Our problem lies in getting numerous clearances and getting the projects off the ground within a reasonable time,” the Finance Minister said. “The NIB will monitor projects, advise ministries and help ministries concerned take a decision,” he added. Officials said the decision on the new investment policy for urea was also deferred. The new investment policy for urea was cleared by a group of ministers in February. But the industry was not very happy, as its suggestions regarding gas prices were not incorporated. The Ministry of Fertilisers expects the new urea investment policy will attract a fresh investment of Rs 35,000 crore to increase domestic production by 8 million tonnes. In 2008, the government had announced a “New Investment Policy” to boost urea production, but the scheme failed to attract fresh investment in the sector. India faces shortage of 10 million tonnes of urea, which is met through imports. The proposals
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Rajya Sabha Debate
“Permitting the FDI in multi-brand retail is a national imperative... every segment of the Indian economy stands to gain by this policy”, he said while participating in a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the contentious issue. The minister was speaking after V Maitreyan of the AIADMK introduced the motion in the Upper House, calling the measure an “anti-people policy by the minority UPA government”. The minister said farmers were with the government and supported the FDI and the community “will have everything to rejoice” once it came in. Citing examples, Kumar said: “The Bharti Kisan Union in Punjab has supported us. The Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathan in Maharashtra has supported it. No farmer has taken to the streets against this policy. Because they know sooner or later that the direct beneficiaries of this policy will be farmers.” Kumar pointed out that almost 35 to 40 per cent of fruits and vegetables were destroyed every year in the country and farmers were losing up to Rs 65,000 crore annually because of lack of infrastructure, back-end facilities, transport and cold chains. The FDI will ensure significant investment in the critical back-end infrastructure, “directly and positively affecting the future of the farmer in India”, he said. Earlier, Maitreyan said the UPA government was lying that the FDI in retail would help farmers, small manufacturers and create more jobs. He reiterated the Opposition argument that the government did not hold any consultations with political parties despite promising to do so, and quoted the Prime Minister’s speech opposing the FDI in 2004. “Dr Manmohan Singh opposed the FDI when he was in the Opposition. Today he is the prime mover,” said Maitreyan. He pointed out that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had also opposed the FDI in retail during the UPA-I regime. Maitreyan slammed the BSP and the SP for “bailing out” the government in the Lok Sabha yesterday, and read out an earlier statement by the party that opposed the
FDI.
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20th Anniversary of
Demolition
New Delhi, December 6 Left parties joined in and demanded action on the report of Liberhan Commission that had probed the mosque’s demolition as well as against those responsible for the incident. The panel had blamed Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani and Uma Bharti among others for the incident. Barq was joined by Asaduddin Owaisi of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) in storming the well of the house. Several others, including Basudeb Acharia of the CPI-M, also demanded action on the Liberhan Commission’s report. The BJP and Shiv Sena retaliated with sloganeering, saying the temple will be constructed at the same spot. Ananth Kumar of the BJP cited Rule 373 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business states and demanded that Braq be asked to withdraw from the House immediately for his “misconduct”. As all this happened, Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, and members of the Parliamentary delegation from Pakistan were seated in the visitors’ gallery. Speaker Miera Kumar ticked off Barq: “Do not insult Parliament. Showing black flags is an insult to the Parliament. What do you mean by showing this in Parliament? What is this?” After two adjournments, when the House reassembled at 2 pm, BJP and Shiv Sena members again came into the well raising slogans seeking construction of a temple at the disputed site. The Samajwadi Party protested and also came into the well, forcing the House to be adjourned for the day.
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Ayodhya, Faizabad calm
Lucknow:
While the 20th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid caused several adjournments in the Lok Sabha today, the day remained uneventful at the epicentre of the trouble - the twin towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad. Most markets remained closed and streets deserted as Thursday is the weekly holiday in Ayodhya.
As a precautionary measure, heavy police deployment was made in Faizabad, which had witnessed communal clashes and prolonged curfew last month during Dasehra. The usual “Shaurya Diwas” celebrated at Karsevakpuram in Ayodhya every year was replaced with “Dharam Jagriti Sammelan” this year, paving the way for a new beginning. Babri Masjid case lawyer Zafaryab Jilani stayed away from the annual meeting of the Anjuman-e-Muhafiz Masjid Mukabir this year. Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) convener Afaq Ahmad said a letter had been sent to President Pranab Mukherjee urging him to punish the guilty in the Babri Majid demolition case by speeding up the process of the CBI court in Rae Bareli, taking action on the Liberhan Report and expediting the appeal pending before the apex court. Petitioner in the Babri Mosque demolition case Hashim Ansari said there was no animosity between the two communities.
— TNS
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India, Ukraine to ink defence, N-pacts
At a media briefing here today, Senior External Affairs Ministry officials said the visit was significant as it was taking place at a time when the two countries were celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and the former Soviet republic. Ukraine is counted among the world’s top 10 defence equipment producers as it has inherited a defence industry producing tanks and planes. Additionally, it has the capacity to build aircraft carrier ships as the undivided Soviet Union’s aircraft manufacturing facilities were located in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. According to Ajay Bisaria, Joint Secretary (Euarasia) in MEA, India and Ukraine had signed an agreement in 2009 for upgradation and overhauling of a total of 100 AN-32 aircraft with the Indian Air Force (IAF). Of these, the first lot of 25 aircraft had already been upgraded in Ukraine while the rest would be overhauled by the Ukrainians in India. Talking about the proposed nuclear cooperation between the two countries, Bisaria said there was a considerable convergence of interest between the two countries in this field. Ukraine is heavily dependent on nuclear energy and has 15 reactors generating about half of its electricity. It receives most of its nuclear services and nuclear fuel from Russia. The official said some Ukrainian nuclear specialists were also working on the Kudankulam nuclear power plants (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu being built with Russian assistance. However, he noted that Indian nationals were facing problems in getting Ukrainian visa, as a consequence of which bilateral trade has not reached up to its potential. Therefore, India has suggested a visa simplification agreement between the two countries. This issue also would be discussed during the Ukrainian leader’s visit. Key defence equipment producer
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Out of 421 GCs passing out of IMA, 50 hail from Haryana Dehradun, December 6 The demographic statistics of GCs passing out of 131 regular and other parallel courses released by the IMA today had Uttar Pradesh topping the list followed by Haryana with 50 GCs. Uttarakhand stands third with 46 GCs (10.92 per cent). The youth of the small hill state of Uttarakhand with a population of over 1 crore have shown excellent results in terms of its representation in the academy in recent years. There are 30 GCs from Maharashtra, 25 from Rajasthan, 23 from Madhya Pradesh, 22 from Himachal Pradesh, 20 each from Punjab and Delhi and 11 from Kerala. Similarly, 14 GCs from the trouble-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir will pass out whereas four GCs are from the terror-infested Manipur in the North-East. Nagaland and Tripura have one GC each. There are 10 GCs from West Bengal and 13 GCs each from Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Five GCs are from Tamil Nadu and nine are from the southern state of Karnataka. The Union Territory of Chandigarh has four GCs. Jharkhand too has five GCs. Five GCs are from Gujarat, four are from Assam, two from Chattisgarh, five GCs are from Orissa and two GCs from Meghalaya. Among other highlights of the parade, there is one GC from Nepal who has opted to join the Indian Army. According to the Indo-Nepal Friendship Treaty, Nepalese citizens can be absorbed as commissioned officers in the Indian Army.
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EGoM meet on telecom today
New Delhi, December 6 This would be the first meeting of the EGoM on Telecom after government got a poor response to the 2G spectrum auction last month. It was to meet last Thursday. But with the key members of the EGoM, including Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who heads it, busy in Parliament, the meeting was put off. The meeting will discuss the roadmap for auction of unsold GSM spectrum in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Karnataka. The EGoM also has to decide on reserve price that should be fixed for these service areas. It also has to decide on CDMA spectrum which had no takers. The recent auction of GSM spectrum attracted bids worth only Rs 9,407 crore compared to minimum expected amount of Rs 28,000 crore. There is also a proposal to conduct an auction of 900 Mhz band in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata along with 1800 Mhz band.
— TNS
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Gujarat ex-Dy CM Amin joins BJP
Ahmedabad, December 6 Amin's entry into the BJP is expected to boost its prospects in the Saurashtra region where renegade party leader and former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel's newly-launched Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) is posing a stiff challenge for Narendra Modi. Like Keshubhai, Amin belongs to the politically influential Patel community and has a sizeable following among them. Reflecting the significance of Amin's arrival into the BJP fold, Chief Minister Modi, seeking a third consecutive term in office, welcomed him into the party, describing it as a move that would strengthen democracy. "He is a leader who has remained among people to serve them since his youth. The coming of Amin to the party will strengthen democracy," Modi said. Amin, who had been sulking ever since he was denied the Congress nomination on the ground that he had lost two successive Assembly elections, said, "I am sure the BJP will win this election and Modi will do a hat-trick in the state. I will work for the BJP now." He had quit the Congress on Tuesday along with six prominent leaders, including Gujarat Congress spokespersons Jayanti Parmar and Hitesh Patel, state party general secretary Ashish Amin, farmers cell chairman Dashrath Patel, teachers cell chairman Digvijaysinh Gohil and Ahmedabad Congress vice-president RC Patel. Another 175 of Amin’s supporters also joined the BJP with him. Amin, one of the prominent Congress faces in the state, was involved in poll preparations right from the beginning and was present at all important events. The former deputy chief minister said he felt "insulted" as the Congress had given tickets to little-known faces ignoring leaders who had worked tirelessly to build the party.
— PTI
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Armed with a 'clean chit', Ajit to be back as Deputy CM Mumbai, December 6 Pawar, nephew of NCP president Sharad Pawar, will be sworn in at Raj Bhavan at 10 am tomorrow, sources close to the leader said. The dramatic announcement of resignation of Pawar on September 25, in the wake of allegations of corruption in irrigation projects, had plunged the state's Congress-NCP government into a crisis with all other 19 party ministers offering to quit. Pawar (53) had resigned after media reports alleged he had arbitrarily awarded irrigation contracts worth over Rs 20,000 crore when he was state's irrigation minister during 1999-2009. Meanwhile, Opposition BJP and Shiv Sena have reacted sharply to the impending reinduction of Pawar and demanded that he face a probe by a Special Investigation Team. — PTI
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Delhi court blocks Zee chief Chandra’s arrest till Dec 14
Additional Sessions Judge Raj Rani Mittra said the prosecution was still undecided as to whether or not custodial interrogation of Chandra and Goenka was required. "The applicant is directed to join and cooperate with the investigation into the case," the court said while posting the next hearing for December 14. Chandra and Goenka will have to submit their passports to the investigating officer. They had applied for anticipatory bail at the Saket district court yesterday. Zee News editor Sudhir Chaudhary and Zee Business news editor Samir Ahluwalia were arrested for allegedly trying to extort an advertisement agreement worth Rs 100 crore from Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. Public prosecutor Rajiv Mohan today argued that the Chandra and Goenka’s custodial requirement would be decided after their interrogation. He said there was no commitment on their arrests. The defence counsels demanded “protection” from the court or a notice to be sent to them five days prior to the arrests of their clients.
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Soni convener of ‘chintan
shivir’ panel
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New Delhi, December 6
New Delhi, December 6
New Delhi, December 6
