|
|
|
|
|
Direct transfer gets going in Andhra district
Noida rape: Four cops suspended
MFN status with Pak to be fully operational by year-end: Khurshid
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Raj blames migrants for Delhi rape
Sailor commits suicide, Navy orders probe
Armymen to get fourth pay
panel arrears with Jan salary
Three troopers injured in landmine blast
China keen to continue upward trajectory in bilateral ties
|
|
Direct transfer gets going in Andhra district
Hyderabad, January 6 Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh launched the Aadhar-enabled scheme under which the amounts meant for the beneficiaries of MGNREGP (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme) and social security pensions will be directly deposited in their respective bank accounts. East Godavari is one of the four districts in the state where the scheme is being launched as part of the nationwide roll-out of the DBTS in the first phase. This paddy-rich coastal district has been selected for the national rollout of the ambitious scheme because of its notable success in the enrolment of Aadhar cards. East Godavari has the distinction of achieving 99 per cent enrolment for Aadhar and as many as 43.32 lakh persons in the district have been issued the UID cards. The launch ceremony was held at Gollaprolu village in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, state Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy, Minister for Stamps and Registration T Narasimham, local MP Harsha Kumar and senior officials. The Union Minister handed over a pension amount of Rs 500 to Nilla Satyanarayana, a physically challenged person, using a micro ATM to mark the launch of the scheme. He also paid wages using a micro ATM to MGNREGP workers. Ramesh described the scheme “historic and revolutionary” that had the potential to change the face of India and to eradicate corruption in the delivery of welfare benefits. “By August-end, every gram panchayat, mandal and district will be on the micro ATM network. You need not run to banks or post offices to get money. Money will come to you on your doorstep,” the minister said. “There is no scope for corruption here because we will be using biometric system for authentication,” he said, adding that the anganwadi workers and primary school teachers could be roped in as “business coordinators” who would withdraw the amounts from banks and post offices and hand over to the beneficiaries on their doorsteps. In Andhra Pradesh, around Rs 3,000 crore was being distributed per annum as wages to 55 lakh MGNREGP workers. Similarly, Rs 425 crore was being given as social security pension to 16 lakh beneficiaries. Officials said it might take some more time for the food and fertiliser subsidies to become part of the
DBTS.
Shortlisted for scheme
|
||||
|
Noida rape: Four cops suspended Noida, January 6 Shocked over the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced a compensation of Rs 15 lakh and a job to the victim’s family. Meanwhile, three persons were questioned in connection with the incident which occurred on Friday night when the victim, an employee of a garment factory at Sector 65, was returning home in Sector 63 area of Noida. Her semi-nude body, bearing injury marks, was found yesterday morning from Pushta area in Sector 63. The woman was cremated today amid allegations from her family members that the police had earlier refused to file a complaint, and later delayed handing over her body. Her last rites were performed at Hindon cremation ground. The woman, who was the eldest daughter, had stayed late on the fateful day to earn extra money for her family. The Noida Police have detained three suspects and are interrogating them to nab those who committed the heinous crime, the police said. The parents of the deceased suspect involvement of local youths. They said that four years ago, a youth, who was stalking her for long, had tried to forcibly enter their house and meet the girl. On residents’ intervention, the matter was sorted out and warning was given to the youth. Though they had complained to the police, no action was taken, the family claimed. The police is trying to identify the culprits with the help of the woman’s colleagues, CCTV footage of the company and other nearby factories. Meanwhile, National Commission for Scheduled Caste vice-chairperson Raj Kumar Verka visited Noida and met the parents of the victim and directed the police to treat the matter under the SC/ST Act as the woman was a Dalit. Verka, who heard the victim’s parents, relatives and neighbours, said, “Had the police acted on the complaint lodged by her four years ago the current situation of rape and murder could have been avoided. "As the accused youth was spared two years ago, he got encouraged. He may be involved in the heinous crime. It is, however, for the police to investigate,” he said. He expressed concern over the rising cases of atrocities on SC/ST persons in the state especially women. — PTI
|
||||
|
MFN status with Pak to be fully operational by year-end: Khurshid
Amritsar, January 6 This was stated here today by Union Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid at the inauguration of the 8th Regional Conference of SAFMA - A South Asian Vision and Union: Opening Minds and Opening Borders. He also emphasised that the media can play a pivotal role in breaking the ice to end the mutual bitterness and distrust between the two nations. Raising the issue of linking the historic Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan through a direct corridor with Dera Baba Nanak, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal requested the Union External Affairs Minister to resolve the issue on a priority. It would enable millions of devotees from India to easily pay obeisance at the holy shrine associated with Guru Nanak Dev. On the sidelines of the function, Khurshid said that he would take up this issue with Home Ministry. On the request of SAFMA’s secretary general Imtiaz Alam to grant two-year multiple visa to journalists, on the pattern of what has been extended to traders, Khurshid said that he would pursue the matter with the Home Ministry. “I will take up this matter personally to convince my colleagues,” he said. He talked about the need to further relax the visa regime for SAARC countries to include journalists from eight South Asian countries so that they could freely visit neighbouring countries. Khurshid said he looked forward to the day when people would have breakfast in one country, lunch and dinner in other member countries. The minister also mentioned the proposal to establish a South Asian University at New Delhi. “Land will be allotted at New Delhi. It will help conduct exchange programmes of students and faculty of South Asian Nations,” he said. Badal urged Khurshid to persuade the Pakistan Government to open another land route through the Hussainiwala border - after the Attari-Wagah route - to give much-needed impetus to Indo-Pak bilateral trade. Earlier, SAFMA secretary general Imtiaz Alam said that the agenda of SAARC has to go beyond policy barriers and address non-policy barriers including ensuring free flow of goods, vehicles and services across the borders so that that the goal of an integrated South Asia is achieved, which with the inclusion of China will “become the largest economic regional grouping with no comparable rival”. SAFMA India president Vinod Sharma delivered the welcome address. Later, Khurshid, accompanied by the CM, visited Jallianwala Bagh and the Golden Temple. The Chief Minister presented a ‘siropa’ (robe of honour) and other presents to the Union minister.
Sidelights
|
||||
|
Raj blames migrants for Delhi rape
Mumbai, January 6 “These days there is a lot of noise about the gang-rape case in Delhi. We sympathise with the victim who was gang-raped. But no body is willing to talk of the larger issue. Who are the rapists? They are all migrants,” Raj Thackeray said in his address at the Global Konkan Mahotsav held in suburban Goregaon on Saturday night. For good measure, Thackeray referred to a public meeting by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in which she had blamed migrants for the rising crime in the National Capital. “Not just me, even Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit blamed the migrants for dirtying Delhi, that too, in front of Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Every part of the country is facing this problem. Wherever these people go, they increase the crime rate there,” Thackeray added. “If I point this out, they file cases against me…. They say I am spreading hatred, but please realise this I am only speaking the truth,” Thackeray added.
|
||||
|
Sailor commits suicide, Navy orders probe Mumbai/ New Delhi, Jan 6 Melvin Raj, hailing from Tamil Nadu, was found with a gunshot wound on his head on board INS Talwar anchored at dry dock here. He was rushed to INS Ashwini naval hospital, but was declared dead on arrival, police said. Melvin's family, however, alleged foul play behind the incident and claimed that the victim was being harassed by his seniors since several months. His family also alleged that the sailor had complained about not being granted leave. The naval authorities have ordered an enquiry into the incident. "A Board of Enquiry has been ordered into the family's allegations. Once we receive the report, further course of action will be decided," Ministry of Defence PRO Narendra Vispute said. In the recent past, there have been instances in the defence forces where cancellation of leave has been cited as the reason for suicides. In June last year, soldiers and officers in an Army unit in Samba (Jammu and Kashmir) were engaged in a face-off after the suicide by a jawan there. — PTI
|
||||
|
Armymen to get fourth pay
panel arrears with Jan salary
Chandigarh, January 6 A communiqué issued by the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts, Pune, states that payment of arrears to serving Army officers affected by the aforementioned judgement would be made along with the salary for January 2013. Where affected officers have retired from service, the payment of arrears will be made from first week of February 2013 onwards, after due verification of requisite details of residential address, bankers, PAN and pension payment orders. The orders affect officers holding the ranks of captain to brigadier as on January 1, 1986. Sources in the defence accounts department said the determination of arrears is a “complex exercise” and the arrears for each individual would be different depending upon the dates of promotions and period of service. There is no common formula that could be applied across the board. The instructions to implement the Supreme Court judgement were issued by the MoD last month, following which veterans pointed out a twist in the instructions that makes the apex court’s orders largely redundant. The Supreme Court had in 2010 ruled that rank pay, first introduced by the Fourth Pay Commission, is to be included as part of basic pay for the purpose of calculating emoluments, allowances and benefits. Contrary to the recommendations, the orders issued for implementation of the Fourth Pay Commission had deducted rank pay from basic pay, causing financial loss to officers.
Long wait ends
|
||||
|
Three troopers injured in landmine blast
Raipur, January 6 "Deputy Superintendent of Police RK
Minj, constables Thaneshwar Verma and Gaurav Shrivastava were injured in the landmine blast triggered by the ultras near Dagnai Nala under Mainpur police station limit in the wee hours today," SP Ramgopal Garg told the
PTI. The injured persons were first admitted to a district hospital and subsequently air-lifted to Raipur for treatment, he said. The police team walked into a trap laid by the
Naxals after they had gone to clear a road which had been blocked with broken trees. "On getting the information that the Maoist insurgents had blocked the road near Dagnai
Nala, located over 100 km from here, by felling trees, a police team was sent to clear the route," SP said. When the troopers were removing the trees from the road, Naxals triggered the blast and fled into jungle, he said, adding the search was on to trace them. — PTI
|
||||
|
China keen to continue upward trajectory in bilateral ties
New Delhi, January 6 Informed sources said Beijing was keen to continue with the current upward trajectory in bilateral ties under the new leadership and would also try to address India’s concern over the yawning trade gap between the two countries. China’s new Communist Party leader Xi Jinping will formally take over as President in early March when the country's legislature opens to elect the leaders at various levels. Later in March, Xi is expected to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the margins of the BRICS Summit to be held in South Africa. Sources said that New Delhi was hopeful that Manmohan Singh would be able to establish the same kind of rapport with the new Chinese leader that he had developed with the outgoing President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. Amid the ongoing leadership transition in Beijing, the two countries would seek to maintain momentum in their bilateral ties through some high-profile engagements in the coming weeks. National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon will meet China’s State Councillor Dai Bingguo on the sidelines of the meeting of the NSAs of BRICS countries here next week. This will be the last meeting between Menon and Dai, the Special Representatives (SRs) of the two nations for talks on the border dispute, as China is expected to have a new SR in view of the change in the Communist Party leadership. The discussions are expected to cover a spectrum of bilateral issues. Dates for the next round of boundary talks may also be decided at the meeting. Dai’s visit will be followed by the India-China annual defence dialogue on January 14-15 when Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma travels to Beijing. Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanaswamy is also expected to visit China at the same time.
|
||||
|
When Jairam ‘claimed’ direct cash transfer scheme
Having been intimately involved in the planning and publicity of the UPA government's direct cash transfer scheme (now rechristened as Direct Benefits Transfer scheme), Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has apparently become quite possessive about this new flagship programme. He is also credited with penning the line, "aapka paisa, aapke haath" to propagate this programme. Ramesh was said to be upset when Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari held a special press conference in the capital to give details about the scheme's initial roll-out on a day when he was away to Jharkhand on an official visit. But Ramesh is difficult to put down. After addressing a press conference in Ranchi on the Naxal problem, he held another media briefing to speak about the features of the direct cash transfer scheme and followed it up with special interviews on the subject. All this, to claim authorship of this
programme.
The Tamilian rivalry
While endorsing actor Kamal Hasan's view at a recent function in Chennai that Finance Minister P. Chidambaram would make a good Prime Minister, DMK chief M.Karunanidhi remarked laconically that a "dhoti-clad Tamil" would give a fitting reply to a "sari-clad Tamil." This was clearly a reference to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa's Prime Ministerial ambitions. However, AIADMK cadres were unfazed with the comments made by the DMK patriarch and Jayalalithaaa's bitter political rival. On the contrary, Jayalalithaa's workers were quick to point out that in his anger, Karunanidhi had, for the first time, acknowledged their leader as a
Tamilian. The DMK chief has always described Jayalalithaa as an outsider as she originally hails from Karnataka.
Cong's Gujarat trouble
After being handed out its sixth consecutive defeat in Gujarat, the Congress faces a fresh problem in the state. With party heavy weights like state unit president Arjun Modhvadia and legislature party leader Shankersinh Gohil biting the dust in the recent assembly poll, the Congress leadership is finding it difficult to find their replacements. Shankersinh
Vaghela, the only senior Congress leader who emerged victorious, is said to be the obvious choice for the post of the legislature party leader. But the party has strong reservations about Vaghela because of his former BJP links. Though the Congress was happy to induct him into its fold, the trust deficit still remains as there is a lurking suspicion that Vaghela may not put up a stiff fight against Narendra
Modi. Matters have been made worse as Congress controversial MP from Porbandar Vitthal
Radadia, who embarrassed the party by brandishing a gun at a toll plaza in Vadodra last year, has now become an MLA and has emerged as a strong contender for one of the party posts. For the Congress, it's the proverbial choice between the devil and the deep sea.
|
|
| 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 | |
The liberalisation of Indo-Pak trade, even when Pakistan has granted most-favoured nation (MFN) status to India in principle, will be made operational in toto by the end of the year.
India has received firm indications from China that the new leadership of the Communist Party would give the highest priority to maintaining peace and tranquility along the border between the two countries.
