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HC quashes appointment of AP info commissioners
Japan non-committal on
early nuke deal with India
Petrol may get cheaper; diesel, LPG likely to cost more
3 prisoners injured in Jaipur jail attack
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Gender test charge against SRK baseless, BMC tells HC
India to buy 6 more special operations planes from US
Rahul to storm BJP bastion in Rajasthan next week
M’rashtra to train lawyers to fast-track foeticide trials
Relatives ransack school after minor girl’s death
Injured in attack, BSF officer dies in Kolkata
Tyres burst as Indigo plane hits runway lights
M’rashtra unveils rehabilitation plan for rape victims
Fish trouble for Ganesh devotees in Mumbai
Rs 364 cr for vehicle assembly building at Sriharikota
Generator smoke kills elderly couple
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HC quashes appointment of AP info commissioners
Hyderabad, September 12 The court directed the Kiran Kumar Reddy government to review its decision and make fresh appointments within six weeks. The court’s direction came on the basis of a writ petition filed by a retired IAS officer Padmanabha Reddy who alleged that the government had blatantly violated the spirit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and converted the institution into a political rehabilitation centre. The four Information Commissioners who have come under judicial scanner are: Imtiaz Ahmed, a former civil judge, L Tantiya Kumari, a former Zilla Parishad member, M Vijaya Nirmala, an erstwhile leader of The Praja Rajyam Party which has since merged with the Congress and V Venkateswarlu, a youth Congress leader. Significantly, Governor ESL Narasimhan had also rejected these names in the past but the government overruled his objections and finalised their appointment. Despite the Governor’s rejection of the four names sent to him last year for appointment as Information Commissioners under the RTI Act, the government stuck to its guns and had finalised the same candidates in February this year. In all, eight Information Commissioners were appointed. While approving four names, the Governor had rejected the candidates who had political affiliations. He had returned the file to the Chief Minister in February last year, advising him to reconsider the matter. The Gubernatorial assertion followed widespread public pressure to cancel the appointments and start the selection process afresh. The RTI activists and representatives of several NGOs had alleged that the government had thrown the selection criteria to the winds and chose political nominees. As per the established convention, the Governors cannot return the file again.
Jolt to Reddy govt
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Japan non-committal on
early nuke deal with India
New Delhi, September 12 This became quite clear today after the 7th India-Japan energy dialogue held here between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Japanese Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. Addressing a press conference with Ahluwalia, the visiting minister made it clear that there were ‘outstanding issues’ which needed to be addressed before the two countries could sign the nuclear pact. ‘’There are various difficulties which still exist and, therefore, no deadline can be fixed for entering into the nuclear agreement,’’ he added. He declined to specify the outstanding issues. A joint statement, however, stated that the two sides reaffirmed the importance of an early conclusion of the negotiations for an agreement for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Based on the lessons learnt from the Fukushima disaster, the two countries reconfirmed the need to cooperate in enhancing the safety of nuclear power plants. The two sides had launched negotiations for the nuclear deal in June 2010. But these negotiations have failed to make much headway, mainly because of the March 2011 Fukushima disaster. The third round of talks between the two sides was held in Japan earlier this month. Sources said Japan was dealing with the issue of civil nuclear cooperation with India very cautiously since New Delhi is not a signatory to the NPT or the CTBT. India and Japan have been at odds over the provisions attached to the proposed agreement, including the one that bans the transfer of ‘sensitive technology’ from Japan that could be used to develop atomic weapons. The two sides are divided over a provision that could give India the ability to reprocess spent nuclear fuel discarded by power plants, which would be built using Japanese machinery and materials, to extract plutonium. These differences have already prolonged negotiations. The talks on a nuclear pact with India had triggered an outcry in Japan from survivors of the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who expressed fears that the pace would hamper global efforts to realise a world without atomic weapons. In the event of an India-Japan nuclear deal not materialising, American and French nuclear majors too would find it difficult to enter the Indian nuclear market. They can’t sell nuclear power technology to India without the approval of the Japanese industry.
Outstanding issues remain
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Petrol may get cheaper; diesel, LPG likely to cost more New Delhi, September 12 Petroleum Secretary Vivek Rae said the issue of a one-time hike in diesel and cooking fuel rates “is a political and economic challenge” from which “we cannot run away.” “Some burden has to be borne by consuming population. That is the challenge government faces. It is a political challenge, it is an economic challenge. It is a challenge we cannot run away from,” he said speaking at a conference organised by Delhi Productivity Council in New Delhi. He added that the subsidy burden has reached unsustainable levels which cannot be financed by government budget and oil companies. Oil subsidy, he said, had risen by Rs 20,000 crore in last two months alone on depreciating rupee that made imports costlier. Rae said a decision on raising rates beyond 50 paise a litre increases being on effect currently would be taken after considering all options. — PTI
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3 prisoners injured in Jaipur jail attack
Jaipur, September 12 “The accused caught a cat that used to roam on the jail premises and threw it on the ground. Other prisoners objected to this, after which the accused got agitated and attacked a group of prisoners,” said Suman, Deputy Superintendent of the jail. — PTI
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Gender test charge against SRK baseless, BMC tells HC
Mumbai, September 12 Justice Sadhana Jadhav was hearing a petition filed by social activist Varsha Deshpande for early hearing of the complaint filed by her in a magistrate court seeking action against the couple and others under the Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act. Deshpande claimed the metropolitan magistrate on August 8 had issued notice to the respondents and posted the matter for hearing on September 12. Aggrieved, Deshpande approached the high court seeking early hearing. BMC counsel MPS Rao today told the court the allegations were baseless. — PTI
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India to buy 6 more special operations planes from US
New Delhi, September 12 The decision will be placed before the Defence Acquisition Council for formal ratification tomorrow. Defence Minister AK Antony heads the council and it is the final decision-making body in the MoD. The Indian Air Force (IAF) already has six C-130-J planes that were ordered in 2008 at a cost of around $1.059 billion (approx Rs 4,500 crore then). The additional lot of six planes will be based at Panagarh in West Bengal to augment the airlift capabilities in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country. "The planes will be tasked with the mountain strike corps that the Army is coming up with," sources said. The Corps was okayed by the Cabinet Committee on Security on July 17. The purchase, like the first lot, will be through the foreign military sales route directly between India and the US governments. US Deputy Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter will be in India on a three-day visit from September 16 to 18. Carter, along with National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon, co-chairs the India-US defence technology initiative set up last year. The Hindon-based first squadron of C-130-J has proved its mettle in the recent Uttarakhand floods by landing on very short runaways under risky conditions. These planes could be a "game-changer" in the Himalayas where only mud-paved flat grounds are available for use by the IAF. The aircraft is capable of airdropping armed commandos and material in darkness due to its night-vision imaging. In wartime, it can be employed for special air operations, transport of material and supplies, besides maintenance. During peacetime, its role includes operations and maintenance in mountainous terrain in adverse circumstances. The four-engine turboprop plane with Rolls Royce engines has the technology and configuration to perform low-level precision flying.
Augmenting airlift capabilities
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Rahul to storm BJP bastion in Rajasthan next week
Udaipur, September 12 The September 17 rally, which the state Congress has planned at Baran district in the Kota division, is crucial because the location is part of a region considered a traditional stronghold of the saffron party. Hadauti, comprising districts of Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar and Baran, has long remained under the influence of the Scindia family. Former Rajasthan CM and current BJP state president Vasundhara Raje Scindia won the Lok Sabha seat from here five times before the 2004 General Election. Since 2004, Vasundhara's son Dushyant Singh has retained this Lok Sabha seat. It was only in 2009 that Congress' Ijyaraj Singh won the Kota Lok Sabha segment, one of the two parliamentary seats in Hadauti. In the previous LS poll, both seats had gone to the BJP. For the Congress, mounting a challenge to the BJP in Hadauti is significant because Vasundhara still enjoys support here and is presently an MLA from Jhalawar. The region has 17 assembly segments of which the Congress managed to win 10 in the 2008 elections. Importantly, it won all four MLA segments in Baran where Rahul will hold his second mass rally. On the same day, he will inaugurate the much delayed Parwan Lift Irrigation Project, a mega drinking water and irrigation scheme which has been awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Environment since 1998 when it was first inaugurated by the then State Irrigation Minister VP Singh Badnaur. With Central clearance in place, the Congress is ready to sell the scheme as a major achievement ahead of the forthcoming state elections in Rajasthan. The project will positively impact seven assembly segments in Hadauti. "And what better way to launch the Parwan project than to have Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to lay its foundation stone. Rahulji will also address a huge rally at Baran on September 17 besides inaugurating the project," Minister of State for Finance and Tonk Sawaimadhopur MP Namo Narayan Meena told The Tribune today. Asked how the Congress planned to counter BJP poster boy Narendra Modi whose rally in Jaipur was successful, Meena said the party had given a befitting reply to Modi with the Salumbar rally of Rahul in the Mewar region yesterday. "While Modi managed a crowd of one lakh at a state-level rally in Jaipur, Rahul Gandhi managed a much larger crowd at divisional level in Udaipur. That explains who is a more acceptable leader," Meena said.
Taking on the saffron party
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M’rashtra to train lawyers to fast-track foeticide trials
Mumbai, September 12 "Three to four public prosecutors will be selected from the sessions courts and the high court and they will be sensitised on such cases. They will be imparted training on the PCPNDT Act," Health Minister Suresh Shetty said today. The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, was enacted to stop female foeticides and arrest the declining sex ratio in the country. The Act banned prenatal sex determination. "We are identifying the lawyers who will undergo two-day training programme," he added. — PTI
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Relatives ransack school after minor girl’s death
Kolkata, September 12 Police sources said the guardians entered the school at Dum Dum in the northern part of the city in the morning and ransacked the office premises, damaged furniture and demanded punishment for those responsible for the death of the class V student Aindrila Das. Aindrila, had been suffering from trauma and depression for the past some time after being repeatedly ragged in the school by senior students. She died in a private hospital yesterday. Doctors attending on her said the student died due to the sudden cardiac arrest. The psychologist who treated her earlier and the girl's parents alleged Aindrila had been a victim of ragging. Angry at the death of the student, the guardians, students and local people organised demonstrations in front of the school gate this morning. Some irate guardians and the students forcibly entered the school premises and damaged computers, telephones and other items. They gheraoed the school Principal and teachers, who were rescued by the police and paramilitary personnel in the afternoon. The government has ordered an inquiry into the death of the student and assured the parents and others that the guilty would be firmly dealt with as per law. The psychologist claimed the girl had reported her and her parents that a few days ago, she was locked in the school toilet for over four hours by some senior students for not bring Rs 100 from home, as demanded by them. The security guard set the child free after the school hours on that day. The girl had also alleged that she was often laughed at by "didis". She was warned against telling anything to her parents. The girl had stopped going to the school since last Saturday.
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Injured in attack, BSF officer dies in Kolkata
Kolkata, September 12 “Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) MK Majumdar of 152 Battalion sustained serious injuries during an operation against Bangladesh and Indian smugglers June 24 and succumbed to his injuries Thursday," said the release. Posted in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, Majumdar was hit by a speeding vehicle carrying illegal immigrants and smugglers, when he tried to intercept it. "Despite receiving serious injuries, Majumdar guided BSF jawans under his command and chased the vehicle which resulted in to the arrest of 28 illegal Bangladeshis who had entered Indian territory," the release said. — IANS
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Tyres burst as Indigo plane hits runway lights Bangalore, September 12 Air traffic was closed for about two hours at the airport after the incident involving Airbus A-320. The DGCA has launched an inquiry into the incident. — PTI
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M’rashtra unveils rehabilitation plan for rape victims
Mumbai, September 12 Under the Manodhairya Scheme, the survivors will also be provided with
psychological counselling apart from financial compensation. After the cabinet meeting on yesterday, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters that a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh would be provided to the victim apart from compensation of up to Rs 50,000 for the injuries suffered. The photo-journalist who was gangraped at Shakti Mills in August would be the
first one to receive the compensation under the new scheme, he added. "The survivors of rape and sexual abuse will get Rs 2 lakh upfront. Acid attack survivors whose faces got disfigured or who suffered a permanent disability
will get Rs 3 lakh, apart from Rs 50,000 for injuries," Chavan said. The victims would be provided with shelter, counselling, medical help, legal advice, education and career guidance, he added. The compensation would be payable once an FIR had been filed in the case. The state government has earmarked Rs 68 crore for the current financial year under the scheme.
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Fish trouble for Ganesh devotees in Mumbai
Mumbai, September 12 The police said large number of people who went to immerse Ganpati idols on the Girgaum beach in Central Mumbai reported being bitten on their lower limbs on Tuesday. "Nearly a hundred people reported being bitten by the fish and emergency medication was administered to them," a police official from Girgaum police station said. On Wednesday, the government called experts
from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). The scientists who visited the beach advised the government that people should be discouraged from venturing into the sea. "We have collected samples of stingrays, eels and jelly fish from the beach," Vinay Deshmukh, Principal Scientist, CMFRI said. These species move to the shore because of a sudden change in temperature, he said. Authorities have now asked Ganesh devotees not to venture into the sea. "There is a risk that someone badly bitten may lose his balance and drown," Kishore Kshirsagar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner said. The government has pressed in motor launches manned by volunteers to immerse Ganpati idols during the rest of the season. Members of the public have also been warned to wear gumboots while venturing into the sea.
Battling bites
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Rs 364 cr for vehicle assembly building at Sriharikota
New Delhi, September 12 Estimated to cost around Rs 363.95 crore with a foreign exchange component of Rs 7 crore, the building is taregetted to be completed in 42 months. Once ready, it will provide enhanced launch frequency of PSLV and GSLV by facilitating parallel integration operations. It will also provide redundancy to existing vehicle assembly building (VAB) for integration of GSLV MK-III and also as a prime integration facility for third launch pad and future general launch vehicles.
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Generator smoke kills elderly couple
Coimbatore, September 12 According to the police, the couple, their 18-year-old son and the latter’s grandmother were sleeping in a room with a generator switched on due to power failure. Thick smoke emanating from the generator engulfed the room. Hearing the screams of the boy and his grandmother, neighbours broke into the house and rushed the four to hospital. The couple were declared brought dead at the hospital. The boy was admitted to a private hospital, while the grandmother was taken to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, the police said adding the cause of the smoke was under investigation. — PTI
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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) today informed the Bombay High Court that it has conducted an inquiry and found baseless the allegations levelled against actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri of conducting pre-birth sex determination tests of their surrogate son
AbRam.
After making his presence felt in the Mewar region of poll-bound Rajasthan yesterday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is all set to storm BJP's bastion in the state by addressing a mass rally in the Hadauti region next week.
The September 17 rally, which the state Congress has planned at Baran district in the Kota division, is crucial because the location is part of a region considered a traditional stronghold of the saffron party.
A sudden profusion of stingrays and eels on a Mumbai beach has resulted in nearly a 100 Ganesha devotees being badly bitten while immersing idols in the sea.
The police said large number of people who went to immerse Ganpati idols on the Girgaum beach in Central Mumbai reported being bitten on their lower limbs on Tuesday.
Contrary to expectations, a civil nuclear deal between India and Japan is unlikely to fructify any time soon.
