The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Seven women in Fortune India's 40 under 40 list New Delhi, March 10 Seven women have made it to the Fortune India's first '40 Under 40' compilation that lists individuals who have managed to grow an idea into a profitable business. The list comprises of entrepreneurs and professionals aged 40 years and less as of December 31, 2013. 'This is a listing, not a ranking,' Fortune India said, adding that scions of business families were not included. Kavita Iyer Rodrigues, Director & COO of Theramyt Novobiologics and who co-founded the first biotech startup in venture capital firm Accel Partners' stable in 2007 got featured in the list. So was Richa Kar Founder & CEO, Zivame.com. The other women entrepreneurs, managers, founders in the list include: Kavita Bhupathi Chadda, Group CEO Globosport; Simeran Bhasin India Marketing head Fastrack & New Brands, Titan Industries; Gauri Singh, Founder and Director, The Maids' Company; Avani Saglani Devda, CEO Tata Starbucks and Neha Kirpal, Founder & Director India Art Fair. The criteria for selection include growth in business (market share or revenue) and where growth rates were similar, emphasis was on profitability; those who executed a business model or innovation to grow in a tough market, who have reduced the per unit cost of delivering a product or service, scaled up an idea; Were able to raise capital in a difficult market, or find profitable exits, Fortune India added. The individuals in the list belong from diverse sectors, although there are more tech startups than others. Others in the list include Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal - Co-Founders, Flipkart; Aprameya Radhakrishna & Raghunandan G - Co-Founders and Directors, Taxi For Sure; Naveen Tewari - Co-Founder & Ceo, Inmobi; Anshuman Thakur - ED Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley India; Arun Chandra Mohan & Praveen Sinha - Co-Founders, Jabong; Mukesh Bansal - Co-Founder & CEO, Myntra; Rahul Sharma - Co-Founder, Micromax Informatics and Deepinder Goyal - Founder and CEO Zomato. - PTI
	Judges are not caged parrots, says court New Delhi, March 10 Judges are not "caged parrots" and courts do not work as the "post office" of prosecuting agency, a special court today observed while rejecting the allegation that former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had been spared “purposely” by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Rs 10 crore cash-for-post railway bribery case. "While dealing with cases of corruption, it will be appropriate and wise to pass orders which send a strong message to the society that judges do not work as caged parrots and the judiciary in this country works freely without fear or pressure," Special CBI Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma said. The court observed this while dismissing the plea of NGO, Delhi Pradesh Social Progress Society (DPSPS), holding that the petition was “devoid of merit” and that in the present case charges have already been framed against the accused persons. “The other apprehension of the applicant that since Pawan Kumar Bansal has been cited as a witness by the CBI, it is with malafide intention is also devoid of merit since I have already observed that courts do not work as post office of the CBI or any prosecuting agency,” the judge said. — PTI The court's order came on an NGO's plea which had sought further direction to the CBI to investigate the role of Bansal alleging that the agency had not probed his role “purposely”. The plea which was pending for disposal since November 30, had alleged the telephone line of the then minister was used by the arrested accused, including Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla, and CBI should have probed it further. The CBI, which had filed the charge-sheet in July, has named 10 persons as accused and alleged Singla had demanded Rs 10 crore from then Member (Staff) of Railway Board Mahesh Kumar, an accused in the case, for his appointment as Member (Electrical). - PTI Plea against Bansal dismissed * An NGO had moved a special court seeking further direction to the CBI to investigate former Railway Minister Pawan Bansal’s role in the cash-for-post railway bribery case * It had alleged that the telephone line of the then minister was used by the arrested accused, including Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla, and that the CBI should have probed it further * The court dismissed the plea saying the petition was ‘devoid of merit’.
	ITBP chief for sprucing up border infrastructure Shaurya Karanbir Gurung Tribune News Service New Delhi, march 10 Stressing on the need to develop border roads and infrastructure along the India-China border, Director-General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Subhas Goswami said this would help in countering intrusions from the other side, prevent migration from border villages to the plains and act as a ‘force multiplier’. Goswami said the ITBP, which is presently guarding the 3,488 km-long India-China border, will raise three new battalions for India’s North-East sector next year. “Border roads and infrastructure are a strategic requirement,” said the DG at the Border and Naxal Management Security Technology Summit India 2014 held here today. The ITBP had recently held three seminars, one in Shillong, Meghalaya, and two in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, for sensitising local stakeholders to develop border infrastructure along the India-China border. According to Goswami, there was consensus on the establishment of good road connectivity; developing a mechanism for pulling resources from government agencies; constant monitoring of border projects; creation of a ‘special purpose utility vehicle’ for undertaking road construction tasks, more functional airfields in the region, strengthening of policing in the border areas and speeding the drafting of proposals for roads under the new land acquisition act. He also said that border roads are agents of change and provide connectivity. “To counter intrusion, mobility is a critical factor,” explained the DG. He also explained that the development of the border areas will check migration. “Border development should be seen as a security requirement. Unless we don’t develop it, there will be migration from the border areas to the plains. We also need to give due thought to relaxing the recruitment norms for induction into the security forces for individuals from border areas,” he said. He added that some parts of the border areas are good tourist destinations that can be very gainfully exploited. While explaining the problems in the setting up of border infrastructure, Goswami said that environmental instructions should be waived for national security related projects. Sources in the security establishment explained that a main impediment to construction of the border roads is the delay in acquiring forest and environmental clearances. Three new battalions * Director-General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Subhas Goswami said the aim is to counter intrusions from the other side and prevent migration from border villages to the plains * Goswami said the ITBP, which is presently guarding the 3,488 km-long India-China border, will raise three new battalions for India’s North-East sector next year
	EU, UN pay tribute to Indian women New Delhi, March 10 In many rural families in India, there is still a preference for investing in education for boys as compared to girls, especially beyond the primary level, said a report released here Monday. The report, "Hearts and Minds: Women of India Speak", an initiative of the UN Women along with a team of authors, intends to share the "lived experiences" of women and girls across five Indian states - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan. Based on the interviews of elected women representatives, the report captures the voices of these grassroots women who remain completely marginalised despite India's phenomenal economic growth. "The report ensures that the voices of those who remain socially and economically marginalised are meaningfully reflected in India's policies and the emerging global post-2015 development agenda," said Rebecca Reichmann Tavares, representative, UN Women multi country office for India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. "The gender equality goal, developed by the UN Women, calls for increased participation of women in decision-making. "In the context of the upcoming elections, this is a pertinent issue as despite the advances made through the panchayats, women account for nearly 10 percent seats in the parliament," she added. The event also saw the launch of a new European Union (EU) film, "Women who Inspire", which comprised a series of interviews with Indian women who are "inspiring change". A few women who featured in the film include ace climber Bachendri Pal, police officer Shalini Agrihotri, women cricketer Anjum Chopra, Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising and actress Vidya Balan. — IANS
	Kejri video seeking ‘favour’ goes viral New Delhi, March 10 A video showing AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal asking a TV news anchor to emphasise certain sections of his interview has gone viral on Youtube. The video, over a minute long, shows Kejriwal and the news anchor in conversation after the interview. During the conversation, Kejriwal is seen asking the TV anchor to give prominence to certain segments of the interview. “Please play it up more,” Kejriwal said in the video. To this, the television anchor says: “Yes, we will play it up. The Bhagat Singh (comment) is good. We will get a lot of reaction to this.” The interview was apparently given by Kejriwal after he resigned as Delhi Chief Minister. The video was made public yesterday when Kejriwal criticised the media and accused a certain section of being biased against him. — PTI
	Voda secretly sharing data with British Intel: MHA New Delhi, March 10 The Union Home Ministry has accused telecom major Vodafone of secretly sharing subscriber data with a British intelligence and security organisation, a charge denied by the company. According to documents of the Internal Security Division of the Home Ministry, Vodafone is alleged to have given the UK-based Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) "secret unlimited access to their network of under-sea cables, which carry much of world's phone calls and Internet traffic". "GCHQ's mass tapping operations have been built over the past five years by attaching intercept probes to trans-atlantic cables where they land on British shores," the Home Ministry documents claimed. "Intercept partners are paid for logistical assistance," it said. Though the note had asked the Department of Economic Affairs not to proceed with realignment of Vodafone, which is involved in a Rs 11,200-crore tax dispute over purchase of Hutch's stake in 2007, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) went ahead and gave clearance for increasing foreign equity in Vodafone India Limited. The Union Home Ministry had alleged that Vodafone and US-based Verizon "are learnt to be secretly collaborating with UK's GCHQ and passing on details of customer phone calls, email messages and other communication and are intercept partners". When asked for comments, Vodafone said in its reaction that "no such concern has been raised with us by the Indian Government. The Government of India’s approval of our FDI application states that it was cleared by the FIPB and CCEA after all necessary due diligence". The telecom operator also denied it was disclosing "any customer data in any jurisdiction unless - like any other operator - it was legally required to do so". PTI Intercept partners n The Union Home Ministry alleged Vodafone and US-based Verizon were secretly collaborating with UK's Government Communication Headquarters and were its intercept partners Vodafone is alleged to have given UK secret unlimited access to its network of under-sea cables, which carry much of world's phone calls and Internet traffic * The telecom operator was passing on details of customer phone calls, email messages and other communication and was paid in return.
	LS poll to put Army to test in J&K Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 10 Maintaining peace in Jammu and Kashmir will be a challenge for the Army during the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The reason is twofold. One, the number of foreign militants operating in the strife-torn state has gone up since the onset of winter. Second, there are intelligence inputs that militants could resort to suicide attacks to create terror. The state has only six parliamentary constituencies, but the elections will be held in five phases so that the security forces are available in adequate numbers in the areas going to the polls. Two parliamentary constituencies are in the Jammu region, three in Kashmir and one in Ladakh. Jammu and Baramulla constituencies share border with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The apprehension about suicide attacks stems from Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) leader Maulana Masood Azhar’s speech made at Muzaffarabad in PoK threatening to conduct suicide attacks in India during rallies ahead of the General Election.
	Ensure safety of subs, Antony to DRDO, Nav New Delhi, March 10 Defence Minister AK Antony has asked the Navy and the DRDO to maintain highest safety standards in the nuclear submarine fleet of the country after the mishap at the site of an under-construction vessel at Visakhapatnam in which one person was killed. He has also asked the Department of Defence Production to review the safety standards in all defence PSUs and shipyards after a mishap late last week in which a commander-rank officer was killed and two people were hospitalised in the Mazagon Docks, Defence Ministry officials said. The Defence Minister talked to DRDO chief Avinash Chander and Navy’s acting chief Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan on the issue and asked them to ensure observance of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and maintenance of safety standards, they said. After the mishap at the facility in Eastern Naval Command to build follow-up submarines of the Arihant Class, the DRDO has ordered an inquiry into the incident and asked authorities, including the contractors, to observe the highest safety standards and adhere to the SOPs, they said. Though the incident did not have any direct impact on the nuclear submarine programme, the government has taken it seriously as it involved nuclear assets, officials said. The safety departments in the submarines and their construction shipyards are also to be reviewed and strengthened after the mishap, they said. — PTI
	Bhatkal’s bail plea dismissed New Delhi, March 10 Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar were today refused bail in connection with a September 2008 Delhi serial blasts case by a court here which allowed the plea of police seeking 15 days time to complete its probe against them. Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash dismissed the bail plea of Bhatkal and Akhtar which was filed on the ground that special cell of the Delhi Police has not filed any supplementary chargesheet against them in the stipulated 90 days period since their arrest in the case on December 10 last year. "I have seen the file and find no ground to grant statutory bail to both the accused persons as under Section 167(2) CrPC, the period of 90 days has been extended to 180 days and the statutory bail lies only on 180 days or after. "Therefore, the benefit under Section 167(2) CrPC is not available to the present accused/applicant," the judge said. — PTI
	Bhullar case: SC adjourns hearing as Centre vacillates Legal Correspondent New Delhi, March 10 The Supreme Court today adjourned hearing on Devender Pal Singh Bhullar’s plea for reducing to life sentence the death penalty awarded to him in a 1993 bomb blast case. A four-member special Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam could not take up the case after Attorney General GE Vahanvati said the Centre had not finalised its response to the plea despite his prodding. The Bench, which included Justices RM Lodha, HL Dattu and SJ Mukhopadhaya, had assembled only to hear the petition filed by Bhullar’s wife Navneet Kaur, pleading for commutation of the death penalty in view of his mental illness and the undue and unexplained delay of eight years in the disposal of his mercy plea. The court made it clear that it would go ahead with hearing the case either on March 26 or 27, irrespective of the fact whether the Centre had taken its stand on the issue by then or not. Sources said the government was unable to come out with its views as the ministries of Home and Law had differences of opinion despite the fact that the Delhi Lieutenant Governor had sent his report on January 6, recommending that Bhullar should not be sent to the gallows in view his mental status. The Supreme Court had issued notice to the Centre and the Delhi Government on January 31, seeking their response to Kaur’s plea made through a curative petition. In its response, the city government merely gave details of the LG’s recommendation. Govt undecided * The SC is hearing a petition filed by Devender Pal Singh Bhullar's wife seeking commutation of his death penalty in view of his mental illness and delay in the disposal of his mercy plea * A special Bench adjourned the case on Monday after Attorney General GE Vahanvati said the Centre had not finalised its response to the plea despite his prodding * The government was undecided since the ministries of Home and Law had differences of opinion over commuting Bhullar's sentence, said sources * The court said it would hear the case either on March 26 or 27, irrespective of whether or not the Centre takes a stand on the issue by then.
	Infosys ex-CFO Balakrishnan in AAP 4th list Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 10 The Aam Aadmi Party today declared its fourth list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls and among the major names are former Infosys chief financial officer V Balakrishnan who will contest from Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency. The party announced a total of 61 candidates that included two Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, four in Haryana, three in Punjab, 39 in Uttar Pradesh and 13 in Karnataka and with this the AAP has to date released names for 131 seats. Tomorrow the next list is likely, said AAP media coordinator Deepak Bajpai. Among the names in today’s list, journalist Ashish Khetan will contest from New Delhi while Col Devendra Sehrawat, former defence personnel, is the party’s choice for South Delhi constituency. The candidates for Haryana’s Bhiwani, Karnal and Faridabad parliamentary seats are Lalit Agarwal, Paramjeet and Purushottam Dagar. Among the names for UP interesting to note are those of PAC member Illyas Azmi’s from Lakhmipur parliamentary seat and for Kaushambi Dr Shitla Prasad would be the party’s face. The names were decided in the AAP’s political affairs committee (PAC) meeting late on Sunday night. 61 candidates * The party announced a total of 61 candidates that included two Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, four in Haryana, three in Punjab, 39 in Uttar Pradesh and 13 in Karnataka * With this the AAP has to date released names for 131 seats. Tomorrow the next list is likely, said AAP media coordinator Deepak Bajpai.
	India, US to push for energy cooperation Ashok Tuteja Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 10 India and the United States are expected to affirm their strong commitment to working collaboratively in the field of energy when top representatives of the two countries meet here tomorrow for the energy dialogue. This will be the first high-level contact between the two countries after last December’s incident in which Devyani, an Indian diplomat, was arrested by the US authorities in an alleged visa fraud case. The energy dialogue was to be held in January but was postponed in view of the diplomatic row over the Devyani issue. Tomorrow’s dialogue will be held between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and visiting US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. Official sources said the two sides would review the robust and full range of cooperation, highlighting engagement in areas like sustainable growth, electrical grid and power generation cooperation, energy efficiency, oil and gas exploration and investments in shale gas, LNG, civil nuclear energy and clean energy. Aluwalia and Moniz will also review the progress made by the working groups on ongoing cooperation in various areas. The energy dialogue was launched in 2005 to promote increased trade and investment in the energy sector.
	SP may not field candidates against Sonia, Rahul Lucknow, March 10 The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday indicated that it may not field candidates against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul in their constituencies in Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The SP has announced its nominees for 78 of the 80 parliamentary constituencies in UP and not named anyone so far to contest from Rae Bareli and Amethi--the two Lok Sabha seats from where the Congress president and vice-president respectively are seeking re-election. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav replied in the affirmative when asked by newsmen whether the ruling SP was showing "political courtesy" by not fielding candidates against Sonia and Rahul in the pocket borough of the Gandhi family. Akhilesh said his father and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had not announced any candidates yet for Rae Bareli and Amethi and noted that the SP had not put up nominees in the two constituencies in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. "We have earlier not fielded candidates in Rae Bareli and Amethi. They have shown courtesy by not fielding candidate in Kannauj (against wife Dimple Yadav). Till now, netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) has not given candidates in Rae Bareli and Amethi," Akhilesh, who is also the state president of SP, told reporters. Asked about the possibility of his party supporting Congress after Lok Sabha polls, he said nobody knows how the future will unfold. "A number of parties are looking at SP. Some front of these parties will be ready for Lok Sabha polls. Our emphasis is on winning maximum number of seats," the Chief Minister said. To a query about BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's allegation that UP had witnessed 150 riots, Akhilesh said everyone knew the "reality" of BJP and that it could do any "propaganda" for winning seats. On SP changing party candidates declared earlier, he said his party had a lot of candidates unlike others, who were yet to finalise their candidates. Asked about former party leader Amar Singh joining RLD, Yadav said "he does not comment on his uncle." "Its good if he has gone there," he said. Meanwhile, following objection by the Election Commission on use of word 'Samajwadi' in the name of an ambulance service being run in UP, Akhilesh defended the practice saying that the word was derived from the Constitution. — PTI Political courtesy? * The SP has announced its nominees for 78 of the 80 parliamentary constituencies in UP and not named anyone so far to contest from Rae Bareli and Amethi — the two Lok Sabha seats from where the Congress president and vice-president respectively are seeking re-election * UP CM Akhilesh Yadav replied in the affirmative when asked by newsmen whether the ruling SP was showing "political courtesy" by not fielding candidates against Sonia and Rahul.
	Muzaffarnagar riots: BJP MLA chargesheeted Tribune News Service Lucknow, March 10 The SIT probing the Muzaffarnagar riots has chargesheeted Kairana MLA and senior BJP minister Hukum Singh for delivering a provocative speech at Nangla Mandaur village mahapanchayat which sparked off the riots. Hukum Singh had attended the controversial “Bahu-Beti Samman Bachao” mahapanchayat held at the village on September 7 along with other BJP MLAs Sangeet Som, Suresh Rana and Kunwar Bhartendra. The others against whom charges have been fixed are the Tikait brothers, Congress leader Harendra Malik and former RLD MLA Rajpal Baliyan.
	35 UP girls fall ill after consuming iron pills Lucknow, March 10 Thirty-five girls at an Uttar Pradesh college fell ill on Monday after they were administered iron pills following lunch, officials said. The incident took place at the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya in Shahjahanpur, about 200km from here. The girls, after being administered iron pills, aimed at improving blood content in the body, complained of giddiness and sickness. They were immediately rushed to the community health centre. When their condition deteriorated, they were referred to the district hospital, where more than two dozen of them are still serious. Senior officials have rushed to the hospital. Doctors are investigating to find if the sickness was due to "routine reaction" of the iron pills or whether the medicines had expired or were of poor quality, an official said. — IANS.
	Attari arms seizure: Police remand of accused extended PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 10 The police remand of six Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) residents, who were arrested by the customs authorities at the Attari railway station with arms last week, was extended by two days today. They were produced in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate in the afternoon. The police sought extension of their remand by four days on the plea that they were yet to nab one of their accomplices-Rashid, alias Kala. The court, however, extended the police custody by only two days. Government Railway Police SHO Dharminder Kalyan said they were yet to ascertain the source of weapons and the modus operandi of the gang. “We also want to investigate if any terrorist module was involved in the smuggling of recently seized arms,” he said. Six Muzaffarnagar residents were arrested by the customs authorities at Attari with 11 pistols and 22 empty magazines. Thereafter, they were remanded in police custody for three days. The firearms were concealed in welded bases of juice and meat-mincing machines.
	Mumbai to get another road bridge over sea Tribune News Service Mumbai, March 10 Around five years after Mumbai got its first road bridge over sea, the state government has cleared another such proposal. The sea link, as it is called, will connect Bandra and Versova in the suburbs. Mumbai's first sea link was between Bandra and Worli in Central Mumbai. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is working on the facility. The Maharashtra Cabinet, which cleared the project earlier this week, estimates that the 10-km Bandra-Versova sea link will cost Rs 4,045 crore. The MSRDC has already obtained clearances from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, officials said today. “We will begin the process of inviting bids from private contractors soon,” an MSRDC official said. The Maharashtra Government wants the Centre to provide viability gap funding before bids are invited. The Bandra-Versova sea link will be built 900 metre into the sea and will have spans ranging from 50 to 100 metre to enable movement of fishing craft.
	BJP’s rivals start wooing North Indian voters Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service Mumbai, March 10 Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's decision to support the candidature of Narendra Modi for the post of Prime Minister is providing plenty of ammunition to rival parties against the BJP in Maharashtra. The Congress and the Samajwadi Party which has a presence in several localities have accused the BJP of betraying North Indians by taking the support of Raj Thackeray. The MNS had carried out a campaign against North Indian migrants and many of them were allegedly attacked in Mumbai, Nashik and other places a few years ago. "The BJP has betrayed the North Indians by taking the support of Raj Thackeray. People from North living in Mumbai should think twice about voting for the BJP," Abu Azmi, who heads the SP in Maharashtra said in a statement. Azmi also accused Thackeray of betraying Muslims by backing Modi. Thackeray was so far trying to project the MNS as a party of Marathi-speaking people irrespective of their caste and creed. The Congress, which has a strong base among North Indian migrants in Maharashtra, has already kicked off a campaign among members of the community after senior BJP leaders met with Thackeray. Organisations representing North Indians are now criticising the BJP for its ties with the MNS. "The BJP seems to have forgotten that the MNS had carried out violent attacks against North Indians,” UK Singh who heads the Bihar Association of Mumbai said. MNS tilt * MNS chief Raj Thackeray's decision to support Modi as PM nominee is providing fodder to BJP’s rival parties * The Congress and the Samajwadi Party have accused the BJP of betraying North Indians by taking the support of Raj Thackeray * The MNS had carried out a campaign against North Indian migrants and many of them were allegedly attacked in Mumbai and Nashik
	India’s first seaplane service launch put off Mumbai, March 10 With Sahara India chief Subrata Roy behind bars, the country's first seaplane service from the megapolis to Aamby Valley City, which is run by the Sahara group, was today grounded for the time being. The decision came after the Sahara group requested the operator Mehair to delay the launch following the arrest of Roy, who is now in Delhi's Tihar Jail after he failed to follow the Supreme Court's order to pay up Rs 24,000 crore to market watchdog Sebi. "We have received a communication from Aamby Valley officials to delay the commercial launch due to the recent developments," Maritime Energy Heli Air Services or Mehair co-founder and director Siddharth Verma told PTI here today. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation had roped in Mehair to launch the country's first seaplane service between Mumbai and Aamby Valley near Lonavala, about 120 km from here. Accrodingly, the company had tied up with Aamby Valley for the service. A statement on Mehair's website said, "This sector is currently not being opened based on a request from Aamby Valley City (AMC). Patrons are requested to contact Aamby Valley for further information. The services will begin as and when the AMC gives the go ahead." — PTI Sahara chief to remain in jail New Delhi: Sahara group chief Subrata Roy will have to remain in jail for some more time with the Supreme Court deferring hearing of the Rs 20,000 crore refund case that was slated for Tuesday. —PTI
	India to build 200 low-cost airports Hyderabad, March 10 India plans to build 200 low-cost airports in the next 20 years to connect tier-II and tier-III cities, said a civil aviation ministry official. This will be one of the focus areas of India Aviation 2014, the country's largest civil aviation exhibition and conference beginning here on Wednesday. The event with the theme "Enhancing air connectivity" will have special session on 'looking beyond metros'. G. Ashok Kumar, joint secretary, civil aviation, told reporters here Monday that low-cost, small and no-frill airports would be built in tier-II and tier-III cities, which are expected to spur the development of the aviation sector in the second phase. "As the operating and service costs at the major airports are phenomenally high, there are plans to build small no-frill airports. They will have the basic infrastructure and will be like upgraded high-class railway stations," he said. The non-metro airports in India presently accounts for only about 30 percent of the total air traffic, but is expected to rise to 45 percent in the next few years. The government also plans to construct 15 additional airports in the country under the Greenfield Airport Policy, by identifying the most suitable low cost viable model. Airports Authority of India plans to invest Rs.1,500 crore in the development of non metro airports during the 12th Plan India is planning to invest over $120 billion in the development of airport infrastructure; improvement in connecting infrastructure; development of world class air navigation services infrastructure and other related activities to improve the air connectivity. India, one of the fastest growing aviation market in the world, currently ranks ninth but is expected to become the third largest after US and China by 2020. Indian airport system is poised to handle 336 million domestic and 85 million international passengers by 2020, from the current level of 121 million domestic and 41 million international passengers. According to International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Airline Industry Forecast 2012-2016, India's domestic air travel market would be among the top five globally, experiencing the second highest growth rate at CAGR of 13.1 percent. "About 400 aircraft are currently operational in the country and by 2020 the number is expected to reach 1000 aircrafts," said Ashok Kumar. According to him, there is a huge opportunity for MRO sector (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul sector). "Civil aviation is a highly regulated sector. This is a good opportunity and we are focusing for India to emerge as a MRO hub," he added. — IANS
	Kiran Reddy launches party Suresh Dharur Tribune News Service Hyderabad, March 10 Three weeks after resigning as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister to protest against the division of the state, N Kiran Kumar Reddy today launched a new party "Samaikya Andhra" to fight for the protection of "Telugu pride and dignity". Unveiling the party's name and executive committee at a press conference here, Kiran, a former cricketer, said that details of the party's policies and programmes would be announced at a public meeting to be held in the coastal city of Rajahmundry on March 12. "Our party's objective is to re-establish unity among Telugu-speaking people. I am sure that a mass movement will start soon from Telangana itself for the unification of the two states," Kiran said and cited the instance of German unification to buttress his argument. The bifurcation would cause immense damage to both Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh states, he said and predicted a mass upsurge in favour of unification of Telugus in due course. Though the constitutional process of division has been completed with June 2 being fixed as the "appointed date" for the new state of Telangana to come into existence, Kiran and his supporters have chosen to name the new party as "Samaikya Andhra" to harp on the sentiment of unity of the Telugu people. It was matinee idol of Telugu cinema late NT Rama Rao who first introduced the phrase "Telugu pride" to the political lexicon in 1982 and went on to capture power in the state just nine months after launching the Telugu Desam Party. Claiming that women, students and farmers formed the main pillars of strength of his new party, Kiran said that only the people with proven track record of serving the people would chosen as the candidates to contest the simultaneous elections to the Assembly and Lok Sabha. Kiran was flanked by expelled Congress MPs Lagadapati Rajagopal and Sabbam Hari and several other former Congress leaders from Seemandhra who have pledged their loyalty to the new party. While Kiran will be the party president, the expelled MPs Sabbam Hari, V Arun Kumar and Sai Pratap and former Minister P Satyanarayana and S Sailajanath are the vice-presidents. The flamboyant MP from Vijayawada, L Rajagopal, has been named mentor and strategist. Rubbishing Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu's plea that he should be extending support to the TDP rather than floating a new party, the former Chief Minister said: "Naidu was one of the key persons responsible for the division of the state. How can he now seek my support?" Kiran's detractors in the Congress point out that his decision to launch a party has come too late in the day. They say that the call for an integrated state finds no resonance now in view of the changed political reality. With the General Election hardly seven weeks away, he might it difficult to build the organisation and find the candidates to contest the polls. Given the divisions within the Seemandhra Congress camp, there are doubts over his ability to muster enough support for the new party. Kiran, a former cricketer who batted in vain to keep the state united, resigned from Chief Minister's post, Assembly and Congress membership on February 19.
	DMK renominates Raja, Maran; denies ticket to Alagiri Chennai, March 10 DMK supremo M Karunanidhi today renominated former telecom minister and 2G scam accused A Raja for the April 24 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu while sent a strong message to rebels in the party by denying a ticket to his son MK Alagiri. Another former telecom minister and also an accused in the 2G scam, Dayanidhi Maran, too was renominated by the party chief. Raja (Nilagiri-SC) and Maran (Central Chennai) have been allotted the same constituencies they represent in the current Lok Sabha. The DMK in its list of 35 candidates released here, including for the lone seat in Puducherry, rejected renomination to 10 sitting MPs and favoured only eight, including T R Baalu to seek re-election. Karunanidhi while releasing the list at a hurriedly convened press conference, said five seats have been allocated to its allies VCK, IUML, MMK and PT. The party not only denied ticket to Madurai constituency MP and its strongman in southern parts Alagiri, whom it suspended from DMK in January for acts of indiscipline, but also to his supporters, D Napolean (Perambalur) and JK Rithieesh (Ramanathapuram). Baalu who represented Sriperumbudur Lok Sabha seat has shifted to Thanjavur. T K S Elangovan will contest from South Chennai instead of North Chennai, the seat he currently holds. Answering queries from reporters, Karunanidhi stoutly defended fielding of Raja and Maran, saying "charges against them are weak". — PTI
	Vizag N-sub mishap industrial, not related to Navy: DRDO Chennai, March 10 The DRDO probing the March 8 accident at the site of an under-construction nuclear submarine in Visakhapatnam today said it was not related to the Navy, but was an industrial accident. The under-construction nuclear submarine was a follow-up of the Navy's warship, INS Arihant. One person was killed and two injured in the accident at the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam on March 8. The DRDO chief had ordered an inquiry into the accident. "What happened at Visakhapatnam has nothing to do with the Navy. It was an industrial accident," DRDO Director General Avinash Chander said. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here today, Chander said a DRDO team was inspecting the accident site and it would take probably another week to exactly analyse what went wrong. "We have to see whether there was a human error. That's why it will take some time and our team is on the job," he said. The Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister said when components go through various levels of testing before they are cleared for use. "Therefore, there was this system, which was getting tested. Naturally, when you test, there can be malfunctions." "We are going to ensure that whatever causes we will find, appropriate measures will be taken to ensure that such events will not take place. A higher level of safety will be incorporated," the Defence Secretary (R&D) said. The incident took place when the pressure of the hydraulic tank of the Arihant-class submarine was being tested and the tank's lid fell on L&T workers at Building 5 of the ship building centre. Under the Arihant class submarine development programme, India is building around three submarines which have not yet been named so far. The first vessel of the class INS Arihant is expected to be launched for sea trials within a month or two and these are expected to be completed within this year. Recently, Navy officials had said after trials of INS Arihant were completed that it would be ready for induction into operational service. The ATV project is directly under the DRDO and the Navy plays a significant role in it. — PTI Clean chit * One person was killed and two injured during a hydro pressure test on an under-construction nuclear submarine on March 8 * DRDO Director General Avinash Chander said the mishap was industrial and not related to the Navy * India is building three submarines that have not yet been named under the Arihant class submarine development programme.