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China, Japan keen to be part of India’s rail expansion plans
Govt to decide fate of 7 key Bills pending in RS
Home Ministry rejects OROP for paramilitary forces
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Most ragging cases at UP, Bengal, Odisha institutes
ITBP to procure modern arms, surveillance system for LAC
Soon: CCTV cams in new rail coaches
Govt to work on
policy for missile exports
Support to JD-U for RS polls
India’s airspace to benefit from advanced surveillance technology
Tribal woman gang-raped by husband, nine others in MP
3 children dead in Ahmedabad wall collapse
BJP leaders to apprise PM about 'lawlessness' in West Bengal
Zinta case: Police record statements of witnesses; CCTV footage unclear
BJP woman lawmaker survives murder bid
9 students held for anti-Modi comments
More UP Shame
Mumbai Metro line to get longer
One dead, another injured as tides lash Mumbai shores
FM for fiscal discipline
U’khand BJP leader’s body found in car
Cong leader’s son shot dead in Amethi; Ex-MP booked MP job scam: STF detains ex-minister
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China, Japan keen to be part of India’s rail expansion plans
New Delhi, June 15 China boasts of a high-speed rail track of about 11000 km, the longest in the world. “China’s rail sector is world class, in terms of equipment, technology and cost effectiveness. If India wants, China stands ready to help. It will be mutually beneficial and a win-win situation for both of us. We are also ready to participate in developing express ways,’’ Wang is understood to have told Indian officials during his meetings. To buttress his argument, he spoke about the high-speed bullet train travelling between Beijing and Tianjin, the fourth largest Chinese city, at a speed of 325 km per hour, thus covering a distance of 120 km in 33 minutes. The Chinese have been speaking of cooperation with India in the field of railways for quite some time now. They had raised the issue at the India-China strategic economic dialogue held in New Delhi last year also. But key government departments are not enthused over China’s proposal. The Union Home Ministry is understood to have pointed out that FDI from China in Railways might pose a threat to national security. Chinese investments should particularly be not allowed in border areas such as Jammu & Kashmir and northastern states. India, however, is not averse to seeking Chinese expertise in heavy haul and in raising speed on its existing rail network, which would require realigning track and strengthening bridges. Japan, meanwhile, has been keen to export its ‘Shinkansen’ high-speed trail technology to India. Tokyo has been impressing on Indian officials that covering a distance of 1400 km between Delhi and Mumbai in eight hours by train could well become a reality if it were adopt ‘Shinkansen’. “Japan’s ‘Shinkansen’ system is well known for its efficiency and safety record. Such capital-intensive projects will be considered in accordance with our infrastructure requirement, national priorities and financial resources,” an Indian official said. Japan, it is learnt, proposes to launch a major marketing drive to sell the technology to India. Exporting Japanese infrastructure is said to be one of the main targets of the Abe Government. India has been considering importing the bullet train technology from Japan. Modi himself has spoken about it. The Japanese have already undertaken a feasibility study regarding bullet train projects on the Delhi, Agra, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad routes.
Key depts don’t favour Beijing
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Govt to decide fate of 7 key Bills pending in RS
New Delhi, June 15 With the Budget session of Parliament slated to commence in the second week of July, the Legislative Department of the Ministry has started compiling the Bills so that the Union Cabinet can take a call. According to a recent circular of the Cabinet Secretariat, the Bills cleared by the Union Cabinet but yet to be enacted as laws will “need to be placed before the Cabinet” for decision as to whether they are to be pursued in the present form or any change is required to be carried out. While assuming charge last month, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said, “The establishment of a National Judicial Commission to give executive a say in appointment of judges is a priority for the Narendra Modi government.” Responding to questions on the move of successive governments to replace the present collegium system where judges appoint judges, Prasad, who is himself a lawyer, said the establishment of the National Judicial Commission was part of the BJP manifesto. “Surely, I will go through the existing instrument. If there is a need for some improvement or some more consultation, we may consider it,” he had told mediapersons. — PTI
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Home Ministry rejects OROP for paramilitary forces
Chandigarh, June 15 A letter received here in this context by the Paramilitary Forces Retired Officers Association (PFROA) from Border Security Force Headquarters, New Delhi states that the MHA is of the view that the concept of OROP is not applicable in the CAPFs as their personnel are retiring at the age of 57 years or 60 years (depending upon rank). After the previous government had announced the implementation of OROP for the armed forces in the run up to the General Election – which it had failed to implement – retired paramilitary officers had also demanded that they also be granted the same benefits. They had also raised this issue with Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Chandigarh and had submitted a memorandum to him. Paramilitary forces personnel had contended that they are performing similar duties as that of the armed forces and are serving in equally tough conditions, be it on border deployment or in internal security duties. The armed forces had been fighting for implementation of OROP for the past about three decades. OROP entails equal pension for the same rank and same length of service. At present, the pension is different for those retiring at different times because of the manner of fixation of pension whenever a new pay commission is implemented. The difference runs in several thousand rupees per month. In addition to tough service conditions, frequent transfers, disturbed family life and other difficulties, the Armed Forces had also cited as early retirement as reasons for seeking OROP. Officers begin retiring at the age of 54 years while other ranks begin retiring at the age of 35 years. In a letter written to the BSF Director General, urging him to take up the matter of OROP for paramilitary personnel with the MHA, PFROA has stated that it is in best interest of the nation to consider CAPFs at par with the defence services to maintain their morale as their service conditions are extremely similar. All these forces are uniformed forces and are governed by Acts similar to Army Act.
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Most ragging cases at UP, Bengal, Odisha institutes
New Delhi, June 15 Records of complaints registered with the National Anti-Ragging Helpline (launched on June 15, 2009 in the wake of Aman Kachroo’s ragging death at a medical college in Tanda) reveal that eight states led by UP make up 72% of the reported ragging cases in the country. Of the 1,880 complaints registered with the helpline (1800 180 55 22) until June 15, 2013, four years since the anti-ragging movement was launched, a total of 1,358 came from the following states — UP (398); West Bengal (233); Odisha (193), Madhya Pradesh (162), Maharashtra (98), Tamil Nadu (97), Rajasthan (93) and Bihar (84). Callers from Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal and Chandigarh reported 53; 46; 44; 28; 26; 9 and 1 ragging cases, respectively. Records show 1,320 complaints were closed successfully either at the level of the call centre or the UGC. Out of the 1018 complaints sent to the UGC by the call centre between June 15, 2009 and June 15, 2013, 443 were closed successfully. What’s alarming is the presence of a reputed central university like the BHU among the top 10 institutions from where maximum ragging cases were reported. Contrarily, Delhi University has virtually become ragging free. On the completion of five years of the national anti-ragging movement, Aman Kachroo’s father Raj Kachroo, who runs the call centre for the government, said, “Of all complaints received, 100 were from professional colleges. This is an alarming trend as the number of medical and associated colleges is very small. Since Aman’s death, we have managed to generate a lot of awareness which is why students are speaking up but even today girls are silent victims.” Anti-Ragging Movement data from June 15, 2009 till last week-end shows a total of 2,542 complaints were received. Of the 169 complaints received so far in this year, only 22 came from girls; 147 came from boys. So far as ragging trends go, there hasn’t been any heartening reduction. Raj Kachroo, who maintains ragging data for the HRD Ministry, says the best part of the movement has been creation of contact database for over 40,000 colleges in India as part of redressal mechanism.
No ragging incidents at Delhi University
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ITBP to procure modern arms, surveillance system for LAC
Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), June 15 The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had also said there was an urgent need to increase deployment of ITBP troops along the border and provide them with modern
weaponry. “The major problem the force faces is the deplorable condition of roads. Some roads leading to our posts are not motorable and can only be reached on foot. An ITBP engineer had died at a forward post when a tree fell on his tent. In the absence of proper roads, his body could be retrieved from the post after two days with the help of Army porters,” said the official. Subhas Goswami, Director General, ITBP, at a security summit in Delhi in February this year, had said the development of the border areas would check migration. “Border development should be seen as a security requirement. Unless we develop the areas, we cannot stop migration to the plain areas,” he had said. Sources said there was a plan to set up more border outposts. Old structures would be removed and new ones would be constructed, they said and added, more Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) huts would be set up to protect soldiers from cold, snow and chilly winds. The ITBP is also contemplating to procure Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance. “Presently, we are dependent on the Army, but assessing the areas where they can be deployed,” said the official. Furthermore, the ITBP said the MHA had approved the procurement of two speedboats for patrolling in the Pangong Tso (lake) in Leh through which the LAC runs. Located at an altitude of 14,270 feet, the 134 km lake extends from India to Tibet. In the pipeline
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Soon: CCTV cams in new rail coaches
Patna, June 15 Choudhary, who belongs to the Bihar cadre the Indian Police Service, said the decision to install CCTV cameras in coaches was taken in the wake of projected threats, complaints of drugging of passengers and robberies on trains in the last few years. He said several rounds of consultations between members of Railway Board and its traffic management were carried out and railway officials have agreed in principle to roll out the plan shortly. “Motive to equip coaches with CCTV cameras is to cover all security aspects, especially unreserved coaches to foil drugging and dacoities on board,” he said. According to him, installation of CCTVs in general coaches would be taken up first in zones where drugging of passengers and crimes on running
trains have been reported frequently. Besides, he said all RPF train escort parties would have smart mobiles to establish contact and collect evidence and report to seniors in real time. At present, RPF and the Government Railway Police escort over 3,500 trains daily across India.
— IANS More security
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Govt to work on
policy for missile exports
Hyderabad, June 15 The export of missiles is a new area that India is exploring, Chander, who is also the Director General of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pitched for making the country self-reliant in manufacturing defence equipment and even capable of exports in the sector. “The new government is also keen on building up to the export potential (of defence products). Many countries have shown interest on our missiles,” he said delivering an invited talk at the Aerospace Luminary Lecture Series, organised by the Aeronautical
Society of India, Hyderabad, late last evening. Speaking on board India’s largest aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, Modi had yesterday said: “Not only should we become self-reliant, we also should provide defence equipment to small countries. The small countries should feel secure that they have India-produced defence equipment.” “We have to lay down policy norms and methodologies how to work out (tap export potential of missiles),” said Chander, who also interacted with reporters. “We are confident that we will be soon working on this,” he added. India’s Akash and Prahaar missiles can be exported, as also BrahMos for which many countries have shown interest, he
said. — PTI
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Support to JD-U for RS polls
The JD(U) has fielded two candidates - senior leader Ghulam Rasool Baliyawi and diplomat-turned-politician Pawan Kumar Varma - for the RS polls on two seats. Its dissident MLAs, claiming to be around 50 in strength, have put up business tycoon Sabir Ali and real estate baron Anil Sharma as their candidates against the official ones. The support of 21 RJD MLAs becomes crucial for JD(U) to sail through in the polls and in this context former CM Nitish Kumar had yesterday appealed to the RJD, Congress and CPI to extend their support in the polls. In a House of 243, with an effective strength of 232 because of 11 vacancies, the ruling party needs 51 per cent votes of MLAs for victory of its candidates. JD(U) has 117 MLAs, including Speaker, BJP 84, RJD 21, Congress 4, CPI 1, Independents 5. With a large number of RJD legislators turning rebels and supporting Independents along with BJP, the vote of 21 RJD MLAs holds the key to the result in the bypoll. Though Prasad refused to speak anything about his party’s support to Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi during confidence vote and the ensuing controversy after a few JD(U) leaders claimed they had not sought RJD support, he pointed out that all was not well in Kumar’s party. “JD(U) MLAs have set their own house on fire and Nitish Kumar is now looking for fire brigade. What else could be said about the situation,” Prasad remarked about the party that has been at loggerheads with him till the recent Lok Sabha polls.
— PTI
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India’s airspace to benefit from advanced surveillance technology
The sophisticated automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) infrastructure covers the Indian subcontinent's vast landscape of over 3 million sq km, plus parts of Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the entire Himalayas, allowing increased efficiency and safety in areas where radar coverage has so far been restricted. The ADS-B was installed at 21 sites in two phases by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Germany-based firm
COMSOFT, which has been providing products for innovative surveillance and communication solutions like ADS-B and multilateration sensors for over two
decades. COMSOFT's Quadrant ADS-B sensor installed here now is a lightweight and cost-efficient alternative to the conventional radar, with the ability to build a complete air situation picture from airport surface to well beyond 250 nautical miles, a company statement said. With the country's air traffic experiencing growth from both international and domestic flights, placing it among the top five nations for flight increases, the need for greater efficiency and accuracy was paramount to assist with capacity rises, AAI officials said. Indian air traffic controllers would now experience greater enhancements for approach and take-off procedures, including for international high-altitude traffic, particularly in non-radar airspaces like in the Bay of Bengal. India's vast airspace would benefit immensely from the long-range surveillance solutions, heightened efficiency and safety in all operational procedures while supplementing radar coverage which is limited by terrain and obstacles, the COMSOFT statement said. AAI has also established a crucial air navigation link with Nepal for exchanging real-time data on various aviation-related aspects, including weather charts and aeronautical maps. The link, called Air Traffic Service Message Handling System
(AMHS), was operationalized between Mumbai and Kathmandu on June 2 by AAI's Air Navigation Services
(ANS) Directorate, its officials said. — PTI
Vast coverage
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Tribal woman gang-raped by husband, nine others in MP
Khandwa (MP), June 15 The incident took place three days back at Bhiali Kheda village under the Piplod police station and the victim reported the matter on June 13 to the police after her family members brought her to the Khandwa district hospital, the police said. Acting on the complaint, the police yesterday arrested all 10 persons allegedly involved in the gang rape, including the victim’s husband, relatives and other villagers, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Women’s Cell, Khandwa, Sunita Rawat told reporters here yesterday. The woman in her police complaint alleged that she was gang-raped by 10 persons, including her husband Kailash Rumalia and her relatives, the DSP said. She also mentioned that before committing gang-rape, they allegedly manhandled her, paraded her naked and when she asked for water, they forced her to drink urine in front of her minor son, Rawat said quoting her complaint. Meanwhile, the woman’s husband claimed before mediapersons that because of a land dispute, she was levelling baseless allegations against him and other villagers and also said that he doubted her character.
— PTI
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3 children dead in Ahmedabad wall collapse
Ahmedabad, June 15 The police said the children were playing cricket adjacent to the compound wall of the Swami Vivekananda Institute when it suddenly collapsed. The children were buried under the debris of the wall. Though locals and rescue teams of Ahmedabad fire brigade sent them to the Sola Civil hospital after pulling them out of the debris, it was too late to save them. The deceased were identified as Sahil Desai (12), his younger brother Piyush Desai (10) and their maternal cousin Kiran Desai (12). Sahil and Piyush used to live with their parents in hutments built near the compound wall of institute, situated near Akhbarnagar circle in Nava Vadaj area here. Since it is vacation time in schools, their maternal cousin Kiran had come to stay with them, their relatives said. The police said the compound wall was in a dilapidated condition and required urgent repairing but despite repeated requests by local residents, the institute management failed to carry out necessary repair work. The Naranpura police rushed to the spot and began investigation. On complaint filed by victims’ relative Mohan Rabari, the police registered a case under Section 304-A (causing death through negligence) of the Indian Penal Code against all those responsible trustees of the institute. (With agency inputs)
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BJP leaders to apprise PM about 'lawlessness' in West Bengal
Kolkata, June 15 A BJP delegation, led by party vice-president Balbir Punj and MP Kirti Azad, during the day visited Ilambazar in Birbhum district where one of its workers was killed earlier in the month allegedly by Trinamool goons. "Under the Trinamool, there is lawlessness and mindless violence in Bengal. Innocent and poor people including those from the minority communities are being targeted just because they are not from the ruling party," Punj said after the visit. Claiming that 157 political killings have taken place and 35 political activists have been compelled to commit suicide since the Banerjee government came into power in 2011, Punj said the team will submit its report to party president Rajnath Singh and also apprise the prime minister about "the lawlessness in Bengal". "Such killings are a blot to democracy and BJP will no more tolerate such killings," he added. The BJP earlier in May had sent a similar team to Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas, where 26 of its activists were injured in an attack engineered allegedly by the Trinamool activists. The team in its report to Rajnath Singh has accused the Trinamool of "patronising and harbouring" Bangladeshi fundamentalists to unleash a reign of terror in Bengal.
— PTI
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Zinta case: Police record statements of witnesses; CCTV footage unclear
Mumbai, June 15 Meanwhile, the CCTV footage obtained by the police does not conclusively establish the allegations made by the actress. The incident took place at Wankhede Stadium on May 30 when the Punjab Kings XI team, co-owned by Wadia and Zinta, was playing an IPL match here. The police said they would corroborate statements made by the witnesses with the CCTV footage as part of their investigations. “We have asked Preity Zinta to give her statement,” said the duty officer of the Marine Drive police station. Zinta left for the US shortly after filing the FIR. The police said they would also call Wadia for questioning. Sources said the police might ask the couple to provide copies of correspondence like emails and text messages as part of the investigations.
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BJP woman lawmaker survives murder bid
Fatehpur (UP), June 15 In her complaint, Jyoti alleged one Bhanu Patel along with his three aides fired at her while she was returning from the function. The MP said her gunman Rahul Tiwari suffered serious injuries in the scuffle with attackers. Patel was arrested while the three other attackers, who were chased by the locals, managed to flee, the SP said. A hunt had been launched to nab the three, he said. A counter FIR had been lodged by Bhanu Patel against supporters of the MP, the SP said. In his FIR, Patel alleged four-five persons, including a civic body chairman, opened fire, snatched his gold chain, mobile and purse, and assaulted and injured him. Both cases would be investigated, the SP said. He said Patel was admitted to hospital, adding others who received injuries were Tiwari and MP’s supporters Badan Singh and Kuldeep.
— PTI
Old rivalry
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9 students held for anti-Modi comments
Guruvayur (Kerala), June 15 They had been charged under various Sections of the IPC, including 153 (want only giving provocation, punishment for defamation and printing matter known to be defamatory). The police had registered the case against these students as the magazine was found to have used “objectionable and unsavoury” language against Modi, garbed as a crossword puzzle. The Guruvyaur Sree Krishna temple managing committee, which runs the college, had sought an explanation from the principal in connection with the case. This was the second such case reported from the area after the campus magazine of a polytechnic college featured Modi in the list of “negative faces” along with Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, George Bush and a few other internationally-known figures. The principal and a few students of the polytechnic college were arrested and let-off on bail last week after the police had charged them under the same sections of the
IPC.
PTI
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Another woman gang-raped in Badaun
Badaun, June 15 The victim alleged that Himanshu, the son of a policeman, locked her up with the children in the house and left only to return later with two aides to gangrape her, the SSP said. On the basis of the victim’s statement, a case has been lodged against Himanshu, Khalifa and an unidentified person. — PTI
Girl found hanging from tree in Aligarh
Aligarh: The body of an unidentified girl, in her twenties, was on Sunday found hanging from a tree near Kherashwar temple in the Lodha area here, the police said.
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Mumbai Metro line to get longer
Mumbai, June 15 Currently, the first phase of the city Metro measures 11.4 km in length between Versova and Andheri in the western suburbs and Ghatkopar on the eastern side. In the next phase, the line will link Ghatkopar to Thane in the north and to Wadala in the south. Chavan told the state Assembly that it was not economically feasible to run a Metro service within Thane city since most people there travelled to Mumbai for work. The proposed extension of the Metro is being studied by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Chavan said. MMRDA has asked Rail India Technical & Economic Service (Rites) to prepare a detailed project report. Preliminary findings by RITES indicate that the project will cost Rs 22,000 crore and will be 32 km in length and have 29 stations.
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One dead, another injured as tides lash Mumbai shores
Mumbai, June 15 According to Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) officials, the two brothers were swept into the waters at Marine Drive in South Mumbai this afternoon, as they ventured into the area despite a warning by the civic body to the residents to stay away from the sea. "The two brothers were on the promenade, dangerously close to the waters in Marine Drive, when the tragedy took place. The 20-year-old youth lost his life, while his 17-year-old brother sustained minor injuries, since he was rescued on time," an MCGM official said. The officer added that the brothers were taken to Gokuldas Tejpal (GT) hospital in South Mumbai, where the injured has been administered first aid.
— PTI
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Expressing concern over political violence in West Bengal, the BJP on Sunday attacked the Trinamool Congress government over the issue and said it will apprise Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the "lawlessness" in the state.
Reacting strongly, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of provocation and threatened to adopt a "tit for tat" approach.
Fatehpur (UP), June 15
minister, for interrogation
today. Vyapam scam was a high profile teacher's recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh allegedly involving Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's wife Sadhna Singh.
The recruitment scam had reportedly involved manipulation in the selection process for government jobs conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board. The written examination was conducted in September last year, and around 55, 000 candidates had appeared for 4,025 seats.
PTI
“Nearly two years ago, the then ITBP Director General visited forward posts in Arunachal Pradesh. He was informed about unavailability of proper equipment along the LAC. He promised to start a procurement process immediately, but nothing has happened.
The surveillance equipment currently used by the ITBP are outdated,” said an official.
Patna, June 15
NEW DELHI, June 15