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Misra’s appointment gets legal stamp as RS passes TRAI Bill
Postpone IAS prelims: Govt to UPSC
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LS passes Rail Budget
Monsoon respite in sight
Will can be executed upon death: SC
Bihar minister says cellphones, non-veg food encourage rape
Come clean on Saeed-Vaidik meeting, Cong asks govt
Chopping of
labourers' palms
Violence after gang-rape victim dies in UP
Cong seeks relief for states with low rainfall
India protested airspace violation by China: Jaitley
Another proposal of SC Collegium questioned
200 more Indians return from Iraq
Maharashtra truckers on strike from today
Shakti Mill gang rapes UP Govt cuts women’s panel budget
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Misra’s appointment gets legal stamp as RS passes TRAI Bill
New Delhi, July 15 The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday with Congress, RJD, CPI-M, AAP and RSP opposing it and the Trinamool Congress making a volte-face on the issue. Congress ally NCP did not join the walkout. The TRAI Bill replaces an ordinance issued on May 28 to amend a clause in the TRAI Act by which Misra could not have been appointed to any government post after retirement. Misra, a 1967-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre who retired in 2009, joined the PMO the same day the ordinance was promulgated and the Bill was being brought to give his appointment the requisite legal backing. Though as expected the Congress opposed the Bill, other parties such as the BSP and the TMC supported it. Though the NDA government lacked numbers, it had expressed confidence yesterday that the Bill would be cleared by the Upper House too. Moving the Bill, Minister for Law and Telecom Ravi Shankar Prasad said the focus of the measure was to remove “a palpable anomaly” as the existing law provided that a former TRAI Chairman could take up private job two years after retirement but not a government job ever in his life. Other regulatory bodies such as Competition Commission, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority and SEBI do not have such provision, he said, adding that the government decided to amend the law to bring parity among all regulatory bodies. He said the Bill and Ordinance were not “individual specific”. The government was doing away with this anomaly that someone was capable and government was not able to utilise his services. “The scope for the Bill is very limited and it is to create equality among all regulatory bodies,” Prasad said. T Subbirami Reddy (Congress) moved a statutory resolution to disapprove the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Ordinance issued earlier to appoint Misra as the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, saying the ordinance was like a ‘Brahmastra’ which should be used rarely by the government. He said his party was opposed to such a move.
Changing law to make way for TRAI ex-chief
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Postpone IAS prelims: Govt to UPSC
New Delhi, July 15 Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Personnel, said the government was sympathetic towards demands of Civil Services aspirants. He said the government was awaiting for the report of a three-member committee set up under the chairmanship of Arvind Varma to look into the issue. Varma is a former Secretary of the Department of personnel and Training (DoPT). The prelims entrance exam is scheduled to be held on August 24. The minister also said the DoPT had asked the committee to furnish the report without any delay. The students have been protesting on the language options given to the aspirants. On Monday, ABVP activists had staged protests outside the UPSC office demanding scrapping of the Civil Services Aptitude Tests (CSAT), saying such a pattern was putting Hindi language aspirants at a disadvantage. Singh said, “Till the report about the final conclusions in the matter is out, these young guys and girls would not be able to make out the kind of preparation they have to do for the exam. The minister said senior officials would meet the protesting students and urge them to end their hunger strike. — TNS & agencies
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LS passes Rail Budget
New Delhi, July 15 Replying to the debate on the Rail Budget in the Lok Sabha, Gowda strongly defended the recent 14.2 per cent passenger fare hike and 6.5 per cent hike in freight charges saying it was the need of the hour. He said there had been no hike in the last 10 years and the organisation was “run on unrealistic and impractical approach.” “This Rail Budget is a budget with a difference. Gowda said the fare hike was implemented by the government because it was the need of the hour. The minister emphasised that even while raising passenger fares, he had made all efforts to ensure that common man was not burdened. “Still, sleeper class fare is only one third of what is being charged by bus for the same distance,” he said. The Rail Budget was later passed by the House after a discussion during which Opposition members criticised the fare hike and the PPP proposals. He informed the House that the Indian Railways had received proposals totalling Rs 15,000 crore for development of various projects under the PPP mode. Regarding the investments so far, he said, “We have received 79 last mile connectivity proposals, 22 private freight terminals, production units, sidings. In total, Rs 15,000 crore worth commitments have been received in the recent past.” Responding to the concerns of members on relying too much on FDI for development of the railways, the minister clarified that it would not be allowed in the core operations of the railways. He said foreign investments would be permitted only in big ticket projects like high speed corridor, dedicated freight corridor and suburban trains. “FDI in railways is a positive signal for investors. It will be encouraged in infrastructure and not in operations,” he said.
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Monsoon respite in sight
New Delhi, July 15 Maximum temperatures will fall by one to two degree Celsius over many parts of northwest India and adjoining central India over the next three days, the IMD has predicted. The weather office has warned the pilgrims of the Char Dham — Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedernath — and Hemkund Sahib to remain “prepared” and “aware” of “moderate to rather heavy rainfall/thundershowers” till July 20. The Northern Limit of Monsoon (NLM) is currently passing through Porbandar, Rajkot, Surendranagar, Udaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner and the IMD says conditions are favourable for further advance of monsoon into the remaining parts of the country during the next two to three days. The Met office says monsoon is expected to cover the entire country in the next two to three days.
Mall for farmers
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Will can be executed upon death: SC
New Delhi, July 15 “A will can’t be executed till one is living be it in a vegetative condition,” said a Constitution Bench of Chief Justice RM Lodha, Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice J Chelameswar, Justice AK Sikri and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman. The court observation came after finding itself unable to agree with counsel Prashant Bhushan’s plea for voluntary passive euthanasia in the case of a terminally ill person, who health was deteriorating and in medical opinion there was little hope of revival and recovery. The voluntary passive euthanasia being canvassed by NGO Common Cause involves withdrawal of life support system to a terminally ill person and stopping medication. The constitution bench was hearing a Feb 25 reference by Chief Justice P Sathasivam (since retired), Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh seeking a clear enunciation of law on voluntary passive euthanasia in the light of social, legal, medical and constitutional perspective for the benefit of humanity as a whole. Bhushan, appearing for NGO Common Cause, urged the court to put in place a procedure under which a terminally ill person or whose health has deteriorated should be able to execute his or her will and ‘attorney authorisation’ for passive euthanasia. — IANS
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Bihar minister says cellphones, non-veg food encourage rape
Patna, July 15 “Many students misuse mobile phones by watching blue films and hearing obscene songs which pollute their mind,” Bihar Art, Culture and Youth Affairs minister Binay Bihari told reporters outside the Assembly. He said he had caught two students watching blue film on their mobile phone during a visit to a school. “You pay a surprise visit to any school and you will find costly mobile phone in the hands of students in the higher classes,” he said, adding that they also exchanged ‘dirty’ SMSes. On the other hand, non-vegetarian food contributed to hot temper, he said and cited sermons of sants that pure vegetarian food kept the body and mind pure and healthy. The minister, who is also an actor and singer in Bhojpuri language, urged that the use of mobile phones by school students be prohibited. “I will give a suggestion to Education department on this and also make surprise inspections to ensure that mobile phones are not carried by students in school,” he said. Though there was both advantage and disadvantage of mobile phones, which was a faster means of communications, he said for school students a mobile phone with internet facility was only a source of pollution of their mind. “It’s like issuing license for a revolver to individuals in the name of self-defence, but misused for criminal purposes,” he said. Asked if mobile phones were bad for school students, would it be good that phones was carried by MLAs in the Assembly, he said “No”. “I do not carry mobiles inside the House during sessions,” he said. — PTI
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Come clean on Saeed-Vaidik meeting, Cong asks govt
New Delhi, July 15 Refusing to buy the clarification which Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj gave in the Lok Sabha about the matter and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress demanded date-wise clarification about the meeting between Vaidik and Saeed with party vice-president Rahul Gandhi leading “Did the Indian High Commission in Pakistan not know of this meeting? How could they not know? Ved Prakash Vaidik is an RSS man,” Rahul Gandhi said outside Parliament today. Later at the official press briefing, the Congress said the Indian High Commission in Pakistan knew about the meeting and the government must come clean on the issue revealing who authorised the same. “A cloud of suspicion is hovering around the role of PMO in this matter. Ved Prakash Vaidik is actively involved with the Vivekananda Foundation from where the PM picked half of his top team of bureaucrats. Vaidik is also a close aide of Baba Ramdev. There are natural suspicions around whether anyone in the PMO consented to Vaidik’s meeting with Saeed and whether what he said on Pakistan is part of a new diplomatic policy the country is not aware of,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
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What kind of country is this, asks apex court
R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, July 15 A Bench headed by Justice TS Thakur was hearing PILs on the plight of such labourers in the light of an incident in Odisha’s Kalahandi district in which a labour contractor chopped off the palms of two persons from Andhra Pradesh for their refusal to work in a brick kiln in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district. “Such incidents don’t happen even in primitive countries,” remarked the Bench, which included Justices C Nagappan and AK Goel. The Bench directed Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to file reports detailing the steps taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and improve the working condition of migrant labourers. It also asked the legal aid panels in the two states to visit the places where such labourers were working for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation and submit their reports. The apex court clarified that it was not seeking similar reports from other states only to avoid any delay in the disposal of the PIL pertaining to the labourers who had lost their palms. “We keep that option open” and would involve them after getting the reports of the two states, it explained. The Odisha government said the two affected persons had been sanctioned a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each, of which Rs 3.75 lakh had already been paid. The Bench directed the state government and the Centre, which had also contributed to the compensation, to release the remaining amount quickly. The Bench directed Odisha to conduct a study on the “ground reality” prevailing in the six poorest districts — Kalahandi, Balangir, Malkangiri, Naupada, Pargarh and Koraput — and submit it within three months. On January 27, the SC had taken suo motu cognisance of media reports on the palm-chopping incident and issued notice to Odisha and AP. The alleged incident had taken place at Belpada village in Kalahandi district when the two were being taken back to AP for recovery of the advance paid to them at the time they were hired. The contractor had hired the victims along with 10 others for Rs 14,000 each for a brick kiln in AP. Subsequently, he forcibly took all of them to Raipur. Odisha said it had prosecuted seven persons in this connection and put them behind the bars pending completion of the trial.
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Violence after gang-rape victim dies in UP Lucknow, July 15 As the mob threw stones, damaged passing vehicles and torched roadside shops, police resorted to cane charge and fired in the air to disperse the unruly elements. A married woman, 26, was raped by a gang of three men in Sikandararau village and then set on fire by her attackers. She died on last night after which her family, relatives and neighbours resorted to violence, raising anti-police and anti-government slogans. The villagers were particularly angry because none of the rapists has been arrested yet. They also kept the body on the road and blocked traffic. When police reached the spot, they were pelted with stones. — IANS
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Cong seeks relief for states with low rainfall
New Delhi, July 15 Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala pointed out today that the government had not yet met any state that was likely to be affected by drought. “As against 200.96 lakh hectare land put under Kharif cultivation last year, only 131 lakh hectare has been cultivated this year due to monsoon deficiency. The 85 reservoirs we have are at the lowest-ever level this year. The Bhakra Beas Management Board is meeting today and is likely to cut water supply to various states. And yet there is no alarm in government circles about how an impending drought would be addressed,” he said. — TNS
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India protested airspace violation by China: Jaitley
New Delhi, July 15 This was informed in the Rajya Sabha by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley today. The minister said two Chinese helicopters transgressed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on April 30 and June 13 this year in Uttarakhand. “Protests were lodged regarding the transgressions with China during the Flag Meetings on May 5 and June 23,” Jaitley told the House. India and China have three Flag Meeting points at Spanggur Gap (Ladakh), Nathu La (Sikkim) and Bum La (Arunachal Pradesh). The information was tabled in the House when in Brazil, PM Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed various issues, including the need to resolve boundary issues in an amicable manner. — TNS
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Another proposal of SC Collegium questioned
New Delhi, July 15 Last month, the government had returned for reconsideration the file containing the Collegium’s recommendation for the appointment of Gopal Subramanium as a judge of the apex court, following which the senior advocate opted out of being a candidate for the post. Now, the Centre wants the Collegium, comprising five senior most judges of the SC headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha, to review the proposal for the elevation of Justice Manjunath in the light of complaints received against him.
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200 more Indians return from Iraq
New Delhi, July 15 “One more flight! Iraqi Airways special flight from Najaf brought back 200 Indians nationals to Delhi earlier today,” a spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry tweeted. With the arrival of the fresh batch, the total number of Indians who have returned from the war-torn country crosses 2,500. While 2,500 tickets have already been utilised to bring back the Indians, an additional 1,000 tickets by the employers for the Indian workers have been facilitated by the mission, officials said. Meanwhile, nearly 50 Indians are still believed to be in conflict areas. — PTI
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Maharashtra truckers on strike from today
Mumbai, July 15 The truckers are demanding the escort fees to be abolished following the scrapping of octroi across the state other than Mumbai. “Escort fees were charged to provide escorts to trucks passing through the municipal area to ensure that goods were not unloaded in a city or town without payment of octroi. As octroi has been scrapped, there is no need for escorts. Hence, the fee should be scrapped,” AIMTC chief Bal Malkit Singh said. The truckers decided to go on strike after a meeting with the authorities today failed to yield any results. The Maharashtra Government had sought more time to consider the demand. — TNS
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Shakti Mill gang rapes Mumbai, July 15 "The JJB today convicted two juveniles in the gang-rape cases and the board has sent them to Boston School in Nashik for learning good behaviour," said Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam. Nikam also said the Board, comprising Principal Magistrate G B Jadhav and member Mary Shettiyar, found the two juveniles guilty under sections of gangrape, criminal conspiracy and molestation of the Indian Penal Code, besides other relevant sections. After the conviction, Nikam told the Board that the "minors committed the most heinous crime and a strong action may be taken against them." One of the juveniles was arrested in connection with the gang rape of the 22-year-old photojournalist while the other was arrested for the gang rape of the 18-year-old telephone operator. The sessions court had on April 4 awarded capital punishment to three convicts - Vijay Jadhav (19), Kasim Bengali (21) and Mohammed Salim Ansari (28) - in connection with both gang rapes. Besides, two accused - Ashfaque Sheikh and Siraj Rehman - were awarded life imprisonment for their involvement in the telephone operator and photojournalist gang rape cases, respectively. The telephone operator was gangraped on the premises of Shakti Mill in Central Mumbai in July last year, a month before the photojournalist was brutalised on August 22. The photojournalist, who was interning with an English magazine here, was gang-raped by three common convicts (in both the cases), Siraj Rehman and a minor boy when she had gone to the Shakti Mill compound with a male colleague on an assignment. — PTI
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UP Govt cuts women’s panel budget Lucknow, June 15 A RTI query by social activist Urvashi Sharma revealed that through the last three years, the Samajwadi Party government has slashed the budgetary allocations made to the state women’s commission. The state government informed that between 2011-12 and 2013-14, the budget of the women’s panel was cut by 85%. —
PTI
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New Delhi, July 15
New Delhi, July 15
New Delhi, July 15
