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Modi announces $80 m for Fiji
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Shah plans major organisational rejig
Demand for memorial to Oz writer John Lang
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Lanka releases five Indian fishermen on death row
SIT on black money to build database of tax crimes
ISRO chosen for Indira Gandhi peace prize
Govt to allocate 74 coal blocks by March
saradha
scam
Discussions won’t help, let’s go to the field: Cong leaders
Sena slams Pawar over snap poll remarks
Botched tubectomies: 28 women discharged, get compensation
adarsh
scam
M’rashtra seeks drought aid from Centre
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Modi announces $80 m for Fiji
Suva, November 19 Modi, who held talks with his Fijian counterpart Frank Bainimarama, also announced a $1 million special adaptation fund for the Pacific nations and a proposal to develop Pan Pacific Islands Project for tele-medicine and tele-education. His trip is the first by an Indian premier to Fiji in 33 years after Indira Gandhi in 1981. India and Fiji also agreed to expand their security and defence cooperation during Modi's day-long visit to Fiji, considered as hub in the Pacific Ocean region, as Suva rolled out the red carpet with billboards "Vula Modi (Welcome Modi) dotting various traffic intersections. Modi also utilised his visit to address a meeting of leaders of 12 Pacific Ocean countries, a move considered significant. He also addressed the Fijian National University, the first by a world leader. The other decisions announced at this meeting relate to an increase in Grant-in-Aid to Pacific Island Countries from $125,000 annually to $200,000 to each Pacific Island country for community projects, complimentary space to Pacific Island countries during exhibitions organised by ITPO to showcase their products and an offer to support the setting up of a Trade Office in New Delhi to promote trade between India and Pacific Island countries. "It is a new day and a new beginning in our relations with Fiji," Modi said at a joint media appearance with Bainimarama at the Prime Minister's office. — Agencies
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Shah plans major organisational rejig
New Delhi, November 19 Those who are expected to land key posts in the organisation include UP in charge Om Mathur, a close associate of Modi, Madhya Pradesh leader Kailash Vijaywarghia, who may be rewarded with the post of general secretary for his “good work in Haryana”, Himachal leader Anurag Thakur and Varun Gandhi, who was shown the door in the last reshuffle. Speculation is that HRD Minister Smriti Irani may also be included in Shah’s team. Her name is also doing the rounds for the post of Delhi CM and the party post may be a stop-gap arrangement. Yuva Morcha chief Anurag Thakur had lost out to Nadda in the race for a ministerial berth. Considering Shah’s focus on UP and Bihar, Varun along with senior spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz
Hussain may get the post of the general secretary. The recent expansion has resulted in five vacancies in Shah’s team of national office-bearers and if he strictly follows the one-man-one post principal—as has been the norm in the BJP—he will find at least five
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Demand for memorial to Oz writer John Lang
Mussoorie, November 19 Residents hailed the PM’s act of giving a unique gift to his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott. The gift included a commemorative photo collage showing Lang’s remarkable Indian connection. According to a tweet by Modi, the collage contained significant photographs of the certificate of his marriage with Margaret Wetter, at Christ Church, Mussoorie, on May 11, 1861. A picture of his grave that is situated at Camel’s Back Road cemetery in Mussoorie and a picture of a commemorative plaque placed at Christ Church in Mussoorie was presented to relive the memory of a remarkable Australian’s extraordinary Indian journey by the Indian Prime Minister. The connection between John Lang and Mussoorie surfaced once again with this act. The demand for restoring the grave of John Lang at the cemetery at Camel’s Back Road and construction of a memorial in his memory has gained momentum here. Local historian Jaiprakash Uttarakhandi said John Lang was born at Parramatta, Sydney, on December 19, 1816. Lang was educated at Sydney College under William Timothy Cape.
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language
row Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 19 The meeting, attended by functionaries of the sangh, remained inconclusive with Batra and his colleagues asking the Ambassador if Germany would teach Sanskrit in place of German in their own schools. They told Steiner that while his point was well appreciated and his love for German natural, he needed to appreciate India’s constitutional position on the matter. Present in the meeting was Monika Arora, counsel for the sangh, which had challenged in the Delhi High Court a 2011 Kendriya Vidyalaya Sansthan (KVS) circular that allowed German to be taught in place of Sanskrit in the three-language formula followed in
KVs.
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Lanka releases five Indian fishermen on death row
Colombo, November 19 “President Mahinda Rajapaksa issued a presidential pardon for them,” Presidential spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said. The Indian High Commission here said the five fishermen would not serve their sentence in India. The mission said it was in the process of working out the exact modalities of their release. “Yes they have been released and handed over to the High Commission. They will be sent to India and will not serve their sentence there. We are currently working on the modalities of the release,” a High Commission spokesperson said. The move comes less than a week before the SAARC summit in Nepal which will be attended by Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Emerson, P Augustus, R Wilson, K Prasath and J Langlet, all hailing from Tamil Nadu, were apprehended in 2011 and were sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court on October 30 for alleged drug trafficking. The court ruling had triggered fiery protests in parts of Tamil Nadu and sporadic violence broke out in and around Rameswaram island as a large number of people staged protests. India on November 11 had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka against a verdict of the high court awarding death sentence to them. Rajapaksa and Modi had a telephonic conversation last week on the issue. The issue of fishermen is a very emotive matter for both Sri Lanka and India, where Tamil Nadu-based parties, including AIADMK and DMK, have been regularly pressing the government to take up the matter with the Lankan authorities seriously. — PTI
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No nation can undermine Kabul-Delhi ties: Karzai
New Delhi, November 19 Stressing Afghanistan is pursuing the vision of peace and stability both in the country and the neighbourhood, Karzai reminded a select audience that it encompassed what former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh envisaged of having breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul, something that could be achieved when boundaries did not restrict the movement of people. "This will remain a vision so long as terrorism is used as an instrument of the state policy by some of us in the region...once this is done [away with] other impediments including open borders will follow soon..." Karzai said delivering a lecture on "Afghanistan and neighbourhood" organised by the Indian Habitat Centre and Delhi Policy Group and chaired by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Endorsing Prime Minister Narendra Modi' s move to strengthen SAARC and enhance cooperation, he said, Afghanistan would give all support it could and continue to work against terrorism in the region. He said Afghanistan had consciously developed relations with all its neighbours, including India, Pakistan, Iran, China and Russia both under SAARC and Shanghai Cooperation with the firm conviction that neither its independent foreign policy or sovereignty couldn't be compromised. Responding to questions whether President Ashraf Ghani's visit to China should be interpreted as warming up to Beijing at the expense of New Delhi, Karzai said it was an incorrect reading of the visit since the new President had gone to attend a conference. “We (Afghanistan) are like a beautiful flower you all want, We will engage you all.”
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SIT on black money to build database of tax crimes
New Delhi, November 19 The SIT is planning to bring together the databases of CBDT, Financial Intelligence Unit, Enforcement Directorate, Customs and Excise and few other departments so that in case of an input being received on any instance of black money generation, it could be quickly taken up for action, sources privy to the development said. “The database will initially be shared by the agencies by way of regular exchange of information over the existing channels. Later, it is planned to be made electronic,” they said. The aim of the SIT is to begin “seamless sharing of information” among all the agencies involved with it and also those outside it, they said. A team of officials has already begun working on this plan and the agencies have been asked to identify common ‘red flag’ indicators collated by different departments. — PTI
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ISRO chosen for Indira Gandhi peace prize
New Delhi, November 19 The award jury, chaired by Vice President Hamid Ansari, made the announcement today. “The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is awarded to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in recognition of its path-breaking achievement, culminating in the Mars orbiter mission, its significant contribution in strengthening international cooperation in peaceful use of outer space,” a statement said. The jury also noted the pioneering role played by it in the application of advanced technologies in promoting broadbased and sustainable social and economic development and addressing basic needs of the people particularly in remote and rural areas of the country. The ISRO has shown how Indian scientists and talents can be harnessed to international level, catching up with more advanced nations in a highly technical and sophisticated field, it said. “It has shown how true self-reliance is, often working in adverse circumstances when it was denied adequate access to the latest research and development elsewhere,” the statement added. The ISRO has demonstrated that in space technology, India stands shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world, it said. — PTI
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Govt to allocate 74 coal blocks by March
New Delhi, November 19 Releasing the guidelines, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said the Centre planned to conduct two-stage bidding under the Coal Mines Special Provisions Ordinance. Qualified bidders in stage one would be asked to put in financial bid under e-auctioning process, in which the bidding would be open to projects in power, steel and iron, and cement sectors. The 74 coal blocks together have the capability of producing 210 million tonnes of coal every year. While 42 blocks where mining has already been underway have the capacity of 90 million tonnes every year, the 32 untapped blocks, which are to be put up for auction, have the capacity to produce 120 million tonnes of coal every year. Some blocks will be reserved for PSUs and remaining will be put on auction in which public sector entities can also participate. Swarup said the government would monitor the work programme at the 74 coal blocks, which will be auctioned by March 31. “A cap on the number of blocks a company can bid for will be put in place to avoid monopoly,” said Swarup. The cap will be applicable for both public and private entities. Swarup said details on how the restriction will be imposed are being worked upon. The ministry is expected to notify new rules and regulations by next week after examination of comments and suggestions received by it. “There will be performance bank guarantees also in place,” said Swarup. Swarup hoped to finalise a request for proposal (RFP) for auction by December 22 and the e-auction of blocks by March 6. He said the companies bidding for the auction would have to furnish the additional levy imposed by the SC by December 19. The penalty levied would be paid by cancelled block allottees. The Centre plans to allow a successful bidder of coal mines to use coal from the mine allocated to it for any its other plant after prior intimation the government. The rules leave room for mines notified by the Central Government and figuring in Schedule 1 of the ordinance for allotment directly to power companies, which have bagged projects through competitive tariff route.
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Kolkata, November 19 The two have been asked to appear before CBI officials on the CGO premises at Salt Lake on Friday. Mitra got himself admitted to a private nursing home and declined to comment, but Bose said he had received a letter from the CBI and that he would cooperate with agency in the inquiry. The CBI claims both Mitra and Bose, like some other TMC leaders, had extorted money from the Saradha group. Arrested TMC MP Kunal Ghosh and party’s minority cell leader Asif Khan had named Mamata as one of the principal beneficiaries of the scam. Other TMC leaders on the list of beneficiaries include Mukul Roy, Partha Chatterjee, Ferhad Hakim (Bobby), Shovan Chatterjee and Suvendu Adhikeray. Mamata told a private a television channel last evening that she would resign if the allegations of her involvement in the case were proven. — TNS
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Discussions won’t help, let’s go to the field: Cong leaders
New Delhi, November 19 The meeting, attended among others by former Coal Minister Shriprakash Jaiswal, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kantilal Bhuria, Congress MP Deepender Hooda, former Punjab Congress chief Mohinder Singh Kaypee, former minister Renuka Choudhry, Indian Youth Congress secretary Suraj Hegde and Congress secretary Raja Ram Pal, lasted three hours with some participants urging Rahul to “start working in the field” like his grandmother Indira Gandhi whose birth anniversary incidentally falls today. It has been six months since the Congress suffered the Lok Sabha jolt ending up with just 44 seats. The party is, however, yet to announce a mass contact programme or restructuring plan. Rahul is making attempts at revival by talking to leaders and has chaired over 10 such meetings having met over 100 leaders. A majority of the discussions have been welcomed as free and frank with leaders telling their vice-president to stop coming across as a reluctant leader. A former minister who attended a meeting said, “I told Rahul about the perception that he is a reluctant leader. He listened carefully. Most of us have told him that he needed to be aggressive and proactive when it came to connecting to the people. We are losing time. We can’t wait to chalk out formal travel schedules to meet our own supporters. That has to be an organic, seamless process like visiting people when they need you as Rahul did when he visited Chhattisgarh after sterilisation procedure deaths and Andhra Pradesh after the Hudhud cyclone.”
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Sena slams Pawar over snap poll remarks
Mumbai, November 19 “Sharad Pawar is taking advantage of this unstable government, but the Shiv Sena will stand firmly here. Let Pawar do whatever he wishes to. The Sena is fulfilling its role as an Opposition party honestly and with utmost sincerity,” an editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said. The Sena alleged that Pawar “is known for playing politics of distrust”, which is why he first gave support to the BJP and is now apparently threatening to withdraw it. “Pawar thinks he can play politics as he wishes to and turn the political situation upside down. He wants to keep the future of the new government in his hands with 41 MLAs he has. The the picture he has presented of the current political situation is laughable,” the Sena said. Pawar’s words should not be taken seriously as he has a habit of saying something and doing something else, it said. “He has the habit of creating an air of confusion and then gaining politically from it. This is his politics of survival,” it said. — PTI
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Botched tubectomies: 28 women discharged, get compensation
Bilaspur, November 19 “The women were discharged last evening. Each of these women was handed a cheque of Rs 50,000 as per the announcement made by Chief Minister Raman Singh after the incident,” the official said. Bilaspur Divisional Commissioner Sonmoni Borah and Collector Siddharth Komal Singh Pardeshi were present during their discharge and vehicles were arranged by the administration to send these women home, he said. Those discharged include six from Gaurela, 10 from Pendra, nine from Marwahi and three from Takhatpur regions. “Eighteen patients from the district hospital and 10 from CIMS have been discharged after successful treatment,” he said.
— PTI
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International film fest begins in Goa today
panjim, November 19 As finishing touches are being put to the signature décor of art director Sushant Tari, the buzz is palpable at the Entertainment Society of Goa Complex in the IFFI Centre. The 45th edition of the film festival will screen over 310 films, of which 178 are foreign films from 79 countries. Fifteen films will be competing for the prestigious Golden Peacock that carries a cash award of Rs 40 lakh to be shared between the producer and the director. The inaugural function, to be held at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium, will be graced by actor Amitabh Bachchan. Another superstar Rajnikanth who has been chosen for the Centenary Award for Indian film Personality of the Year too will attend the opening ceremony. While Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf's ‘The President’ will open the festival, Hong Kong's celebrated filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai's ‘The Grandmaster’ will end the event. Another attraction is open-air screening of Indian films every day. The festival will also offer 23 films by students from premier film institutions of the country.
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Mumbai, November 19 The court, however, stayed the execution of its order for four weeks to enable the investigating agency to file an appeal. “I am inclined to reject the petition and dismiss it,” Justice ML Tahilyani said in an one-line order the details of which would be pronounced later. The judgment was delivered through video conference as Justice Tahilyani is currently presiding over a bench in Nagpur. After the court delivered the order, CBI counsel Hiten Venegaonkar prayed for a stay so that the agency could appeal against it, which was granted. “The plea for a stay on the order is being granted as CBI wants to file an appeal,” the judge said. — PTI
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M’rashtra seeks drought aid from Centre
Mumbai, November 19 Of the 39,134 villages in the state, more than 19,000 have been affected by water shortage. "We have sought assistance from the Centre to provide water to the affected villages," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told mediapersons. The state government is yet to notify a drought in the state. Apart from poor rainfall this year, unseasonal rain last month has damaged the winter crop, according to government officials. Crops, including paddy, banana, grape, soya bean and pomegranate, have been destroyed in Marathwada and Vidarbha, Fadnavis admitted. Shiv Sena’s Leader of the Opposition Eknath Shinde today said water shortage was forcing farmers to abandon their cattle in many parts of the state. "Desperate farmers are selling their cattle to slaughter houses," Shinde who returned from a tour of affected villages said. He said the BJP government was as insensitive to the farmers' plight as the former Congress-NCP government. "We are demanding that the government pay a compensation of at least Rs 10,000 per acre apart from halting all loan recovery process in the affected areas," Shinde said.
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Presidential pardon
The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is awarded to the ISRO in recognition of its path-breaking achievement, culminating in the Mars orbiter mission, its significant contribution to strengthening international cooperation in peaceful use of outer
space
Cap on biddings by firms
Change ‘reluctant leader’ image, Rahul told