ISRO successfully launches IRNSS 1C navigation satellite
16 oct, 2014
India successfully launched IRNSS 1C on board ISRO's PSLV C26 rocket from the spaceport here at 1.32 am on Thursday, moving a step closer to setting up the country's own navigation system on par with Global Positioning System (GPS) of the US.
IRNSS 1C is the third of the series of seven satellites ISRO is planing to launch to put in place what is called the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. Lifting off from the First Launch Pad here exactly at 1.32 am the rocket painted a golden brush of flames in the night sky and was a visual delight for onlookers.
Twenty minutes after the launch, the launch vehicle successfully placed the 1,425.4 kg weighing satellite on the intended orbit.
ISRO has aimed to launch the satellite into a sub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (sub GTO) with a 284 km perigee (nearest point to Earth) and 20,650 km apogee (farthest point to Earth) with an inclination of 17.86 degree with respect to the equatorial plane.
"India has successfully launched IRNSS 1C. The entire ISRO team deserves congratulations", ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said after the launch.
He also thanked the entire team that worked behind for the successful launch.This was the seventh time ISRO was using an XL version of the PSLV rocket for its missions.
The mission life of the 1,425,4 kg is 10 years. The launch of PSLV 26 carrying IRNSS 1C was actually scheduled on October 16 but the countdown was postponed following some technical reasons.

The fully deployed IRNSS system would consist of three satellites in GEO stationary orbit and four in inclined geosynchronous orbit, about 36,000 km altitude above earth.
The navigational system would provide two types of services -- Standard Positioning Service, which is provided to all the users and Restricted Service, which is an encrypted service provided only to the authorised users.
The IRNSS system, which would ultimately have seven satellites and ground stations was targeted to be completed by 2015 at a total cost of Rs 1420 crores, ISRO sources said.
The first two satellites in the series -- IRNSS 1A and IRNSS 1B were launched in July last year and April this year respectively.
Being developed by India, IRNSS is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in the country as well as the region extending up to 1,500 km from its boundary, which is its primary service area.
IRNSS's applications include terrestrial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, navigation aide for hikers and travellers, visual and voice navigation for drivers. While India is developing its navigation system, a select group of countries have their own navigation systems - Russia's Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), United States' Global Positioning System (GPS), European Union's Galileo (GNSS), China's BeiDou satellite navigation system and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System.

Narendra Modi wave once again, BJP close to majority in both Maharashtra and Haryana
16 oct, 2014
The last votes in the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections have been cast, the results of which will be out on October 19. In the meanwhile, a slew of exit polls are already attempting to indicate which way the winds are expected to blow.
In both Maharashtra and Haryana, there are multi-party fights. The margins are assumed to be narrow, which may well be a psephologist's nightmare and throw the exit polls out of gear. But the overall trend which has emerged from the exit poll results published so far suggest a positive swing for the BJP. In both the states, the party seems to be close to form the government on its own, if the exit polls are to be believed.
The C-Voter survey predicts BJP to win 129 seats in Maharashtra, 16 short of the magic figure. It predicts that Shiv Sena will win 56, Congress 43, NCP 36 and MNS will get a paltry 12 seats. So if C-voter is correct, then we may be up for a possibility of BJP as the ruler and Shiv Sena, the principle opponent.
According to a survey done by ABPNews - AC Nielsen, BJP and its allies are set to get 127 seats. Shiv Sena will come in the second spot with 77 seats, Congress down to 40 and NCP is projected only to get 34 seats. MNS may only end up with 5 seats, if the ABP news survey turns out to be correct.
Today's Chanakya, who almost correctly predicted the result of the last Lok Sabha elections, has predicted a simple majority for the BJP in the Maharashtra assembly election. They are predicting BJP to get between 143-161 seats, Shiv Sena may get between 62 and 80 seats, Congress is projected to get between 22 and 32 seats, NCP may be reduced to the fourth spot and can get between 23 and 33. MNS and others may get between 6 and 16 seats.
BJP's situation also looks quite rosy in Haryana. It played a gamble by breaking away from the Haryana Janhit congress just before the polls and also didn't project a chief ministerial candidate. But it looks like the Narendra Modi effect has catapulted BJP from an insignificant force in the state into the driving seat.

C-Voter predicts BJP to get 37 seats, 8 short of the magic number in Haryana. The ruling Congress may be relegated to the third position with only 15 seats. INLD, which fared poorly in the Lok Sabha polls, may get 28 seats and HJC and its allies are tipped to get 6 seats. So the C-Voter survey indicates BJP to emerge as the single largest party in Haryana, but it stops short of saying that the party will get a majority.
However the ABPNews-AC Nielson survey predicts a majority for the BJP. It predicts the party to get 46 seats and the INLD to get 29 seats. The Congress may be completely reduced to get only 10 seats. HJC and its allies are slated to get only 3 seats.
Today's Chanakya has predicted a clean sweep for the BJP in Haryana too. It gives BJP between 45 and 59, INLD to get between 16 and 30, Congress may be down to as low as 5 and can get a maximum of 15 seats, going by Chanakya's forecast.
What happens finally will only be known on October 19. But for today, there is no prize for guessing which party will feel like nearing a home run.

Supreme Court talks tough on Ganga clean-up drive
16 oct, 2014
Being unhappy over the Centre's failure to present its vision for cleaning the Ganga river, the Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the government and said if the authorities at various level have been stalling the project because of corruption and heads must roll for this.
The court also slammed for its delay in taking steps to check the industries which have been discharging the effluents into the river and sought the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to file an affidavit and posted the matter for October 29.
A bench headed by justice TS Thakur expressing displeasure over the affidavit filed recently by the government stating that in the short term measure, cleaning work will start in three phases and they will be completed in next 10 years. "You are unable to tell us your vision stage-wise on cleaning the holy river Ganga and your ultimate aim," the bench said and asked the Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar why the post of CPCB chairperson had been vacant for the past six months.

It suggested that the project needs an expert with a vision like former delhi Metro Rail Chief E Sreedharan, the man who built India's metros, for the mammoth task. "This case is pending here in court for the last 29 years...nothing concrete has been done. We don't want to wait further...we also understand it can't be done overnight...but you should have an expert who has a vision like Sreedharan," the court said.
The court also indicated an experts committee like Bhure Lal, to remove encroachment on river banks, can be set up to take the assignment.
The court also observed that if the discharge of industrial pollutants into the river was stopped, 30% of the Ganga would be clean. But pollution boards in the states the Ganga flows through were not stopping this, they said, because of deep-rooted corruption.

"The pollution control board has to stop industries polluting the Ganga. Those supposed to prevent pollution are not doing their work and are being bribed. Heads must roll," the Supreme Court ordered. It directed the CPCB to explain what action it had taken against 218 industries situated along the Ganga, who have been charged with polluting the river.
Kumar, appeared for the Centre repeatedly submitted that Narendra Modi government is committed to clean the river. The Centre also told the court that a consortium of seven IITs involved in the project will give a report by December and a roadmap will emerge. He referred to the minutes of meeting held by the senior officiers last month and informed the court that the government has issued notices to industries to implement zero pollution within three months.
The Supreme Court is hearing a public interest litigation on the cleaning of the Ganga in 1985. Cleaning Ganga was not only BJP's election agenda but also prime minister Narendra Modi, a Lok sabha member from Varanasi, based on the banks of the river, has pledged to clean the river. He also sought involvement of NRIs in the project during his trip to the US recently.

Army recovers Pakistan origin Claymore mine, averts major tragedy on LoC
16 oct, 2014
For the first time the Indian army has recovered a lethal claymore mine having 800 pellets with a killing area of 50 meters and danger area of around 200 meters, on the Line of Control (LoC) in Saujiyan sector of Poonch district. "A Pakistan origin claymore mine along with a knife, shawl, tracksuit and caps was recovered in Saujiyan sector on October 14 by an alert LoC domination patrol. The mine recovery reaffirms the handiwork of inimical terrorists and subversive elements in spreading acrimonious activities on LoC and hinterland," said Lieutenant Colonel Manish Mehta, defence spokesman at Jammu.
Security analysts suspect that the mine could have been planted by the Border Action Team (BAT) of Pakistan to cause large scale casualties at a time when the tensions are mounting on the LoC and International Border (IB) following relentless firing and shelling from across the border. BAT is a mix of Pakistani troops and the militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohommad which are used as the force multiplier on the LoC.

"The Indian army continues to enhance and upgrade its vigil on a daily basis resulting in such recovery of lethal mine which has 800 pellets and has a killing area of 50mtrs and danger area of around 200mtrs. Indian Army is fully prepared and geared up to handle any such misadventure or nefarious design of terrorists and inimical elements. It will continue to thwart all such activities," he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Mehta noted that the LoC has always been facing acts of uncalled for aggression from across in various forms but the alert Indian Army deployed in the challenging terrain of Pir Panjal mountains have always been answering these provocative acts with resolute, firm and appropriate response.

"With no headway being made on any ground whether the IB or LoC, inimical elements have now started taking assistance from the terrorists in planting IED and mines on the LoC. The incidents of IED in Balnoi Sector on October 10, is one such example," he said.
The defence spokesman said the high reaching yet challenging treacherous terrain of Poonch has been often used by "inimical elements" to give shape to their evil designs. "It has always flaunted the rights and dignity of civilian population by targeting them both during Ceasefire Violation and by planting IED on roads being used by them also," he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has shifted its focus from IB to LoC by resorting to heavy firing and shelling in Sabzian sector of Poonch on Wednesday. Sources said Pakistan resorted to heavy fire using small arms and 82 mm mortars from 9 am to 12 30 pm. Indian army gave response in equal measure to silence the Pakistan guns, sources added.

Congress will form government in Haryana for third time, says B S Hooda
15 oct, 2014
With polling for the assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra currently underway, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said here on Wednesday that the Congress Party will form the government for the third time in the state.
"This will be the third time that Congress will form its government. The kind of responses we have been getting during campaign indicates our clear win," said Hooda confidently.
Urging people to cast their votes, he said, "After much agitation we have got the freedom to vote so everyone must exercise their right to vote to form a stable government which will efficiently serve them."
Differentiating between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, Hooda said, "Both the elections have their own issues. We cannot compare both."
He also said that people were concerned about the recent border skirmishes because many soldiers in the Army were from Haryana.

"Every 10th soldier in Indian Army is from Haryana. Everybody is concerned about them especially after the kinds of movements have been taking place from last four months on the border," Hooda pointed out.
He also said that more soldiers had died recently than in the past four years, "The number of soldiers who have lost their lives in recent times is much higher than from last four years, when Congress was in power."
Polling in Maharashtra and Haryana for the Assembly elections began at 7 am today and will conclude at 6 pm today evening, except for some naxal affected areas of Maharashtra, where it will be completed by 3 pm.

Assembly elections: Moderate to brisk polling in Maharashtra, Haryana
15 oct, 2014
Elections were being held on Wednesday to Maharashtra and Haryana assemblies with moderate to brisk polling recorded in the first couple of hours.People were queuing at polling stations before the voting began at 7 AM amid tight security to elect the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.
Among the early voters were NCP's Ajit Pawar, former deputy chief minister, MP Supriya Sule and Pratibha Pawar in Baramati, Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Vinod Tawde in Mumbai and BJP's Pankaja Munde in Beed, where by-election is also being held for Lok Sabha seat following the death of her father Gopinath Munde in a road accident.
Among Bollywood celebrities Rekha and Abhishek Bachchan cast their votes in the morning.

4,119 candidates are in the electoral fray, including to 276 women in the state with 8.35 crore voters eligible to exercise their right to franchise.
Nearly seven per cent turnout was recorded till 10 AM in Haryana, according to the state's Chief Electoral Officer, Shrikant Walgad. 1,351 candidates, including 116 women, are contesting on 90 seats in the state. The state has over 1.63 crore voters, including 87.37 lakh women.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hood was among the prominent people who cast their vote early this morning.
Voting will continue till 6 PM. Counting of votes is on October 19.
The riveting contest in the two states is being seen as the first major test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity after the Lok Sabha polls and he had spearheaded the BJP campaign in both the states.
Maharashtra's established political formations - Shiv Sena-BJP and Cong-NCP split ahead of the polls and the parties are contesting alone after 15 years. Congress and NCP had ruled the state for 15 years from 1999.

In Haryana too, the BJP junked its allies and is hoping to get majority on its own to dislodge Congress that has been ruling the state for the last 10 years.
Polling was marred by rains in some parts of Vidarbha in Maharashtra. A policeman on election duty was killed after being struck by lightning in Avdeghat polling station of Savner constituency.
Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan cast his vote in Karad in western Maharashtra, from where he is a candidate.
State BJP president Devendra Fadnavis, a front runner for chief ministerial post in case BJP comes to power, also cast his vote.

Other Bollywood personalities who went to polling booths in Mumbai early today were Jaya Bachchan, Amol Palekar and Atul Kulkarni. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar also cast his vote.
In Haryana, barring glitches in EVM machines at a couple of places, polling was going on smoothly
However, BJP candidate from Narnaund assembly segment, Abhimanyu, alleged that attempts to capture booth were made in Baas village in the constituency at behest of INLD, which denied the charge.
Walgad said supervisory teams are keeping an eye on polling parties and would report from time to time during polling to their concerned senior officers.
Constant vigil was being maintained on persons and vehicles in all border areas of Haryana. Teams of flying squads were patrolling to ensure smooth conduct of elections.

If a tea seller can become Prime Minister, I can become Chief Minister too: Uddhav Thackeray
15 oct, 2014
With the Maharashtra state assembly elections just a few hours away from now, seems like all gloves are off between the two estranged allies, BJP and Shiv Sena. In a last-ditch attempt to drum up support for Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray has given an interview in the party mouthpiece Saamna. He has thrown the gauntlet at PM Narendra Modi by calling him chaiwallah - like Mani Shankar Aiyar did before the Lok Sabha elections, to fatal consequence for the Congress.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has expressed full confidence that his party will come to power saying, "If the tea seller can become the Prime Minister, I can become the Chief Minister too. The interview taken by Sanjay Raut, executive editor of the party's mouth piece Saamna will appear in Wednesday's edition, but already official communication channels of the Sena are circulating the most aggressive part of the interview via whatsapp, in a bid to ostensibly drum up support in the eleventh hour.

Bhartiya Janta Party and Shiv Sena had broken their 25-year old alliance over the issue of seat SHARING on September 25, just two days before filing the nominations. After this, Thackeray had also severely criticised BJP and Narendra Modi. He had launched a scathing attack on Modi saying that while Pakistan is violating the ceasefire, our PM is busy campaigning for the assembly polls. He even called Narendra Modi's campaign tactics as similar to that run by Afzal Khan.

He stated that the break-up of the Sena-BJP alliance, which saw success and failure in the last 25 years had saddened him, but he was still satisfied that he did not bend before anyone. Thackeray, in the interview has answered many questions that have been on the mind of Shiv Sainiks. Will Uddhav Thackeray's ploy of going out against Modi result in brightening the fortune of the Sena or will it backfire? This is anybody's guess, but on the eve of the election, Uddhav has certainly stirred the hornet's nest by calling Modi a chaiwallah.

HUDHUD EFFECT: Heavy rains claims five lives in Uttar Pradesh, several districts on high alert
15 oct, 2014
Lucknow: Several areas of Delhi, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh experienced rains on Tuesday, two days after Cyclone Hudhud hit several parts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.According to news reports, several states are experienced rains at this time of the year due to impact of Cyclone Hudhud. In fact numerous districts of Uttar Pradesh were on high alert after heavy rains lashed the state. It has been reported five people have lost their lives in Uttar Pradesh due to the rains caused by Hudhud.
Destruction of property, uprooted trees have affected the transport facilities. It’s feared that the crops too could have been destroyed due to unprecedented rainfall. Parts of Delhi, NCR experienced rains today morning and light rains have been predicted.

“Cloudy conditions and light rains will be in Delhi only for the next 24 hours. It might not continue after that,” M Duraisamy, Scientist, Met Department said. Heavy rainfall and high-speed winds will continue to lash areas of Uttar Pradesh resulting in the plummeting of temperature.
Lucknow received 9.5 mm rainfall since Monday leading to a drop in the day temperature by five degrees to 27.7 degrees Celsius, the Met Office said. The morning temperature today was recorded at 23.6 degrees Celsius. The state capital faced winds with a speed of 35 - 45 km per hour
District administrations in Bahraich, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Shrawasti, Gonda, Maharajganj and Gorakhpur have been alerted following heavy rainfall in the region. Patna has also been facing continuous rainfall for the past three days and heavy rainfall has been predicted for today.

Talks with Pakistan only 'without the shadow of terrorism': India
14 oct, 2014
India has said that serious bilateral dialogue can happen only "without the shadow of terrorism" as Pakistan raked up the Kashmir issue at the UN. The forthright Indian stand was put forward at the Fourth Committee meeting in UN General Assembly on decolonisation issues on Friday when the Pakistani delegate raised the issue.
The Pakistani diplomat said the decolonisation agenda of the UN would be incomplete without resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and Islamabad is willing to engage New Delhi to settle the issue.
"Pakistan is willing to engage India in a comprehensive dialogue to normalise relations between the two countries by finding an amicable solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
"Peaceful resolution of this dispute is imperative for durable peace and stability in South Asia," he said, quoting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's UNGA address where he had said a veil cannot be drawn on the issue of Kashmir and resolving the issue is the responsibility of the international community.

Exercising the Right of Reply, Abhishek Singh, First Secretary in the Indian mission to the UN, rejected the "untenable" comments made by the Pakistani diplomat and reminded him about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks at UNGA last month in which he had said that he is prepared to engage in serious bilateral dialogue with Pakistan "in a peaceful atmosphere without the shadow of terrorism."
The Pakistani diplomat responded saying that his country condemns terrorism in all its forms and the "just struggle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for their inalienable right to self-determination cannot be subsumed under the label of terrorism."
He said that in South Asia the "unresolved" Jammu and Kashmir dispute has been at the heart of conflict and tensions for decades. Recognised by many UN resolutions, the dispute is about the exercise of the right to self-determination by the Kashmiris, he added.

Singh said that it is regrettable that Pakistan has made a reference to Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India. He added that the references to Jammu and Kashmir during the session are also "completely irrelevant" to the work of the Fourth Committee.
"I would like to bring to the notice of this Committee that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have peacefully chosen their destiny in accordance with the universally accepted democratic principles and practices and they continue to do so.
"Democracy in Jammu and Kashmir has enabled the people of the state to freely express their wishes and elect their representatives," Singh said. The Pakistani diplomat said that according to various UN resolutions the settlement of the J&K issue would be through a "free and impartial plebiscite" conducted under UN auspices.

"No electoral exercise conducted by Indian authorities in Jammu and Kashmir can substitute a free and impartial plebiscite mandated by these UNSC resolutions," he said. Exercising the Right to Reply for the second time, Singh said India rejects "all the untenable and unsolicited remarks" made by the Pakistan delegate, to which the Pakistani diplomat responded that "merely rejecting the legality of an argument does not change the legal status."

'Nirbhay' missile scheduled to be test fired on Friday
14 oct, 2014
India is ready for the second test fire of its indigenously developed sub-sonic long range cruise missile 'Nirbhay' from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur. "Range co-ordination and installation of missile and its sub-system is near complete and the test fire may be taken up on Friday if everything goes as scheduled," said a scientist of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) associated with the project.
It would be the second developmental trial of the missile. The first test was conducted on March 12, 2013 from the same base. However, "the flight had to be terminated mid-way, as deviations were observed from its intended course," said an official.
India has with its arsenal 290 km range supersonic "BrahMos" cruise missile which is jointly developed by India and Russia. But 'Nirbhay' with long range capability is a different kind of missile being developed by the Aeronautical development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO lab in Bangalore.
Nirbhay has good loitering capability, good control and guidance, high degree of accuracy in terms of impact and very good stealth features, the official said.

CYCLONE HUDHUD: Death toll mounts to 24, PM Narendra Modi to visit affected areas
14 oct, 2014
Vizag: Two days after the devastating cyclonic storm Hudhud ravaged Andhra Pradesh, the death toll in the state on Tuesday mounted to 24 with 16 more bodies found."A total of 15 deaths were reported from Visakhapatnam district, five in Vizianagaram and one in Srikakulam," Special Commissioner in state Disaster Management Department K Hymavathi told the media.
Advisor (Communications) to the state government, Parakala Prabhakar said that most of the deaths occurred due to fall of trees. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit Visakhapatnam and undertake an aerial survey of the affected areas on Tuesday afternoon.
According to the disaster management department, over 1.35 lakh people are taking shelter in relief camps where over four lakh people are provided with food.
"Food packets and essential items are transported from Vijayawada and other places by air. The aircraft carrying the relief material had problems in landing in the morning, but it was sorted out," Prabhakar said.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is camping in Visakhapatnam to oversee relief operations, undertook an aerial survey of the city and reviewed the situation with officials and also visited fishing harbour in the city.

Naidu announced an ex-gratia of Rs.five lakh each to next of the kin of the deceased and the provision of 25 kgs rice, one kg sugar and five litres of Kerosene. The Chandrababu Naidu government in Andhra Pradesh has formed five special teams to look after health, restoration, relief, power and sanitation.
The state government will provide five litres of kerosene, 50 kg rice, and one kg sugar for the fishermen and weavers whose work has been affected due to the calamity.
Meanwhile, the picturesque port city of Visakhapatnam, a major industrial, educational and tourism hub in the east coast, which lay battered yesterday is showing signs of returning to normalcy with workers removing debris lying strewn on streets.
Vizag resembled a war-ravaged zone yesterday as Hudhud unleashed gusty winds and heavy rains that uprooted trees, knocked down cell towers, transformers, and telephone poles at several places. Communication systems and electricity broke down in the city since Saturday night and people at many a places are falling back on radio to know the updates about the cyclone.

Hudhud did not spare Visakhapatnam airport either blowing away its roof in gales. Lights and boards in the facility are either knocked down on ground or swept away. Meanwhile, the relief personnel, including from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Army, began clearing the debris and made way for flow of traffic on some of the major roads.
Prabhakar said the government is speaking to telecom service providers to see that the communication systems are restored at the earliest. "The enumeration of crops and property loss has begun, he said," adding that 45,000 electric poles would be installed to restore power.
Of this, 2000 poles have reached Vizag and restoration works are being carried out, Prabhakar said. Noting that the government is trying to restore all telecom systems by tonight, Prabhakar said that 500 field staff and 100 engineers are working day-and-night to restore normalcy.
Responding to Naidu's call yesterday to upload photos of the damages on social media, many citizens in the cyclone-hit places have sent images which would be synchronised with the images of the remote-sensing agencies.
Meanwhile, East Godavari district administration said tonight that about 20,000 people have been shifted to 72 relief camps.

An official release said the Army teams continued to carry out relentless rescue operations, following landfall of Hudhud cyclone in Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts of Andhra Pradesh. Four such teams at Atchutapuram have rescued 117 stranded people in Pudimadka, a remote village 55 km from Visakhapatnam.
Two other Army rescue teams, on receipt of information about a blocked axis due to uprooting of large number of trees and electricity poles, worked throughout the night yesterday and cleared the road communications in Srikakulam district, thereby evacuating trapped locals, NDRF and Navy rescue teams.
Presently, four rescue teams with boats are engaged in rescue of around 1800 people who were found stranded in inundated areas around village Konda Chakarapalli in Vangara Mandalam of Srikakulam district.
Of them, 126 people, including women and children have been rescued so far and rescue operation is in progress to evacuate the remaining. Additional rescue teams of Army have also moved to Srikakulam District to extend help to the suffering people, the release said.

President Pranab Mukherjee to meet Norway's King, other dignitaries on Monday
13 oct, 2014
President Pranab Mukherjee will meet Norway's head of state King Herald fifth and other dignitaries today as part of his state visit to the Nordic nation.
President Mukherjee who reached Oslo on Sunday was accorded a traditional welcome on the first leg of his six-day visit to Norway and Finland.
He is the first ever Indian head of state to visit Norway. During the President's visit, India and Norway are expected to reach an agreement on nuclear safety measures. Other agreements to be inked are in the fields of education, TRADE and earth sciences.
President will also visit Fram Museum on Monday from where he will speak with Indian scientists working at Himadri--the country's first Arctic research station located at Svalbard through a visual link. He will also interact with Indian PhD students studying at the University of Svalbard.

HD Deve Gowda, Sharad Yadav back Charan Singh memorial demand
13 oct, 2014
The Centre's decision reportedly to reject the proposal for a memorial to former prime minister the late Chaudhary Charan Singh was an insult to all the farmers in the country, JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda said here today.
Speaking at a rally organised by the Chaudhary Charan Singh Memorial Committee, former prime minister Deve Gowda told the gathering that they would have to collectively put pressure on the government to allow the building of the memorial at 12, Tughlaq Road in New Delhi.
Other speakers at the event, among whom were JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav and former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, also raised a demand for the Bharat Ratna to be posthumously conferred on Singh.
Charan Singh's son and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh, too, attended the event.
12, Tughlaq Road had been the residence of former Union aviation minister Ajit Singh. He was fined for overstaying in the type-VIII bungalow after failing to win a parliamentary seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

1,000 Gujarat farmers to get solar pumps for irrigation from state government
13 oct, 2014
The Gujarat government has decided to provide solar-powered water pumps to 1,000 farmers to reduce usage of conventional power and to ease its financial burden due to subsidy on electricity provided for irrigation.
The project will be implemented under the aegis of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) and four distribution companies (DISCOMS) - Daxin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd, Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Ltd, Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Ltd and Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Ltd, according to a state government notification issued last month.

The purchase of solar-powered water pumps will be initiated in the coming days through tenders, GUVNL's chief engineer (technical) YD Brahmbhatt told PTI. These submersible pumps will be of 3 to 5 horse power (HP) and cost Rs 6 lakh per unit to the government, totalling Rs 60 crore for 1,000 pumps, he said.
"Our main aim is to reduce the burden on our existing power plants and encourage the farmers to opt for solar powered pumps for their regular irrigation needs. We have given a go ahead to this project after successful testing of 25 such pumps for last one-and-half years, as we received very good feed back," he said.
As per a recent notification issued by state energy and petro-chemicals department, the solar pumps are necessary as 20% of total electricity produced in the state is being used for agriculture purpose, which ultimately increases the financial burden on government in the form of subsidy.
The government is also worried about the long list of pending applications seeking power connections for irrigation. The state government has to incur huge expenditure to set up basic infrastructure for providing new power connections for agriculture purpose, stated the notification announcing the commencement of the project.

"These solar-based water pumps will be given to those who have already applied for regular agriculture electricity connection as on March 31, 2014. At present, we are going to distribute 1,000 such pumps across the state with the help of DISCOMS," said Brahmbhatt.
"However, farmers will have to pay a nominal price, which is Rs 1,000 per HP for tribal farmers and Rs 5,000 per HP for other farmers. Thus, it will come to just Rs 15,000 for a farmer opting for a 3 HP pump. The pump supplier will have to bear the maintenance of these pumps for 5 years. The life span of these pumps is estimated to be 20 years," Brahmbhatt said.
Out of the 1,000 pumps, 700 will be distributed by Paschim Gujarat Vij Company. The remaining 300 will be distributed equally by three DISCOMS of the state.

"The western part of the state has maximum number of agri-based electricity connections. In addition, ground water level is high in this region, which is suitable for low capacity pumps of 3 to 5 HP. In some arid regions of north Gujarat, this may not work, as the water levels are very low, for which you need high capacity pumps running on regular electricity," said Brahmbhatt.
The pumps will work on stand alone 'Home Grid' system, which makes them independent of the regular electricity supply.
"These solar-based pumps are not connected with the main grid, as they work on 'Home Grid' system. The electricity generated by the solar panels installed near the pump can run it between 9 AM to 5 PM, which is sufficient for a farmer. We will also provide a mobile charger point and night lamp facility connected with this pump system," he added.

HUDHUD TAKES INDIA BY STORM: 6 killed as cyclone tears into Visakhapatnam at 195kmph
13 oct, 2014
Hyderabad/Vizag: Cyclone Hudhud hit India’s east coast with monstrous ferocity on Sunday, killing at least six people and leaving behind a trail of destruction in Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring Odisha.
Visakhapatnam which houses two million people and a major naval base was hammered as the cyclone made landfall at around 11.30am.
Winds at the speed of 195 kmph brought down power cables and steel towers besides uprooting trees and kutcha houses in the coastal districts.
Hudhud was likely to batter a 200-300 km stretch of coastline before losing force inland. Four districts in Andhra Pradesh that are home to more than 14 million people were likely to be worst hit, including about 350 coastal villages.

Out of the six deaths, three were reported from Andhra Pradesh and three from Odisha.
After ducking the devastating effects of the 2004 tsunami and the 1977 cyclone, the "City of Destiny" sadly had its date with disaster when a very severe cyclonic storm Hudhud tore through the city, unleashing widespread destruction and bringing the otherwise bustling city of nearly 20 lakh people to a grinding halt.

The cyclone, that made landfall in the Port City around noon, sent hoardings and tin roofs flying like saucers, shattered windows leaving the streets littered with glass shreds, toppled over statues of leaders in many places as well as landmarks like the replica of the navy airplane on RK Beach. Scores of electricity and telephone poles were knocked down and thousands of trees uprooted as strong gales accompanied by heavy rainfall lashed the city right from Sunday morning to evening.
Essential services were disrupted and people remained indoors to escape nature's fury.
With winds touching a speed of around 180-195kmph during landfall, waves as high as two to three metres surged along the Beach Road.
The destruction started hours before the landfall forcing denizens to remain indoors. Many of them could not come out for hours.
YK Reddy, director in charge, IMD Hyderabad, said: "Though Vizag does not witness too many cyclones, no topography can actually protect a place from cyclone. Even Vizag has only hills and hillocks, which can only protect it from a storm surge but not a cyclone with a height of roughly 10km. It may have been the local atmospheric conditions that attracted the cyclone towards Vizag."

With the discom Eastern Power Distribution Corporation of AP Ltd switching off power in the wee hours of Sunday as a precautionary measure, the city was plunged into darkness and by afternoon telecom links snapped as networks crashed and landline and cell phones blipped off.
All flights in and out of Vizag were suspended on Sunday due to the hostile weather conditions that reduced visibility to near zero and destroyed the innards of the airport. Several trains passing through the city too were cancelled and road transport too came to a grinding halt as the National Highway-16 connecting Chennai to Kolkata and passing through the Port City was shut down from Saturday evening and people were advised not to venture out.

Operations at the crucial Eastern Naval Command were hit, with damage to the naval base, naval air base INS Dega and residential quarters at Dolphin Nose hill. According to naval officials, 12 ships were on stand-by for evacuation and relief operations.
Operations at ports like Visakhapatnam Port, Gangavaram Port and PSUs like Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd and Hindustan Shipyard Ltd too were suspended and property in these places damaged by the ravaging storm.

Helpline Numbers
New Delhi- 011- 23093563, 23093566
Odisha - 1948
Andhra Pradesh -1949

Helpline Numbers issues by East Coast Railways
Visakhapatnam: 0891-2842415, 08978080999
Cuttack: 06712510131
Puri: 06752226717
Bhubaneswar: 0674-2532233
Control Room: 0674-2303110, 08455885999

Swachh Baharat Abhiyan: Punjab National Bank adopts 2 Varanasi ghats
13 oct, 2014
With an intent to take forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve of a Swachh Baharat Abhiyan, the Punjab National Bank here has adopted two ghats to keep it clean throughout the year.
"The Punjab National Bank has adopted 'Rewa ghat' and another 'Ganga Mahal ghat' on the banks of the river Ganga here to keep it clean throughout the year along with its beautification and maintenance of the structures," said DGM (circle head), Vivek Jha here.
"We began our cleanliness drive from our office on October 2 here, a day of call of PM Modi of making Swachh Bharat (Clean India) and today we cleaned these two ghats on bank of the Ganga river. All our officers and employees participated in this movement today," Jha said.
Jha said It was a matter of privilege for the PNB of adopting the Rewa and Ganga Mahal ghat of this ancient city.
"We are further planning on the works relating to the maintenance of its structures, such as for its repairs, paintings and others, besides most importantly keeping the historical structures intact," Jha said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to revive India's 'zombie factories'
13 oct, 2014
At British India Corporation's textile factory in northern India, four men sit in a control room watching computerised gauges eight hours a day. When they are done, another group takes over, and then another, for 24 hours a day - much as they might at any major industrial plant.
The problem is, nothing is produced there.
The strange tale of British India Corporation is an example of how political patronage and India's strict labour laws keep publicly owned companies going long after they are insolvent.
Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who campaigned in this year's general election on a promise of "minimum government, maximum governance", is preparing to invest more taxpayer money in ailing state-owned factories in a bid to turn them around.
While the government has announced the closure of six publicly owned companies, Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Anand Geete said last month that about two-thirds of 64 loss-making firms can be revived with more money.
The government has set up a committee to examine ways sick public companies can be resuscitated, including using cash reserves from profit-earning state firms to provide lifelines to the loss-making ones, according to officials in New Delhi.

The committee will report its findings in two months.
The moves have disappointed those who want Modi to force through economic reforms, however painful. He might reply that past success in reviving "zombie" enterprises as chief minister of Gujarat state gives him the right to try on a national level.
"I am shocked they are considering putting more money in," said Mohan Guruswamy, chairman of the Centre for Policy Alternatives and a former official in the finance ministry.
"The litmus test of whether Modi is a reformer is what he does with these companies, not what he does on allowing more foreign investment. Unfortunately, it looks like he will avoid taking unpopular decisions."
Since winning India's first parliamentary majority in three decades in May, Modi has not been as ambitious as his supporters would like in introducing policies many say are needed to revive an economy growing at its slowest rate in nearly a decade.
So far, there has been little movement to roll back the previous government's subsidy programmes or repeal a law allowing retroactive taxation that has alarmed global investors.

"POSSIBLY THE WORST COMPANY IN THE WORLD"
In theory, British India Corporation sells army uniforms, rugs, blankets and tweed jackets, but it stopped manufacturing nine years ago after finishing its last order. Since then, the company, based in the gritty northern city of Kanpur, has lost about $50 million.
British India Corporation employs about 1,800 people. All the employees come to work, everyone gets paid, earns a bonus, there are overtime shifts, promotions and job changes.
There are bungalows for the managers, flats for workers, a hospital, schools and a subsidised shop. The gardeners, engineers and painters keep the grass trimmed, the machines in working order, and signs freshly painted.

"This could easily be the worst-run company in India, maybe the world," said Satyendra Nath, 58, head of the tax department, who spends his days reading the newspaper or watching television because there is no work to do. "Often, I think: what have I done in a previous life to end up working here?"
India put key industries in the hands of state-run monopolies in the years after independence in 1947, borrowing from Soviet thinking that late-industrialising countries needed to use state intervention to transform their economies.
A quarter of the country's 277 state-run firms, which produce everything from condoms to scooters, have lost about $16 billion over the last decade, according to government records.

At least 20 loss-making companies owned by the central government have stopped production or have almost no activity yet still pay staff full salaries, according to an official at the Board for Financial and Industrial Reconstruction, the agency charged with expediting restructuring or liquidation.
Indian ministers are reluctant to close these zombie companies because it will lead to job losses, which in turn could cost them votes.
India's labour laws, which the World Bank says are the most restrictive anywhere, also make it hard to sack staff for any reason other than criminal misconduct. So it can take decades for a severance package to be agreed.
For India, which has the world's highest number of starving children and people who can't read, paying the factories' running costs and salaries diverts money that could be spent on healthcare and education.
However, Modi may adopt a plan for the loss-making state companies he used in Gujarat, where he was chief minister.
By giving boards more independence from ministers and using cash injections from the government, Modi was able to turn 20 publicly owned companies into profit in his 13 years as leader of the state.
"When Modi came to power in Gujarat he was determined to revamp the public sector companies, a majority of them were making losses," said PK Laheri, the former top bureaucrat in Gujarat who served as chairman of some of those state companies. "He did not want his ministers or politicians to play an active role in running them."

GOOD FOR NOTHING
British India Corporation, which hasn't made a profit since 1989, is among the companies being earmarked for revival, officials in New Delhi said. To pay off its debt and buy materials to restart production, the company would need an investment of $65 million, according to managers at the factory.

At the company's redbrick mills, where there is a four-sided clock tower built a century ago and silver weaving machines line the long factory floors, millions of dollars of never-used equipment sits decaying; a symbol of the mismanagement that has mired the company in crisis.
In 2005, after a $13 million taxpayer rescue, the factory managers spent the money on high-end weaving machines imported from Switzerland. But the plan to raise another $21 million by selling land to buy yarn and wool was never approved by the politicians so the machines have never been turned on. Still, at 6:30 every morning, workers begin arriving for their shifts. Once the personnel department marks their attendance, they hang around talking with friends, complete odd jobs such as cleaning, or return home to see their families.
Employee Chandra Lal, 55, who has worked at the factory since 1987, says some of his colleagues have become alcoholics as they struggle to deal with the boredom. He says they are unlikely to find new jobs after years of inactivity.
"I have forgotten how to use my arms," Lal said. "Earlier we were respected members of our community. Now we are good for nothing, just like the factory."

Odisha, Andhra Pradesh brace for cyclone Hudhud; evacuation begins
11 oct, 2014
New Delhi: Keeping in mind the safety of passengers, East Coast Railway has decided to cancel the services of 38 trains on October 12 when cyclone 'Hudhud' is expected to hit Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
"We do not want even a single casualty as our passengers safety is foremost in our agenda.
"Hence, we have decided to cancel 38 the trains on the Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam route from 6 AM on October 12 and during that time the entire section would be closed to all mail express and passenger trains," ECoR CPRO J P Mishra said.
According to the Met department, Cyclone Hudhud, which is transform into a "very severe cyclonic storm", is expected to hit Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast on October 12.
The cancelled passenger trains include Bhubaneswar-Bangalore Prashanti Express, Bhubaneswar-Visakhpatnam Intercity, hubaneswar-Yesvantpur, Bhubaneswar-Secunderabad Visakha Express, Puri-Okha Express, Bhubaneswar-Tirupaty Express, Puri-Tirupaty Express, Bhubaneswar-Mumbai Konark Express, Puri-Chennai Express etc.
Some of the trains originating from Howrah and bound for the southern states would be diverted via Raipur and Nagpur section.
Mishra said they have planned for early restoration of train services and railway track, should they be affected. Positioning of special teams for early restoration of tracks, signaling system and electrification has also been ensured.

Girl jumps from moving auto to save herself from molesters
11 oct, 2014
A B.Tech student here jumped from a moving autorickshaw after its driver along with his accomplices allegedly tried to molest her, police said today. The girl had yesterday boarded the autorickshaw from near Pari Chowk to go to her college, located in Dankaur area, an official said.
The girl alleged that the auto driver allowed some unknown men to board the vehicle and then instead of heading to Dankaur, took the auto towards Yamuna expressway service lane. When the driver turned the auto towards a lonely stretch, she asked him to stop and alight her but the men in auto caught hold of her and attempted sexual assault on her, the official said. She somehow got courage and jumped from the auto rickshaw, he said.
Her college staff took her to hospital after some passersby took her there, the official said.
An FIR has been lodged in the matter but till today police were not able to trace the auto rickshaw driver and his accomplices. Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority chairman Rama Raman today held meeting with senior police officers and directed them to take action against the accused.

Think how social media can stop terror: PM Modi tells Zuckerberg
11 oct, 2014
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Frdiay discussed the use of social media in checking terror activities and a host of other issues with social networking giant Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The issues discussed included 'Swachh Bharat' Mission with the Facebook co-founder.
Zuckerberg, who called on the Prime Minister, expressed his interest in working with the government in the areas of healthcare and education.The Prime Minister pointed out that lots of terrorist elements are using social media platforms to recruit members, according to an official statement.
"This is unfortunate and we need to think of the role the social media can play to stop terror," Modi said.
Facebook will extend help in developing the Clean India Mobile App that would be launched soon."This would give a strong impetus to the Swachh Bharat Mission," the statement said.They discussed a wide range of issues revolving around the innovative use of Facebook as a platform to engage with a large audience in the service of humanity, the statement said.
They also talked about the Digital India initiative and the Prime Minister asked Zuckerberg to identify some domains of Digital India where Facebook can get involved and help.
Facebook chief said that he is extremely excited about the Digital India initiative of the Government of India.Modi recalled how he used social media during campaigns such as tracking the missing children, during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat and how it gave wonderful results.The Prime Minister appealed to Zuckerberg to promote India's rich tourism potential through Facebook.
He asked Facebook to look at how to enhance Internet literacy along with Internet connectivity.Earlier in the day, the Facebook CEO met Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.Zuckerberg is the third high profile CEO of a US-based firm, after Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Microsoft's Satya Nadella, to visit India in last few days.

Tamil Nadu opposition parties DMK, BJP sense opportunity after Jayalalithaa conviction
11 oct, 2014
With a vacuum created in Tamil Nadu's political scene following the conviction of AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa in a graft case, opposition parties are smelling an opportunity to strengthen their ranks ahead of the 2016 Assembly polls.
At the forefront is the DMK, whose house the party chief M Karunanidhi is trying to put in order in the wake of intra-party squabbles following the 2011 electoral debacle.
The party has gone through its share of churnings since then, including expulsion of Karunanidhi's Madurai-based son MK Alagiri from the party following his open outbursts on leadership issues.
Having self-appraised its rout at the 2011 hustings-- not even managing to secure the main opposition party status, the DMK sees a glimmer of hope to shore up its prospects with Jayalalithaa's conviction.
Having spearheaded the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa, with party senior K Anbazhagan impleading in the case, Karunanidhi believes the conviction of his bete noire has infused fresh energy in DMK.

"At a time when she was trying to finish off this movement (DMK), when all our comrades were tensed (about it), she herself walked into the trap, and it is a fact that she unwittingly helped in giving a push to this movement," he said.
Karunanidhi's remarks came at a recent meeting of his party's district secretaries, where he described Jayalalithaa's incarceration as her own doing.He said Jayalalithaa may go for an appeal in the Supreme Court against her conviction, but her aspirations of coming back to power will remain a 'dream.'
However, the party is still in a Catch-22 situation as the 2G spectrum case, in which Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi and junior colleague A Raja are accused, hangs like the proverbial Damocles sword. DMK chief's wife Dayalu Ammal is a witness in the CBI-probed case.
It is believed that this fact made Karunanidhi tread a cautious path over the Jayalalithaa verdict, as he remained incommunicado over the entire day on September 27 even as his reaction to Jayalalithaa's conviction, eagerly awaited by political observers, came late.

While AIADMK is perceived to be on friendly terms with BJP at the national level, with Jayalalithaa sharing cordial ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leaders sing a different tune in Tamil Nadu.
The BJP's state unit, which put up a straight fight against the ruling party in the recently held bypolls to some local bodies, including Corporations, seems to be planning for 2016 after it tasted some victory in the April Lok Sabha polls though Jayalalithaa's party netted 37 of the 39 seats here.
The civic bypolls were reduced to a BJP-AIADMK fight and ever since Jayalalithaa's conviction, the saffron party is complaining of law and order situation day in and day out.

Interestingly, BJP is reportedly wooing actor Rajnikanth, apparently aiming to cash in on his star power to ensure a better performance in the next elections. The actor had earlier supported former Prime Minister AB Vajapayee's river inter-linking efforts.Neither the actor nor BJP have denied reports of the latter's national president Amit Shah holding telephonic conversations with the star recently. The party has been facing a severe drought in the state Assembly, having been unable to return a legislator for over a decade.AIADMK's anticipation of smooth sailing in the 2016 elections seem to be a tough task with its chief in jail and the party virtually directionless.
This has led to speculation of a realignment of political equations, with MDMK leader Vaiko, a strong critic of Karunanidhi, softening his stand against the DMK leader.

A former DMK leader, who quit the party after he fell out of favour with Karunanidhi, Vaiko in his party's recent conference did not attack the 90-year-old leader even as he welcomed DMK's stand on a referendum on Eelam Tamils issue, seen as feelers by political observers.
While the 2016 polls is still 18 months away, managers in political parties have started their calculations, aiming to stop the AIADMK juggernaut that had been steamrolling them since 2011.
The MG Ramachandran-founded party has not lost a single election since the 2011 polls even as supporters and workers are keeping their fingers crossed over 'Amma' returning to the thick of action and steer the party from the perceived jolt it had suffered on September 27 when she was convicted in the disproportionate assets case.

Hope Satyarthi-Malala Nobel pushes India, Pakistan to peace: Manmohan Singh
11 oct, 2014
New Delhi: Congratulating Nobel Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousufzai, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he hopes that the award will inspire India and Pakistan to work sincerely for the cause of peace.
Former prime minister Singh said that the ideas and ideals which these two "outstanding personalities" have championed deserve the support of all the right-thinking people.
He said it is a matter of added pleasure that the award is being shared by two outstanding persons from the Indian subcontinent.

"I sincerely hope that this (award) will inspire the people of India and Pakistan to work sincerely for the cause of peace and amity between the two countries and in particular for the promotion of child rights, particularly the right to education," Singh said in a statement here.
Meanwhile, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said the Peace Nobel was a tremendous recognition for Satyarthi's tireless campaign for the rights of children.
Shared with Malala, the Nobel draws attention powerfully to the struggle of millions of children in the subcontinent and across the globe for access to education and a childhood free of exploitation, he said.

Government website throws up shocking attendance figuress
11 oct, 2014
Blame it on Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu. He made a couple of surprise visits to his ministry in June and July and a government attendance website was launched, which is throwing up stunning figures of attendance in central government offices. If attendance.gov.in is to be believed, nearly 40% of central government employees tend to be absent from work on any single working day of the week. Attendance.gov.in is a live website and tracks attendance minute by minute
For example, on Friday, October 10, of 50,587 central government employees registered with attendance.gov.in, the recently launched "attendance website" by the Modi government, only 27,553 were present. The remaining 22,000 odd employees had not turned up for work for whatever reason.

The story of this bureaucratic-lethargy started when, soon after taking charge of the Urban development ministry, Naidu checked into Nirman Bhavan, once on June 12, and then on July 28. "That is when late coming to office was noticed. Shri Naidu then directed ministry officials to take necessary measures to ensure punctuality at work," says a PIB note issued on August 13.
Very soon biometric attendance marker systems were installed in Nirman Bhavan. Other ministries followed suit, and the 'Babu' was forced to answer to an electronic roll-call, mornings and evenings. Attendance.gov.in was simultaneously launched. It took some days but now the website is in full flow, and throwing up numbers that tell the story in numbers.

Modelled on the lines of Jharkhand government's attendance website, it has a dashboard which gives an overview of daily attendance activity of every employee registered with it, and will very soon become a centralised database of and for all central government employees.
The numbers on attendance.gov.in show that the biometric attendance system has so far not done much to change Babu-behaviour. Playing truant continues though "late coming to office" might have stopped to an extent.
The figures are graphic on attendance.gov.in. Bureaucratic-lethargy is seen across the board, cutting across ministries and departments. For instance, in Naidu's ministry of urban development (MOUD), where it all started, 345 employees were present on Friday, out of a total of 463 biometric-registered employees.

Other departments did not depart from the script. Out of the 1006 self-registered and department-verified employees of the department of rural development, only 429 marked attendance on Friday. In the case of ministry of water resources, the numbers were 1034 and 439. Directorate general of supplies and disposals (DGS&D): 1143 and 409. Department of Science: 351/889. The total at all these four departments: 3487/9846.
In CPWD, which too is governed by the MOUD, of the 6444 registered employees, on 754 were on attendance on Friday. Contacted by dna, CPWD's nodal officer for biometric attendance, K C Singh, said, "I am not competent to speak on this issue." He was dead serious. A call to the Ministry of Finance elicited a somewhat similar reply. The person who answered the call said, "Please call on Monday. I do not know the name of the nodal officer."
As of Friday, 149 government organisations & departments had registered with this unique attendance website. More are expected to sign in. The ubiquitous Babu is finally under the scanner, and unwilling to talk of the experience. Attendance.gov.in is doing all the talking.

Sunanda Pushkar's family demands CBI probe in to mysterious death
11 oct, 2014
New Delhi: A member of Sunanda Pushkar's family demanded a CBI probe into her mysterious death after a fresh report was submitted to the police by AIIMS doctors on the reasons for her demise that added a new twist to the controversy.
Sunanda's cousin Ashok Kumar claimed that the reasons for the death of the wife of the former union minister and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was "unnatural" and alleged that it was "pre-planned".
"Earlier it was said that it was overdose and now it's clear that it was due to poisoning. We want a CBI probe," Kumar said.Sunanda's brother Ashish Das said the truth should come out in the case.
"Whatever the truth has to be will come out in whatever format it has to come in. That's what we are expecting," he said.A team of AIIMS doctors has submitted a fresh report to police on the death of Sunanda, maintaining that she died of poisoning.
The new report by the three-member panel of doctors, who had conducted the autopsy on her, was prepared on the basis of the findings of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) which had examined Sunanda's viscera, according to sources.
They said that the team had again concluded like it did in its first report that her kidney, liver and heart were functioning normally and that her death was caused by poisoning.

Hinduism heritage of Hindus, not their fiefdom: Mohan Bhagwat
11 oct, 2014
New Delhi: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat said people of India have not treated Hinduism as their fiefdom but as their heritage meant for the world and there is a greater need for people in the country to have knowledge of its roots than those abroad.
Speaking at a function for the launch of the international edition of "Encyclopaedia of Hinduism" at Vigyan Bhawan here, he said it is important to give information to children about their roots as this is currently missing from their education and learning system.
"The word Hindu was not there before. The tradition and religion was there but the word itself was not there. It was then known as humanity.
"It is true that Hinduism emanated from Hindustan and evolved further here but people of the country have never considered it as their fiefdom and have only considered it as their heritage, which is meant for the world," he said.
"There is greater need for people in the country to have knowledge of Hinduism than those abroad...We need to provide knowledge about our roots to our children as the same is not made available in education and neither by their parents," Bhagwat said.
The RSS chief noted that people related religion to rituals and that was the reason why today's problems have cropped up and asserted that what is right in principle has to be practically correct also as per Hindu religion.

Jammu and Kashmir approves special assistance package for submission to Government of India
11 oct, 2014
Jammu and Kashmir government has approved a special assistance package of Rs 44,000 crore for submission to the Centre as relief for flood-affected people of the state. The approval to the special assistance package was granted by the state government at a marathon cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday, an official spokesman said.
"The Cabinet approved the special financial package for submission to Government of India for providing of funds to the tune of Rs 44,000 crore for rehabilitation of the people who suffered due to floods and for restoration of the damaged infrastructure," the spokesman said after the nearly six hour meeting.

The cabinet also decided to approach the Union Home Ministry for releasing funds to the tune of Rs 1947.20 crore under NDRF besides requesting the Union Government to declare tax holiday for Jammu and Kashmir for a period of 10 years to help in the revival of the State's economy.
The Cabinet also recommended the Union Government for issuing directions to all banks and financial institutions for re-scheduling of loans or granting of moratorium and remission of interest during the moratorium period and providing of fresh loans in favour of flood affected people.
It also sought waiver of loans availed by an individual upto Rs 3 lakh and interest subvention of five per cent on the loans already raised after completion of the moratorium period.

Negative perception of Muslims a cause of concern, says an official committee
11 oct, 2014
Lack of development and insufficient exposure to amenities, the negative perception of minorities particularly Muslims building up over recent past is an added worrisome trend, feels an official committee assigned to evaluate the implementation of the recommendation of Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee report and the prime minister's 15 point programme.
Recognising that its minority related programmes were going haywire, previous UPA government at its fag end had constituted an eight-member committee of eminent social scientists and administrators under Prof. Amitabh Kundu to assess their impact and to recommend corrective measures.
The new government under prime minister Narendra Modi continued with the committee, whose recommendations will now form a corner stone of its policies towards minorities. The committee members handed over their final report to the minority affairs minister Najma Heptulla here on Thursday evening.
Prof Kundu, who refused to share contents of the report, however, told dna that unlike its previous avatars Sachar committee or Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission, they have stayed away from recommending reservations system a solution to raise the lot of Muslim community.
"Reservations based on caste and religion always takes a political turn and raises hackles. Therefore, we have found a way to recommend reservations on the basis of similar profession," he said.
Explaining, he said wherever Dalits and Muslims share occupation; say if they are both employed as sweepers or in similar lower stratagem professions, both of them should enjoy reservations. This will entail not more than 2-3% additions in the existing quota of reservations.

Further the committee has recommended a diversity based index intervention to build an inclusive society. Not only the government department and public sector units (PSUs) be monitored and encouraged to give employments to religious communities across the board, a system of incentives and disincentives could be formed for the private sector as well.
"If a company employs persons of a particular religion, caste and gender only. It should be given a lower diversity index, which should be taken into account at the time of given any government contract or any other benefit to the company," Prof Kundu told dna. The index, he said should also apply to housing societies, who in sometime refuse to lend houses or flats to Muslims.
Though, findings of the report were not available, sources say, it has depicted a worrying picture of Muslims in urban and non-metro cities, while expressing satisfaction on their condition in rural areas. The committee while assessing conditions on the basis of consumption pattern found Muslims a notch higher than SC/STs in rural areas, but still 10% below national average. But in urban areas they were far below than even SCs/STs.

The report has found that despite much announcements of the previous UPA government, the poverty amongst Muslims continues to work out to be twice the general poverty. Muslim OBCs have also reported higher poverty than their Hindu peers, both in rural and urban areas. "Percentage of poor among the Muslim OBC is higher than the Hindu OBC by 50% in rural and 100% in urban areas," the report said.
The committee has also recommended an anti-discriminatory law in line with the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act) to end discrimination Muslims face in their lives. The committee members argue that the suggestion has come in view of noticing increased discrimination cases being reported in educational institutions, hospitals, by police, housing MARKETS and by employers.

PM Narendra Modi welcomes agreement between Afghan leaders
22 Sep, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed the agreement reached between Afghan leaders Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah to form a new government. In a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, he said, India will stand steadfastly with and by the new government of Afghanistan in the task of building a strong, developed and peaceful nation.
He further said that the wisdom shown by the two Afghan leaders indicates the respect they have for the strong democratic aspirations of people of Afghanistan, which was also manifested by the poll turnout. Afghanistan's two rival presidential candidates signed a power-sharing deal at a ceremony in Kabul late Sunday, ending a prolonged stand-off over disputed election results. The final vote count is also scheduled for release, after being delayed for last-minute talks to break a deadlock that plunged Afghanistan into crisis as U.S.-led troops end their 13-year war against the Taliban.

Under the deal, Ashraf Ghani who won June's run-off presidential vote, will become president, while runner-up Abdullah Abdullah will be nominated Chief Executive Officer with powers similar to those of Prime Minister. According to the New York Times, the suppression of the vote totals was apparently the final step necessary for the two presidential candidates to sign an American-brokered agreement. The two men signed that deal even before Ghani was formally declared the winner by the Independent Election Commission late on Sunday. The two candidates met at the Presidential Palace in Kabul with President Hamid Karzai and their supporters, quickly signed their two copies of the four-page agreement and then briefly hugged each other, to tepid applause from the audience.

In a brief speech, Mr. Karzai thanked them, and then the event was over in 10 minutes — in sharp contrast to the protracted election process that began in February, ran through two elections and involved a long and controversial audit, which the United Nations called the most exhaustive it had ever overseen. The candidates' signatures on the deal forming a power-sharing government came five hours before the election commission announced the winner.

Durga Puja festival being used to empower women in Vadodara and Surat
22 Sep, 2014
In a bid to empower women, the Government of Gujarat has provided free stalls for the sale of handmade items and goods to them at Navratri Festival venues during the nine-day celebrations to honour the Goddess Durga.
Vadodara District Magistrate Avantika Singh said, "Women who make dresses and decoration items for festivals, this is a scheme to provide them an outlet to sell these items. In the past a similar thing was done under the guidance of the chief minister for Rakhi festival." The idea to empower the women and make them financially independent was a brain-child of the state's first woman Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, a strong advocate of the cause of women empowerment.
Surat's Mayor Niranjan Zanzmera said, "Women from self help groups and others come and sell their merchandise here. Whatever money they make they keep it with themselves; they do not have to give it to the government." Over the weekend, women decorated their colourful stalls and were seen selling traditional festival dresses and jewellery besides other handmade items.

The Navratri Festival is a period of joy and celebrations for devout Hindus across India. It is dedicated to the Goddess Durga, a manifestation of the Mother Goddess in Hindu mythology. It is believed that during Navratri, Goddess Durga descends on earth to rid it of demons and bless her devotees with happiness and prosperity. After fasting during the day, there are celebrations during the nights.
The nine-day festival of Navaratri culminates in the festival of Dussera, which falls on the tenth day. As per Hindu mythology, the day signifies the slaying of the demon king Ravana by Lord Rama, the King of Ayodhya. During Navratri, the nine forms of the Devi or the Divine Mother are worshipped and it represents celebration of Goddess Durga. It involves fasting, dances, prayers, worship and is a period of introspection and purification.

Teachers march down Kolkata's streets protesting against police action in Jadavpur University
22 Sep, 2014
Teachers from across the nation joined hands to take part in a protest rally here on Sunday to condemn the police baton charge on students who were demonstrating against the alleged molestation of a girl on the Jadavpur University campus.
They walked down rain-drenched roads holding banners and placards that condemned the police atrocity on students within university campus. Professor Parthapratim Biswas of the Department of Construction Engineering of Jadavpur University said, "The teachers now are in the protest of all these issues, specially the atrocities of the police within the campus itself and also the teachers want impartial inquiry in order to find out the molestation which took place on the girl student on the university campus. That's why teachers from all the places of India they have now joined this rally to protest this particular issue and in the interest of the society."

Four students unions in West Bengal had called for a strike on Thursday and demanded the resignation of the vice chancellor of Jadavpur University over alleged molestation of students in hostel. Students alleged that police authorities dragged out students and manhandled them. Reportedly, more than 30 students were arrested by the police while some of them were also injured. The incident happened when students were demonstrating against molestation of the second year student of prestigious Jadavpur University in Kolkata. Reportedly, the student was molested by few male students who dragged her inside the boys hostel of the varsity on August 28.

Professor Biswas also said, "We want to restore the normalcy within the campus for which necessary initiatives have to be taken by the government and also by the governor and the second issue is that with the bilateral negotiations and discussions only this kind of stalemate can be resolved and which we need that immediate this kind of dialogue must be initiated." West Bengal recorded the highest number of gender crimes in the country at 30,942 in 2012 - 12.7% of India's total recorded crimes against women. These crimes include rape, kidnapping and sexual harassment and molestation.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) said there were 309,546 crimes against women reported to the police last year against 244,270 in 2012, with the highest number recorded in southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Crimes included rape, kidnapping, sexual harassment, trafficking, molestation and cruelty by husbands and relatives. They also include crimes in which a woman was driven to suicide as a result of demands for a dowry from her husband or in-laws.

Modi: India can rise again as global power
22 Sep, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India had a chance to rise once again as a global economic power and suggested that, with his “clear road map” to channelise entrepreneurial capabilities of the country’s 1.25 billion people, it could match China.
“This is a country that once upon a time was called ‘the golden bird’. We have fallen from where we were before. But now we have the chance to rise again. If you see the details of the last five or ten centuries, you will see that India and China have grown at a similar pace.
“Their contributions to global GDP have risen in parallel and fallen in parallel. Today’s era once again belongs to Asia. India and China are both growing rapidly, together,” he told CNN in an interview.
On comparisons often drawn between the two neighbours, he said India did not need to emulate China and must become only India.
Mr. Modi said he had a lot of faith in the entrepreneurial nature of India’s 1.25 billion people and said, “I have a clear roadmap to channel it.”

Asked if he wished to replicate the authority enjoyed by the dictatorial regime in China, Mr. Modi said if there were no democracy then someone like him, “born in a poor family, would not be sitting here”.
“See, the biggest thing is that the people of the country must have faith. That trust should never break. If I can win the confidence of the people of India, not from my speeches but by my actions, then the power of 1.25 billion Indians will come together to take the country forward,” he said. Asked if India was concerned over China’s postures over the East China and South China seas, Mr. Modi called for faith that China would accept global laws and play its role in joint progress and cooperation.

Asian Games 2014: Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai wins gold in 50m Pistol
20 Sep, 2014
Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai clinched a historic gold in the 50m Pistol event on the opening day of the 17th Asian Games at the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range, in Incheon on Saturday. Fresh from his 50m Pistol silver in the World Championships, the Lucknow-based shooter completed a grand double as he had won a gold in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this year.
The shooter, who serves the Gurkha regiment, was on target from the word go after moving into the finals even as compatriot Omkar Singh failed to cross the qualification hurdle.
In the finals though, Rai was tested by Vietnam's Nguyen Hoang Phuong, who had to settle for silver and bronze medallist Wang Zhiwei of China.
Rai accumulated 186.2 points in comparison to Phuong's 183.4 and Zhiwei stood a distant third with 165.6 points. This was India's second medal at the ongoing Games after Shweta Chaudhry's bronze in the 10m air pistol event.

Huge rally planned in Kolkata to protest against police excesses in Jadavpur University
20 Sep, 2014
Students of the prestigious Jadavpur University have planned a massive rally in Kolkata on Saturday to protest the police excesses over the past few days. The protesting students are sticking to their demands for the resignation of vice chancellor Abhijeet Chaterjee, on whose instructions the students were mercilessly beaten up and girls allegedly molested by the police.
The rally is scheduled to start at 2.00 pm from Rabindra Sadan and is expected to reach Raj Bhawan, where the students will meet the governor, Kesharinath Tripathi. The governor has been proactive in the entire incident and called up the police commissioner on Friday to get his point of view.
Meanwhile, the state government has decided to dig their heels in the entire incident. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has dubbed the whole sequence of events a 'small incident', education minister Partha Chatterjee has urged the students to go back to their studies.

The students, though, are looking to ramp up pressure, buoyed by huge support from the society cutting across political affiliations. They have demanded that the vice chancellor resign, and have vowed to boycott classes until their demands are met. University teachers also largely support them. The head of the philosophy department, Soumitro Basu has resigned from his post citing 'moral compulsions'. This is deemed as a strategy to further put pressure on the vice chancellor.
On Friday, the students of Jadavpur University and other institutions took out a huge rally to march on Lalbazar, which is the police headquarters. They were stopped well before that, and tensions increased once again. Finally, a five-member team of students gave a memorandum to the police.
The challenge for the students is to keep the apolitical nature of the movement alive, something even the organisers of the movement have urged for on their Facebook page. Saturday's rally will be a good indicator of whether they are able to sustain the momentum and keep it away from being hijacked by political parties.

India can learn about unity from Scottish vote: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor
20 Sep, 2014
The result of the Scottish referendum gave a "good and healthy signal" to the world and offered a lesson in unity to India, Congress politician and author Shashi Tharoor said on Friday.As Scots voted decisively in favour of staying within the United Kingdom, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said, "There is a very simple lesson of staying together and being together. I think that is really what India is all about".
"We have nations within India. but we all live together as one country and our nationalism transcends these sub-nationalisms. To my mind, that is one of the great strengths of India which is worth actively fighting for and preserving," he said.
He said the Scots sent a signal that even when they were given a choice democratically to choose otherwise, they saw the merits of sharing an existence with others. "That is a good and healthy signal to give to the rest of the world, not just India," he said.

Tharoor, who was in London this week to participate in a historic debate organised by the Indo-British Heritage Trust on the merits and de-merits of the British empire at the Supreme Court, also drew upon history to highlight India's hand in strengthening the Scottish union.
He said when the East India Company had set out to colonise India, the Scots had their own efforts "to colonise in the west".
"It was with the Act of Union in 1707 that Scots became eligible to participate in the goodies of the East India Company and a disproportionate number of Scots were employed by the East India Company," he said. "As a result the profits they were repatriating home is what put Scotland out of poverty. So India had an extremely key role in giving the Scots an incentive to remain with the British nation," he told reporters at the India Club in central London – a venue that has a strong personal connect with his father Chandran Tharoor, who worked for the Amrita Bazaar Patrika in London.

In reference to the Congress party, Tharoor pointed to the recent by election results where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held only three out of 11 seats as an "indication of hope". "I don't think people should feel there is any cause for despair. The values of the Congress party are being robustly defended in Parliament and outside. We certainly haven't given up. I would say with some pride that we are punching above our weight in the Lok Sabha," he said. "We are only 44 but we are heard, we are noticed, we are contributing to the debate. At the same time we are being constructive," he said.
Tharoor said his party did not believe in the BJP's "politics of destruction" which paralyzed the House completely when they were in opposition.
Regarding the party's leadership being entrusted to the Gandhi family, he said, "Ultimately in a political party it is political credibility that dictates their presence at the top of the party. Sonia Gandhi has now won two elections and lost two elections. But she has shown the capacity to lead the party from the doldrums to the top".
"The voter has kept us away for five years and during those five years we have to revamp our party, strengthen our party and re-organise our party and that process has already begun," he added.

Why former BJP MPs still in government bungalows, asks Ajit Singh
20 Sep, 2014
The conflict over bungalow number 2 Tughlaq Road took a new turn on Friday. While the government has has asked RLD chief Ajit Singh to vacate the house which he was occupying in the capacity of a minister in the UPA government, Singh has questioned the pick and choose policy being followed by the BJP government.
"Why is the government not asking former BJP MPs Yashwant Sinha and Shahnawaz Hussain to vacate their houses," questioned Ajit Singh.
He also hit out at the government, questioning as to why the ministers of the earlier NDA government occupied bungalows for last ten years. "You go back, the ministers of NDA lived for ten years in the houses they were not entitled to. It's true that I am not entitled to live in this house and will not live there but why did they occupy the bungalows they were not entitled to for ten years," questioned the RLD chief.
Ajit Singh who was earlier playing to the gallery took a U-turn today. "I am with the farmers who demand that the house be converted to the memorial. When other senior leaders can have a memorial, why can't there be a memorial for Charna Singh," he said.
The Directorate of Estates has sent eviction notices to many former MPs for vacating the house. The New Delhi Municipal Corporation last week had disconnected the water and power supply of these bungalows. However, the government has giving an extension to both Sinha and Hussain. An extension has also been given to the former Jammu and Kashmir MP Farooq Abdullah, owing to security reasons.

Al Qaeda will fail in India: Narendra Modi
20 Sep, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said al Qaeda will struggle to recruit members in the world's second-most populous nation and he praised Indian Muslims for their commitment to fight for the country.Al Qaeda announced the formation of its first wing dedicated to waging jihad in South Asia earlier this month. A few days later it claimed responsibility for hijacking a Pakistani naval ship.
Modi, a Hindu nationalist who was elected in May and faces criticism for remaining silent about several incidents deemed anti-Muslim, said Indian Muslims were patriotic and would not betray their nation, which has a long history of sectarian strife.
"Indian Muslims will live for India, they will die for India, they will not want anything bad for India," Modi told CNN, which aired excerpts of the pre-recorded interview on Friday. "If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tune, they are delusional."
Al Qaeda said in a statement that it aimed to end the suffering of Muslims in places such as Kashmir, where a violent insurgency against New Delhi's rule raged through the 1990s and resentment still runs high.

Modi has long been a hate figure for Islamist groups because of religious riots in 2002 when he was chief minister of Gujarat state. More than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, died in the violence.
Muslims make up some 15 percent of the Indian population, and number an estimated 175 million, giving India the third-largest Muslim population in the world.
When asked why so few of India's Muslims have joined al Qaeda, Modi characterized the threat from Islamist militancy as not about country or one race, calling it a fight between "humanity and inhumanity".
Modi's comments come amid a debate within his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party about how to deal with religious minorities after an inflammatory by-election campaign drew the ire of rights activists and failed to win over voters.

Yogi Adityanath, a star campaigner in the recent by-elections in India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, has been accused of delivering inflammatory speeches against Muslims. In one video he said religious riots happen wherever more than 10 percent of the population is Muslim.
A senior BJP leader in the neighbouring state of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi, in an interview with the Indian Express newspaper criticized those comments and said his party would give seats to Muslims in local elections.
Ahead of a visit to meet U.S. President Barack Obama later this week, Modi said ties between the United States and India, a Cold War ally of the Soviet Union, will continue to improve.
"From the end of the 20th century to the first decade of the 21st century we have witnessed a big change," Modi said. "These ties will deepen further."CNN will air the full interview on Sunday.

Bill Gates meets Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari; to meet Narendra Modi today
19 Sep, 2014
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates met Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari at his residence here in New Delhi.Gates, who is the chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Friday.
He had also met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on Thursday. Gates also attended the inauguration ceremony of the Indian Newborn Action Plan (INAP) by Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Thursday and the latter for his pioneering work in polio eradication.

"There are lessons to be learnt from India's fight against polio which may be applied against other diseases also," he pointed out.The philanthropist lauded the government for expanding the list of diseases under the Universal Immunisation Programme. He also highlighted the importance of including the Rotavirus vaccine in the package.

Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping meeting fails to set road map for border dispute
19 Sep, 2014
Even as the meeting between the Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was high on bonhomie and the economics, it didn't yield much on politics, failing to set a road map to settle border disputes in order to stop incursions. During delegation level and later one-to-one talks, Modi did emphasize to resume the stalled process of clarifying the Line of Actual Control (LAC), but sources said, the Chinese as usual underlined to settle borders permanently rather spending energies on settling the LAC, which, according to them, after all shall remain a temporary arrangement. India for many years has been vying for demarcating the LAC, as a first stop to set up permanent borders, as it has done with other difficult neighbour Pakistan on the western side of Jammu and Kashmir by successfully demarcating the LoC, which remain open to negotiations.
Immediately after talks, Modi told reporter that he raised serious concern over repeated incidents along the border. "We agreed that peace and tranquility in the border region constitutes an essential foundation for mutual trust and confidence and for realizing the full potential of our relationship. This is an important understanding, which should be observed diligently," he said, even as in Ladkah, reports said the Army has seemingly chosen to escalate its response to the repeated PLA incursions by increasing its border patrols and positioning more troops in Chumar.

Prime Minister, who read his remarks in Hindi said he had suggested to revive the stalled process of the clarification of the LAC to contribute to maintain peace and tranquillity. During the meeting, he also raised the concerns relating to China's visa policy that relates to issuing stabled visas to citizens of Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and also trans-border rivers notably Brahamputra and Indus. "I am confident that their satisfactory resolution would take mutual trust to a new level," he said.
There was, however, no commitment from Chinese President to demarcate the LAC, but he said both countries were capable for effectively managing the border situation. "Both sides are capable of effectively managing the border situation and to settle the border disputes at the earliest," he said, adding his country was sincere and the issue should be settled in a manner that it does not have an impact on ties.

Modi claimed he has secured commitment from Chinese President on other issues of concern related to slowdown in trade, worsening trade imbalance and also facilitating market access and investment opportunities for Indian companies in China. He, however, emphasized that a that a climate of mutual trust and confidence; respect for each other's sensitivities and concerns; and, peace and stability in our relations and along our borders was essential to realize the potential in relations. Both countries have also agreed to begin from next year a process of discussions on civil nuclear energy cooperation. China which is a new entrant to the 1000 MW nuclear technology club says it could provide cheaper nuclear reactors compared to Japan and other countries. China has 15 nuclear power-generating units, most built with foreign technology, in operation with a total installed capacity of 12.54 GW and the country hopes to build 200 nuclear plants besides speeding up construction of 29 new plants currently being built.
Both sides, however, showed a considerable understanding on the need of peace and stability in the region particularly in Afghanistan after the exit of NATO forces. They agreed to build a closer cooperation to challenge terrorism and extremism both in the region as well as global level.

Major take away from this visit for the Prime Minister would be China agreeing to open up a new route through Nathu-La to Kailash Mansarovar, in addition to the existing route through Uttarakhand. Another significant outcome is the agreements on two Chinese industrial parks in India and a commitment to realize about 20 billion U.S. dollars of Chinese investments in the next five years. The new Kailash Mansarovar route is accessible by a motorable road, which is especially beneficial to the older pilgrims. It offers a safer alternative in the rainy season as well, makes the pilgrimage shorter in duration, and will enable a much higher number of pilgrims to go for pilgrimage. "China will setup industrial park in Gujarat and also in Maharashtra. We talked about development in railways, encourage improvement of speed of the trains between Chennai and Mysore," Chinese President said.

Besides incursions, Chinese Psy-Ops a big worry in Ladakh
19 Sep, 2014
Amid the new found bonhomie during President XI Jinping's visit, the Indian security establishment is waking up to different kind of advances made by the Chinese in Ladakh region that can have disastrous impact on the geo-politics of the region that so far goes in India's favour.
Besides, the increasing rate of incursions in Indian territory and stand offs, the big worry emanates from the Psy-Ops (psychological operations) that China has started carrying out in the border areas of Ladakh region by showcasing modern gadgetry and good life that is enjoyed by population on their side of the border.
Days before Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit, a team of National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) visited Ladakh and forward areas twice to assess Chinese build up and their psy-war strategy. The NSAB is learnt to have discussed and prepared a report on August 30 that has been submitted to the government.

After the report now is being seen by the national security council secretariat (NSCS) and subsequently will be discussed at the highest level by the China Study Group (CSG) and the National Security Council headed by the National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval to draw conclusions and think of a counter strategy.
Sources said that the natives of Ladakh, who have historical relations with the people on the other side that come from the same ethnic stock often come across each other in vast tracts of unmarked border, are being systematically wooed by the Chinese.
"Our Ladakh region, with the kind of amenities and life-style it has, compares poorly to the massive and modern infrastructure that China have built right up to the border. On top of it, as part of the design they are deliberately stocking up border population with best of gadgets and attires. Apparently, the idea is to hide the dark repressive aspect and breed aspirations for the 'so called' good Chinese lifestyle among our people," the source said.

"You can counter such psy-war only by launching a parallel psy-war. But we are miles away from that. This can be disastrous in the near future," the source added.
The PLA (People's Liberation Army), a security official posted at the Ladakh border said, is playing a double game. While it is building defense structure on their side of the perceived border, it is stopping any such move when any such attempt is made by us by way of posturing and increasing presence of their troops.
During the ongoing stand off at Demchok, the Chinese forced district administration to stop construction work of a canal that is being built to irrigate the dry land and would have given livelihood to people.
"The only answer to Chinese overtures is to upscale infrastructure in Ladakh by providing poor far-flung villagers better amenities and increase the presence of troops and defence equipment in areas close to the border. Or else, you may see in future not so distant that China is putting claim on Ladakh as part of their territory," said the officer.

Government rejects demand to convert Ajit Singh's residence into memorial
19 Sep, 2014
Ajit Singh's supporters on Thursday clashed with police while protesting against Centre's move to evict him from official residence in Delhi, while the RLD chief demanded that the house be converted into a memorial to his father, former prime minister Charan Singh. "If you can not give the house to me, please convert it into a memorial to my father," said former Union minister Ajit Singh making a last attempt to retain the sprawling government bungalow.
However, the government has rejected the demand. "The bungalow, 12 Tughlaq Road, cannot be converted into a memorial as the Union cabinet in 2000 banned conversion of government bungalows into memorials in the name of departed leaders," said a senior urban development ministry official.
Having lost the Lok Sabha election, Singh had to vacate the house allotted to him. After serving eviction notice twice, when on Friday last week, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) disconnected the power and water supply to the house, Singh's supporters came up with a new demand — to convert the house into the memorial.

Ajit Singh too is playing to the gallery. He has moved his stuff out of the house, but activist of the Bharitiya Kisan Union continue to occupy the premises. Meanwhile, a banner declaring the house as a memorial hangs from the house.
"The house should have been converted to a memorial in 1987. The farmers will not vacate the house," said Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union. The Kisan Union has now threatened to disconnected the water and power supply that Delhi gets from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
On Thursday, the tiff between the administration and the RLD supporters took an ugly twist when the protesters pelted stones at the police in Gang Nagar area near Ghaziabad triggering a lathicharge by the police.

House 12, Tughlak Road was home to former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. After his death, his wife continued to stay there. When Ajit Singh became an MP, he got the same house allotted for himself. Never in his tenure as an MP or as a minister did Ajit Singh ever tried to get the house converted into a memorial. Now when he has been served eviction notice, the demand has cropped up.
Though Ajit Singh now has vacated the house, he has come up with the memorial demand. "There are memorials for Babu Jagjivan Ram, Kanshi Ram and Lal Bahadur Shastri, so why not for Charan Singh. Farmers from all over the country feel associated with the house and it is their place in Delhi," said Ajit Singh.

Dragon elephant to reverse world order
19 Sep, 2014
The cooperation and harmony between the "Chinese Dragon" and the " Indian Elephant" will have far-reaching effect in the region and the world as a whole. Chinese President Xi Jinping used this clichés, while talking to Prime Minister Narenda Modi, referring the need to find a common ground to change the current Western-dominated world order. "Both China and India are influential countries in the world. When our two nations speak with one voice, the whole world will listen attentively," Xi was believed to have told Modi during the talks, which lasted for 90-miniutes.
The two Asian neighbours have agreed on investment in India's railways, industrial parks and the adjustment of their trade imbalance. "If the Chinese Dragon" and the Indian Elephant co-exist harmoniously and realize peaceful, cooperative development, it will benefit 2.5 billion people in the two nations as well as those in other developing countries, and will have far-reaching effect in the region and the world as a whole," he said.

Xi said Beijing will take active measures to import more Indian pharmaceuticals and agricultural products that are sold well in China in a bid to balance bilateral trade. In addition, China will establish two industrial parks in Gujarat and Maharashtra that will produce power transmission equipment and auto parts. Chinese President also made it clear till the border issue is eventually solved, both countries should jointly manage and control disputes and maintain peace and tranquility in the border regions. "We should not let the border issue affect our bilateral relations," he said. On Tibet-related issue, Modi told Chinese delegation that India will not allow Tibetans to conduct anti-China political activities in the country. Chinese media has interpreted it as reaffirming that Tibet is a part of the territory of the People's Republic of China.

On international cooperation, Xi also told Modi that Beijing will support India to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Founded in 2001, the SCO groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan attend its meetings as observers.
Chinese sources here said that Beijing will help India to lift train speed and jointly explore the ways to upgrade railway stations and develop high-speed railways. The existing Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore railway line will be among the first to have the train speed increased, and the two countries will also launch training programs in heavy-haul transportation.

IITians create solar-powered cold storage with no running cost
18 Sep, 2014
Young IIT engineers have come up with an affordable solution to the wastage of agricultural produce by developing a unique solar-powered cold storage system which works at almost zero running cost.
Developed at the Science and Technology entrepreneurship Park (STEP) of IIT-Kharagpur by mechanical engineering student Vivek Pandey and his team, the micro cold storage system has been successfully tested in a Karnataka farmland.
"It is a first of its kind product developed anywhere in the world as there are no running costs for the farmer and works on clean and sustainable technology for all 12 months. We have even applied for four patents for technologies used in the product," Pandey told PTI.

Under the banner of Ecofrost Technologies, the young graduates are now ready to move out of the campus and start a manufacturing and assembly unit in Pune next month. Using a uniquely designed thermal storage methodology that controls compartment cooling in tandem with regular cooling, micro cold storage helps increase the shelf life of agricultural produce using solar panels of 2.5 KW - 3.5 KW.
"The power generated is sent directly on to the compressor which can run at various speeds to adjust itself to the cooling demand. Instead of batteries, the system has a thermal storage unit which can store power for more than 36 hours to provide power in case there is no sun during cloudy or rainy weather," the young innovator said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping receives Guard of Honour at President House; visits Rajghat
18 Sep, 2014
Chinese President Xi Jinping received a Guard of Honour on Thursday in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan, on the second day of his three-day state visit to India. President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and other senior cabinet members were also present at the ceremony. He also visited Rajghat and paid homage at the memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi,where he laid a wreath along with floral tributes with his wife, Peng Liyuan.
Post the ceremony, the Chinese President said, “This is my first visit as the President of China. I will focus on three goals; first goal is to carry forward our friendship. We admire and respect each other’s civilization, it’s important we deepen our mutual respect.”
“We have common development goals, it’s important we deepen the alignment of our development strategies. India and China can create opportunities for the world. We need to take our strategic partnership to higher levels,” he added.
Earlier in the morning, the Chinese President, along with his wife, and a delegation of senior party functionaries and government officials, was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and other senior cabinet members were also present at the ceremony.

India and China are scheduled to hold delegation-level talks here today with the objective of expanding bilateral cooperation and strengthening ties.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss important regional and international issues during the talks.
It is being reported that China is keen to invest its money in upgrading India's railway infrastructure, industrial parks, power generation and smart cities. India on the other hand will be keen to seek market access in China for its IT and pharma companies and attract Chinese investment to reduce its mounting trade deficit.
Both sides are also expected to discuss cooperation in civil nuclear energy.

PM Narendra Modi has raised issue of Chinese incursions with President Xi Jinping, says MEA
18 Sep, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of Chinese incursions with the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting last night.The issue will be further raised by the Indian side today when the two leaders meet for a summit meeting, MEA spokesperson said.
"The summit meetings are occasion for leaders to raise all substantive issues having bearing on bilateral ties, The Prime Minister took the opportunity to raise the issue last night with the visiting dignitary," MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.
The matter will be further discussed when the leaders hold talks in restricted and delegation level.

Modi, who hosted a private dinner for Xi in Ahmedabad after his arrival there yesterday, conveyed India's concern over the Chinese incursions, sources said.
Chinese Army has reportedly made a fresh incursion in Chumar area in Jammu and Kashmir and refused to return. As many as 100 more soldiers of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) arrived from a hillock of Chumar area and strengthened its numbers to nearly 350.
The stand-off in Demchok in Ladakh where Chinese nomads- Rebos-had pitched their tents is also continuing. The incursion in this area is nearly 500 metres deep into Indian territory.

Jammu and Kashmir floods: Water supply has been fully restored in South Kashmir
18 Sep, 2014
Water supply has been fully restored in South Kashmir towns of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam while as it has been partially restored in Pampore. Tankers have been pressed into service in Kupwara and Sopore areas in North Kashmir where PHE schemes have been badly hit, the Chief Minister was told.
It was told in the meeting that 99 truckloads of relief material have been dispatched from Srinagar Airport yesterday besides 50 truck ration has been pushed into Srinagar by CAPD department and 70 truck loads are expected to be sent today.
Similarly 69 trucks of ration has been sent to Baramulla, Budgam and Pulwama districts yesterday.
The Chief Minister directed the Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir to utilise Rs 200 crore each released to them for carrying out immediate temporary restoration work and meeting other relief needs.
On power supply, the Chief Minister was told that 70 per cent power supply has been restored in the Srinagar city and in other areas the supply will be restored as soon as water recedes from these areas.
The Chief Minister was told that 12 lakh vials of anti-measles vaccine and 3,000 vials of anti-rabies vaccine are expected to reach Srinagar shortly.
Other cleaning and disinfecting agents like phenyl and fumigation sprays are also on way to Srinagar.

Union Minister Kalraj Mishra hopes for Sino-India small industries pact
18 Sep, 2014
Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Kalraj Mishra is hoping that India and China ink a pact for the promotion of small scale industries during the ongoing visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Mishra said, "Details of the Chinese president talks with the Prime Minister will be known later. The MoU has been signed for an eatables technological park here. I am sure it will include small scale industries."
President Jinping's three-day visit is expected to focus largely be on ramping up bilateral trade and investment, besides addressing the contentious border issue between the two Asian giants.
He will be accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Thereafter, he will visit Rajghat to pay homage at the memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi before commencing delegation-level talks.
On Wednesday, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a one-to-one discussion at the Hyatt Hotel in Ahmedabad after which both sides inked three memoranda of understanding.

PM and Chinese President Xi Jinping witness signing of 3 MoUs in Ahmedabad
17 Sep, 2014
The President of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Xi Jinping and the First Lady Ms. Peng Liyuan arrived in Ahmedabad, Gujarat today. They were received at the Hyatt Hotel in Ahmedabad by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
The Prime Minister shared the rich Buddhist heritage of Gujarat with the Chinese President and the First Lady through an exhibition set up at Hyatt Hotel. The PM and the Chinese President then had a one-on-one interaction ahead of the signing of MoUs.

Three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the two countries in the presence of the Chinese President and the Indian Prime Minister: 1. MoU establishing 'Sister Province' relations between Guangdong, China and Gujarat, India which covers cooperation in economy and trade, environmental protection, public policy education, health, science and technology, tourism and culture.
2. MoU between the cities of Guangzhou, China and Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India for closer cooperation between the local authorities of the two cities, which will facilitate engagements in the fields of economy and trade, environment protection, public policy, education, health, science and technology, tourism and culture. Knowledge sharing will be done through delegation visits, institutional meetings and sharing of experiences in areas of mutual interest.
3. MoU between Industrial Extension Bureau (iNDEXTb), the nodal agency of Government of Gujarat for investment promotion, and China Development Bank, under which iNDEXTb will assist Chinese investors in obtaining required clearances and creating infrastructure facilities in the industrial parks.

India to be Partner Country in Hannover Messe Fair During April 2015
17 Sep, 2014
India has conveyed its consent to be the 'Partner Country' at the prestigious Hannover Fair in Germany to be held from April 12 – 17, 2015. By accepting the invitation of German Chancellor Ms. Angela Merkel for India to be the Partner Country at Hannover Messe 2015, the Government has sent strong signals to the industry about strengthening global trade and inviting investment into India. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is expected to be present at the world renowned engineering and technology fair beginning April 12.

The Department of Commerce has mandated Engineering Export Promotion Council India and India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) along with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as the lead agencies for Indian participation in the fair.
The Hannover Fair attracts nearly two lakh global leaders in business, technology, industrial scientists and policy makers. About 300 Indian companies including public sector giants would be participating in the five day fair, seeking technology collaborations, business tie-ups and showcasing India’s capabilities in global trade. India had been the Partner Country at the Hannover Messe in 2006. With USD 21 billion bilateral trade, Germany is India’s sixth largest trading partner with engagement in the areas of mechanical engineering, automobiles, chemicals, services, nuclear reactors, construction etc.

Garments and textile products, chemical products, leather & leather goods, iron, steel and metal goods, electronic components, electrical components, pharmaceutical products, and auto components are major items of exports from India to Germany. The key German exports to India include electrical generation equipment, auto equipment, complete fabrication plants, bearings, gear equipment, measurement and control equipment, primary chemical products, synthetic material, machine tools, aircrafts and iron and steel sheets, etc. The Government is seeing the participation in the fair as an opportunity to increase its global presence in commodities & services, apart from utilizing the event for attracting investments into India as part of the ‘Make in India’ campaign of the Prime Minister.
The Department of Commerce is in the process of getting in touch with all key Departments in the Central Government as also leaders of Indian business establishments, seeking their participation and co-operation in making the event a grand success.

Gilead Briefs Nirmala Sitharaman about their Licensing Agreements with Seven India-Based Generic Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
17 Sep, 2014
A delegation of Gilead Sciences, Inc. met the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman here yesterday. The delegation informed the Minister about signing of non–exclusive licensing agreements with seven India based generic pharmaceutical manufacturers allowing the companies - Cadila Healthcare Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Hetero Labs Ltd, Mylan Laboratories Ltd., Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., Sequent Scientific Ltd. and Strides Arcolab Ltd. - to manufacture Sofosbuvir and the investigational single tablet regimen of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir for distribution in 91 developing countries. These countries account for 54% of the total global infected population of Hepatitis C. The Gilead team also briefed the Minister about the fact that no price limitations have been fixed in the said licensing deal in order to ensure adequate competition amongst the licencees resulting in competitive prices for the patients.

Smt Sitharaman welcomed the development as this will result in expansion of access of these drugs to many more patients. She emphasized that pharmaceutical industry has a very pronounced human aspect and such a sector cannot be governed by the commercial considerations alone. She also said that India respects the intellectual property in new drugs but also emphasized that complete technology transfer is important to enhance the country’s manufacturing capabilities in this critical area. The Minister further said that India appreciates the value of innovation and partnerships to improve access of medicines through transparent, non restrictive voluntary licensing and hope that it will help in technology transfer in front-end technologies in healthcare. The delegation informed the Minister that under the licensing agreements, the Indian companies receive a technology transfer of the Gilead manufacturing process to enable them to scale up production as quickly as possible.

CMD, IFCI Ltd. Presents A Dividend Cheque of Rs. 92.30 Crore to the Union Finance Minister
17 Sep, 2014
Shri Malay Mukherjee, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, IFCI Ltd. presented a Dividend Cheque of Rs.92.30 Crore to the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley here today. This 10% dividend is for the Financial Year 2013-14.

IFCI had paid 10% dividend to the Government of India last Financial Year also. The Government of India is holding a majority stake of 55.53% equity shareholding in IFCI Ltd.

A delegation of Unified Naga Council calls on the Union Home Minister
17 Sep, 2014
A delegation of the Naga people from Manipur representing the Unified Naga Council called on the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh here today. The delegation expressed their concern about the Naga tribes in Manipur and their earlier participation in economic blockades in the state. They also thanked the Government of India for assuring them to look into their grievances sympathetically.
The Home Minister informed the delegation that the Government of India is fully committed to solve their problem in a time-bound manner, but there is no scope for any violence. The Government is ceased of the aspirations, sentiments and views of the Naga people and has appointed Shri R.N. Ravi as Interlocutor and Government’s representative for recommending a suitable solution.
Shri Prakash Mishra, Special Secretary (Internal Security), MHA and Shri R.N. Ravi, Interlocutor of the Government of India for Naga Peace Process were also present.

Union Home Minister to attend Sixth Meeting of SAARC Ministers of Interior / Home at Kathmandu
17 Sep, 2014
The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh will be attending the Sixth Meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Ministers of Interior / Home to be held at Kathmandu, Nepal on September 19, 2014.
The Home Minister is leaving for Kathmandu tomorrow morning and the Home Secretary, Shri Anil Goswamy is leaving today to attend the Sixth Meeting of SAARC Secretaries of Interior / Home at Kathmandu, Nepal on September 18, 2014

On his arrival at Kathmandu, Shri Rajnath Singh will call on Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, President of Nepal and Shri Sushil Koirala, Prime Minister of Nepal. Shri Rajnath Singh will also meet Shri Bamdev Gautam, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of Nepal and the leaders of Nepali Congress.
In the meeting, issues like Suppression of Terrorism, Maritime Security and Piracy, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, combating corruption, cyber crimes, Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, Trafficking in Women and Children and Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia are likely to be discussed.
After the meeting, Shri Rajnath Singh will also meet the leaders of political parties of Nepal.

Govt Lobbying Hard for Base Rate Interest Regime for MSME : Kalraj Mishra 2nd Innovation Summit 2014 inaugurated
17 Sep, 2014
The Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is lobbying hard with the public sector banking enterprises to extend loan facilities to micro, small and medium enterprises at base rate so that this segment is able to access vast capital from the financial and banking institutions at much cheaper rates and roll out quality products and run their enterprises effectively, according to the Union Minister for MSME Shri Kalraj Mishra.
“To ensure this, I am meeting the senior functionaries of banking and financial institutions at Lucknow on Thursday (tomorrow) so that an earlier decision is taken on this front with their concurrence which will be duly endorsed subsequently by the Reserve Bank of India, Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister Office”, said Shri Mishra.
Inaugurating the 2nd Innovation Summit-2014 under aegis of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today, Shri Mishra said that micro, small and medium enterprises across the country needed capital at relaxed rates of interest to run their enterprises and cater to the needs of their big brothers as well as contributes substantially to India’s manufacturing and external engagements.
“A couple of weeks ago, after my meeting with the representatives of host of micro and small industry associations here in New Delhi following intense and protracted discussions with them, it was consented that the Ministry of MSME would work hard to ensure that base rate interest regime would be facilitated for the small and tiny enterprises.
Subsequently, this concern of theirs was forwarded to the Prime Minister Office by the MSME Ministry and as a follow up action, I would be having conclusive parleys with the representatives of the banking and financial institutions so that with due deliberations the base rate interest regime is prevailed for this segment of industry. There has to be an intense focus on rural entrepreneurs and we will try to simplify business procedures for their growth”, Shri Mishra explained.

“My Ministry has been working hard to make sure that the new government succeeds in setting up of Credit Guarantee Trust Funds to extend liberal packages to MSME as a whole and inputs have already been incorporated in the new draft MSME Policy which is at the advanced stage of finalization. The government proposes to roll out the new policy in the next 30 days”, said Mr. Mishra.
As per stipulation of the new policy, the general procedures as well as procurement procedures would be vastly simplified and all clearances for setting up of micro and small businesses would be accorded online within a fixed period of 15 days, assured the Minister.
President and Vice President of PHD Chamber Shri Sharad Jaipuria and Shri Mahesh Gupta complimented the government for being proactive towards the industry by formulating policies that would accrue higher growth to India. Both Shri Jaipuria and Shri Gupta thanked the MSME Minister for making sure that MSME segment which is an important stakeholder in the space of PHD Chamber for making sure that the new government would treat it with base rate interest facilities. The need of the hour is to build the innovative capacities of MSMEs to unleash their entrepreneurial spirit.

Modi seeks mother's blessings on birthday
17 Sep, 2014
Modi, who turned 64 on Wednesday, spent about 25 minutes with his mother Hiraba, who also donated Rs.5,001 towards Kashmir flood relief.Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his mother in Gandhinagar on Wednesday and sought her blessings on his 64th birthday. A large number of residents gathered at the house to wish “Happy birthday Narendrabhai”.
Modi, who turned 64 on Wednesday, reached Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Modi family sources said that early on Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister went to his brother Pankaj’s residence in Sector 22 in Gandhinagar.
When Modi stepped out from his official BMW car, a huge crowd of neighbours cheered Modi, saying: “Happy birthday Narendrabhai.”Modi’s mother Hiraba, 95, put both her hands on Modi’s head and blessed him when he bowed to touch her feet.
Sources said that Hiraba contributed Rs..5,001 towards Kashmir flood relief and handed over that amount to her son.
The Prime Minister spent about 25 minutes there.Clad in his iconic half sleeve saffron coloured kurta and a hand woven scarf, Modi was offered laddoo by his mother.
Modi and his mother spent some time chatting and both were seated on simple plastic garden chairs.
The Prime Minister’s Office too tweeted: “PM Narendra Modi met his mother Hira Ba in Gandhinagar, Gujarat this morning. The Prime Minister sought the blessings of his mother.”
Later on Wednesday, Modi will welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad who is on a three-day sojourn to India.
The Prime Minister also received calls from his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe and President Pranab Mukherjee to wish him.
Mr. Abe's call was a reflection of the special bonding the two Prime Ministers enjoy.Mr. Modi visited Japan only a fortnight back and the warmth between the two leaders was at display during that.Vice President Hamid Ansari also wished him.

What's Chinese president Xi Jinping’s gift to Narendra Modi on his birthday?
17 Sep, 2014
With economy and trade high on his agenda, Chinese president Xi Jinping’s maiden visit to India on PM Narendra Modi’s birthday on Wednesday will be a historic one as it could set a new paradigm in bilateral ties and help realise Indian and Chinese dreams for development.
“President Xi is due to start a historic visit to India. This visit is made on the height of historical relations between the two countries,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing here about Xi’s visit, which would begin from Ahmedabad. “Xi’s visit set a new paradigm in India-China relations as it brings together two of most powerful leaders of our two countries,” Hu Shisheng, a research fellow at the state-run China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, attached to the foreign ministry, said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to India subtle shifts in the regional power dynamic that are bringing warmer ties between the two Asian giants, challenging China's traditional relationship with Pakistan, and opening a new chapter in Beijing's ongoing competition for influence with arch-rival Japan.

Xi is due in New Delhi on Wednesday for a three-day visit focused on trade, investment and the resolution of decades-old border disputes. With the world's second-largest economy and a proven track record at building highways, railways, and industrial zones, China has much to offer India as it seeks to upgrade its creaky infrastructure.
The visit is the latest sign of easing suspicions between the two huge countries — which between them have 2.6 billion people — dating from a month-long border war in 1962 that left around 2,000 soldiers dead. That conflict ended in a standoff with both sides accusing the other of occupying its territory.
Xi's visit will definitely enhance the bilateral political mutual trust, Chinese assistant foreign minister Liu Jianchao told reporters in Beijing last week.

While ties have been steadily growing for years, they have been given a major boost under new prime minister Narendra Modi, who's signaled he wishes to pursue a more vigorous foreign policy. Xi is the first Chinese head of state to visit in eight years, while the country's prime minister, Li Keqiang, made India his first overseas visit shortly after taking office last year.
“Good relations with India are a key part of China's regional strategy and Xi's visit creates the opportunity for direct face-to-face communication on the problems that still exist, such as the border issue,” said Zhao Gancheng, director of the Asia-Pacific Center of the Shanghai Institute for International Studies.
Modi spoke repeatedly to top Chinese officials in the first weeks of his administration, and during a recent visit to India, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi described the new relationship as the emerging tip of a massive buried treasure.

There's certainly plenty of room for growth. China may be India's biggest trading partner, but commerce between them dropped to an anemic $65 billion last year, with China exporting $48 billion more goods than it imported. For Modi, boosting trade and foreign investment is critical to making good on his campaign promise of creating jobs for the 13 million young Indians entering the labor market each year.
China also has a strong vested interested in preventing India from drawing too close to the West and especially to Japan, which has enthusiastically courted Modi's government.
Recently, Modi paid a five-day visit to Japan, bringing home pledges of billions of dollars in aid and investment and an agreement to strengthen their economic and security ties. Modi has emphasized the value of their shared commitment to democracy in contrast to China's one-party authoritarian communist system.
In light of that visit, Xi is expected to make investment pledges matching or exceeding the $35 billion Modi received in Japan — a sign of how Modi has been able to leverage the rivalry between China and Japan to maximize gains for India.
“China, I think, is conscious that we have a good equation with Japan,” said Jayadev Ranade, president of the New Delhi-based think tank Center for China Analysis and Strategy.
Both sides have said the border disputes shouldn't impede relations and recent years have brought regular consultations between both their diplomats and troops on either side high along the Himalayan frontier.

That's despite the occasional Indian accusation of Chinese incursions and an increased Chinese military presence along the border that has prompted India to deploy more armored units, refurbish air strips, and construct new roads in the area.
China lays claim to Arunachal Pradesh, an immense territory of nearly 84,000 square kilometers (more than 32,000 square miles), while India says China is illegally occupying the region of Aksai Chin, a rocky and largely empty 37,000-square-kilometer (14,000-square-mile) region far to the east.
Talks have yet to produce a long-term solution, but until they do, China says its policy is to avoid conflict. “We are all committed to tranquility and peace at the border. We will strive for an equitable and reasonable solution based on negotiation and consultation. We have confidence and capability for that,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Thursday.
While both Xi and Modi are strong leaders who've shown initiative, they're constrained on the border issue by domestic sentiment, particularly rising nationalism in China, Ranade said. “There will be many issues raised and discussed but I don't see a major breakthrough on the border issue. These are difficult issues,” Ranade said. “But even if they are discussed in a tangible fashion, which I expect the Modi government will do, it will be a move forward.”

Xi's visit comes during a swing through the region that also includes stops in the Maldives and Sri Lanka, where Chinese companies are at work on a major port and other infrastructure projects.
He won't, however, be stopping in on long-time ally and Indian rival Pakistan amid an outbreak of violent political protests in the capital, Islamabad. That offers further evidence for those who see a growing Chinese ambivalence toward Pakistan, although Ranade said the fact that the country was included on the original itinerary shows Beijing still values the relationship.
“Under the circumstances, it's inappropriate to have such a high-level visit,” said the Shanghai Institute's Zhao. Beijing hasn't commented on reasons for the visit's cancellation and the foreign ministry says China and Pakistan remain friendly neighbors.

Gujarat government asks Ahmedabad electricity board authorities to 'lighten-up' Xi Jinping's visit
17 Sep, 2014
The electricity board in Ahmedabad city has been instructed to avoid any power cuts and officials have been told to have their shoes polished and their shirts tucked in: Nothing has been left to chance for this week's visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi, is determined to build closer relations with the world's second-largest economy, whose leader comes with pledges to invest billions of dollars in railways, industrial parks and roads.
He hopes that when Xi arrives in his home state of Gujarat on Wednesday, marking the first visit to India by a Chinese president since 2006, the leaders of the world's two most populous nations will establish a personal rapport.
"The two have the opportunity to craft a new kind of relationship between great powers that is very different from the Western-dominated, post-World War Two model of great power ties," said Jabin Jacob of the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi.
"It remains to be seen, however, whether Modi and Xi can together summon the vision and statesmanship needed to grab the opportunity," he wrote in a commentary before the visit.
In one sign that India wants the Xi visit to be a success, New Delhi asked the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to reschedule an event in the capital so that it would not clash with the Chinese president's trip there on Friday.

The Dalai Lama, who Beijing labels a separatist seeking an independent Tibet, has lived in India since fleeing across the Himalayas after a failed uprising in his homeland in 1959.
Modi's "Intensive" Foreign Policy
But despite the moonlight dinner that the two leaders will share in a luxury tent on the banks of the Sabarmati river as Modi celebrates his 64th birthday, strains between the nuclear-armed neighbours remain, and India's prime minister has made it clear that his regional foreign policy will be robust.
In a little more than 100 days since he came to power, Modi has engaged in what his government describes as "an intensive state of global engagement", reaching out to smaller neighbours and clasping Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a bear hug on his first major trip outside South Asia.

Business ties between India and China may be growing fast, but relations between the two rising powers are also defined by competition for energy and regional clout, as well as a festering border dispute that led to a brief war 52 years ago.
India said on Tuesday it would firmly defend its 3,500-km (2,200-mile) border with China after domestic media reported a new face-off on the disputed frontier.
The Hindustan Times reported that more than 200 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army crossed into what India considers its territory in Ladakh in the western Himalayas last week, and set about building a 2-km (1.2-mile) road there.
Separately, Modi's government has eased restrictions on building roads and military facilities along its border with China to close the gap on its neighbour's superior transport network and take a stronger stance towards Beijing.
And this week, India extended a US$ 100 million export credit for defence deals with Vietnam, one of China's rivals for influence in the South China Sea.
Modi is not the only regional leader seeking strategic influence, defence partners and economic opportunities.Earlier this month Abe visited Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, asserting Tokyo's interest in a region where it has ceded influence to China.Xi followed this week with trips to the Maldives, the Indian Ocean island nation that New Delhi has long considered its area of influence, and Sri Lanka, where the two sides built on a blossoming relationship by agreeing to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement.

A floral welcome for Lord Krishna in Udupi
17 Sep, 2014
Car Street, on which the Sri Krishna Mathand the other eight maths or Ashta Maths are located, wore a colourful look on the occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtami here on Wednesday.Flower sellers from other districts had brought flowers and sat on two neat rows on either side of Car Street. Most of them come to Udupi from places such as Hassan and Chikmagalur on all major festivals to sell flowers. While some of them are growers as well , the others purchase the flowers in their home districts and sell it here. The flowers are sold in ‘maarus’. One ‘maaru’ has approximately 250 flowers tied to one another.
Most of them said that the business had been poor this time. Raje Gowda had brought flowers worth Rs. 10,000 from Athni village in Arkalgud taluk of Hassan district. “I came with a group of eight flower sellers in a taxi. It is a loss this time as we are selling a ‘maaru’ of ‘sevantige’ at just Rs. 10,” he said.
Lakshmamma from Arkalgud said that she had come with a group of nine flower sellers. “When compared to last year, the sales are disappointing. A ‘maaru’ of flowers should be sold for at least Rs. 50 for us to make a profit,” she said.

Udupi comes alive on Sri Krishna Janmashtami
17 Sep, 2014
The ‘Muddu Krishna competition’, where children dressed up as Lord Krishna , was held at Rajangana and Madhwa Mantapa here.The Sri Krishna Janmashtami festival was celebrated with traditional pomp here on Tuesday. Vidyavallabha Tirtha Swami of Paryaya Kaniyur Math participated and supervised various religious rituals connected to the Sri Krishna Janmashtami festival at the Sri Krishna Math. The ‘Muddu Krishna competition’, where children dressed up as Lord Krishna , was held at Rajangana and Madhwa Mantapa here.
The Rajangana hall was full of children dressed as young Lord Krishna. Parents were giving tips to their children on how to behave on the stage. On the stage, the children tried to imitate the childhood pranks of Lord Krishna to devotional songs being played in the background.
Some children walked and even danced in tune with the music. . One child imitated eating butter from an earthen pot. Another child imitated playing the flute.
The audience appreciated the efforts put in by the children by applauding them. The competitions were held in four categories — below one year, one to two years, three to five years and six to 10 years.

Painting
In the afternoon, as many as 22 artists painted Lord Krishna under different themes, at the Kanaka Mantapa. These paintings would be exhibited at the Shiroor Math here from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“These paintings will be auctioned in the evening on Wednesday and the proceeds would be given to an orphanage and to an old age home,” said Shashank Shivathaya, coordinator of the event.
The Rangoli competition attracted many participants, who drew various attractive designs at the Anna Brahma hall. The Kaniyur seer visited the hall and admired the rangolis.

Huli Vesha
One of the attractions of the festival was the ‘Huli Vesha’.
They entertained the people by their vigorous dancing. Though there was quiet a heavy downpour in the afternoon, it made no difference to the enthusiasm of the dancers.

Rajasthan by-elections: BJP trailing in 3 out of 4 seats
16 Sep, 2014
Opposition Congress candidates are leading in three out of the four Assembly constituencies in Rajasthan where bypolls were held. The ruling BJP candidate is leading on the remaining one seat. Initial trends show that Congress candidates Shrawan Kumar (Surajgarh), Bhajanlal (Weir) and Ramnarayan (Nasirabad) are leading with vote margins of 1325, 8658 and 167 respectively whereas only one candidate of BJP, Sandeep Sharma, is leading on Kota South Seat with a margin of 13,212 votes.

Former Health Minister and BJP candidate Digambar Singh is trailing behind Shrawan Kumar of Congress in Surajgarh after 10 rounds of voting. The bypolls were necessitated after the sitting MLAs -- Sanwar Lal Jat (Nasirabad), Om Birla (Kota-South), Santosh Ahlawat (Surajgarh) and Bahadur Singh Koli (Weir) -- resigned from the Assembly following their election to Lok Sabha.

Counting of votes under way in UP; Samajwadi Party leading in 7 constituencies; BJP in 5
16 Sep, 2014
Amidst tight security, counting of votes for 11 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh began today. Samajwadi Party leading in 7 constituencies, while BJP in 5 seats.
"Counting for 11 seats of Vidhan Sabha and one seat of Lok Sabha started this morning," an Election Commission official said here.
He said micro observers have been deployed at counting stations.
The Assembly seats where bypolls were held include Saharanpur city, Bijnor, Thakurdwara, Noida, Nighasan Lucknow east, Hamirpur, Charkhari, Sirathu, Balha and Rohania, as also in Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat which was vacated by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Stakes are high for BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh after the saffron party's near-total sweep of the 80 seats in Lok Sabha polls just four months ago.

10,000 contract staff may lose their jobs in Kerala
16 Sep, 2014
A recent review had identified 30,000 excess posts, of which majority are being manned by contract employees and they will be eased out in phases.As many as 10,000 employees working on contract in various government departments, public sector undertakings, Corporations and boards are likely to be rendered jobless soon.
The government is reportedly gearing up to shed the flab in a staggered manner to avert public protests. Finance Department sources told The Hindu here that the service of about 7,000 contract employees would be terminated in the initial phase on getting a go-ahead from the Cabinet and others will be axed in due course.
A recent review had identified 30,000 excess posts, of which majority are being manned by contract employees and they will be eased out in phases.

The department is understood to have worked out a strategy for doing away with the posts. Since the employees are working on an annual contract, the agreement would not be renewed on expiry. The Chief Secretary's office had issued a circular recently against creation of new posts in the wake of the financial crisis. Though the government had repeatedly been issuing circulars to heads of departments, PSUs, and other recruiting authorities reminding them to fill up the temporary vacancies through employment exchange, majority of them either ignored it or yielding to political pressure hired employees on contract. Thus the staff strength had increased manifold over the years and their salary bill has added to the financial burden of the government.
Since the government is striving hard to manage its finances, it had been exploring all possible options to slash the expenses.

The cash crunch would now be cited as a convincing reason for taking such a drastic step. The proposal is to retain skeletal staff required for running an organisation so that the establishment expenses can be contained to a considerable extent.
Securing Cabinet clearance would not be an easy task for the Finance Department. The United Democratic Front (UDF) allies may not accept the proposal to terminate the employees they have recruited in the departments, boards, and Corporations which come under their purview. But this would also create an impression that they were aiding and abetting backdoor appointments in violation of rules. Hence, a political decision would become imperative on the issue.

Assam by-elections: AIUDF leading in 2, Congress in 1
16 Sep, 2014
Counting for by-elections to Silchar, Lakhipur and Jamunamukh Assembly constituencies of Assam is underway on Tuesday to decide the fate of 25 contestants. The by-election on September 13 was necessitated following the election of Silchar Congress MLA Sushmita Dev and Jamunamukh AIUDF MLA Mohammad Sirajuddin Ajmal to the Lok Sabha during the last general elections.

The death of sitting Congress MLA Dinesh Prasad Goala necessitated the by-poll in Lakhipur. Twelve candidates were in the fray from Silchar, followed by eight contestants at Jamunamukh and five from Lakhipur respectively. While Arun Dutta Majumdar (Congress), Dilip Kumar Paul ( BJP) and Nur Ahmed Barbhuyan (AIUDF) are among the prominent contestants in Silchar, former Congress MLA Dinesh Prasad Goala's son Rajdeep Goala (Cong), Mukesh Pandey (AIUDF) and Sanjay Thakur (BJP) are notable candidates in Lakhipur. Jamunamukh has AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal's son Abdur Rahim Ajmal, Bashir Uddin Laskar (Cong) and Bilal Uddin (BJP) in the fray among others.
According to latest trends, AIUDF is leading in 2 seats and Congress in 1 seat. BJP is trailing in all the three seats.

THE GOVERNMENT IS COMMITTED FOR THE PROGRESS OF THE LAST MAN IN THE SOCIETY: MR. NITIN GADKARI, UNION MINISTER FOR ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS, SHIPPING, RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND DRINKING WATER & SANITATION
16 Sep, 2014

30 KMs OF ROAD WILL BE CONSTRUCTED PER DAY IN THE COUNTRY

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ROAD SAFTY IS THE TOP PRIORITY ON THE HIGHWAYS TO REDUCE THE ACCIDENTS
The Government is committed for the progress of the last man in the society. While addressing the press conference in New Delhi today Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Rural Development and Drinking water & Sanitation said that the 30 Kms road will be constructed per day in the country. Conversion of knowledge in to wealth through innovative technologies and E-governance. Referring to the construction of national highways in Madhya Pradesh Mr. Gadkari said that all the backlog constructions of the National Highways will be completed within 2 years and best road facility will be provided in the Madhya Pradesh State. Rs. 12500 crore proposed for laying National highways in Uttarkhand. Special Corporation will be constituted for Road construction in North East. Rs. 13000 crore allotcated for laying National Highways in Jammu & Kashmir. 500 resting facilities will be created on the National Highways within 3 years. India is having 48 lakh Kms largest road network in the world. Special norms will be framed and rules will be relaxed in Naxal affected areas for laying Roads by providing employment opportunities to youth through skill development. Compensation to Farmers will not reduced while acquisition of lands of farmers for Road Construction.

Referring to the Road safety the Union Minister said that the New Motor Vehicle Act is likely to be the passed in next the session of the parliament. Road safety is the top priority of the government to reduce the rate of accidents. New road safety board is going to be constituted soon. Bus ports are proposed to be constructed under the public private partnership mode.
Replying to the quarry of a journalist the union minister said that the dry port will be constructed in the Cochin at the cost of Rs. 1200 crores. The Government is focusing on the ship breaking industry and construction of Barrages in the Indian Ports. There will be a revolutionary change in the water transport system and SEZs will be created at the cost of 4000 crore at Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai. Special Economic Zones will be created at Kandla and Kamaraj Nagar Ports. Commenting on the Coastal Shipping the Union Minister said that there is scheme of green channel clearance and duty exemption for the Indian exports.

The government is also focusing on swachh Bharat as envisaged by Prime Minister of India. Top priority will be provided to drinking water schemes and mapping of water resources by utilizing the space technology. The Union Government sanctioned 5 PURA projects under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Scheme. Toilet facilities will be provided in Rural Areas. While answering a quarry of a journalist from Hyderabad the Union Minister said that road connectivity will be provided to Telangana and a dry port is proposed in Godavari Basin of the Andhra Pradesh.
Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Rural Development and Drinking water & Sanitation addressing a video linked press Conference to different parts of India.
Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Rural Development and Drinking water & Sanitation addressing a video linked press Conference to different parts of India. Krishan Pal Gujjar, MoS of Road Transport and Highways, and Shipping and A.P. Frank Noronha, D.G. PIB are also seen.

Kairana Assembly bypoll on Oct 15
15 Sep, 2014
The bye-elections for the Kairana Assembly constituency of Uttar Pradesh will be held on October 15 and nominations would begin from September 20, officials said.
"2,82,130 electorates including 1,26,194 women would exercise their franchise in the assembly bye-elections of Kairana constituency in Shamli district," District Election Officer Shamli, N P Singh, told reporters here today.
157 polling stations have been established for the polls, he said.
Bye-election for the Kairana seat was necessitated after BJP MLA Hukum Singh resigned after he was elected to the Lok Sabha from this constituency.
The district authorities have divided the Kairana assembly into 40 sectors for arrangements in which 1,210 officials would be posted for election duty.

730 flood-hit people sent home from Kashmir Valley
15 Sep, 2014
As many as 730 people, including 390 migrant labourers, have been sent home from Kashmir valley via Anantnag-Simthantop-Kishtwar Road in the Jammu region.A total of 340 flood-hit victims of erstwhile Doda district and 390 migrant labourers from different parts of the country have been rescued from Srinagar city and sent back to their homes via Anantnag-Simthantop-Kishtwar road, a spokesman said.
The labourers include 31 from Nepal.

The solitary link to Kashmir Valley via Sinthan Top now has been restored and trucks of relief materials were also sent to Srinagar through it, the spokesman said.
The trucks were loaded with all kinds of essential commodities including baby food, 1000 blankets, LPG cylinders, kerosene, milk, medicine and water, he said.
Relief camps have been established in Kishtwar town, Chatroo and Sinthan Top.
Rescue taskforce teams comprising district officers have been deputed to Srinagar for identification and rescue of the Kishtwar-based flood victims and their transportation back to Kishtwar, the spokesman said.

PM Narendra Modi sets new target for Union ministers to enhance infrastructure by at least 10%
15 Sep, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, known for pushing for infrastructural projects, has cracked the whip. He has asked his ministers to enhance existing Infrastructure in their specific fields by at least 10% by the end of the financial year.
According to a major daily which published the news, the prime minister has even set up a tracking mechanism to ensure work is being done at a satisfactory pace. For now, the Planning Committee will keep a tab on the work done, and subsequently it will be done by the think tank that is set to replace the committee. Modi, in his early days in office, has been more proactive in setting the basics right rather than going after big ticket reforms, and this move seems to be congruent to that mindset.
Senior ministers believe that this move will help them to work more stridently to achieve their goals. Bureaucrats will be also be on their toes to expedite the process of decision making. Government offices over time have been known for dillydallying over files and Modi is looking to strike at that peril of Bureaucracy.

If indeed ministers achieve and fulfill the minimum target, it can be a major fillip to infrastructure, which will subsequently augment the process of economic development. It will imply mobile connectivity for half the villages, literacy rate up to 80%, 500 kilometres of new railway tracks and 7,700 kilometres of new roads. This is considerably more than the internal target set by the Union Ministers.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has already instructed the Planning Commission secretary to come up with a method of evaluating performance of the ministers with these new targets in place. Seems like Prime Minister Modi is quite a hard taskmaster willing to go the extra mile to get work out of his subordinates.

Health Minister proposes floating clinics
15 Sep, 2014
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday proposed that boats should be mobilised to send medicines to the people of the flooded areas of Srinagar. These “floating clinics” can be used to deliver medicines, first aid and other supplies to those areas where floodwaters are yet to recede and boats are the only mode of access.
After returning from his tour of the flood-ravaged areas, Dr. Vardhan said his proposal had been received “positively” by the Jammu and Kashmir government.
“The Chief Minister [Omar Abdullah] has directed his officials to mobilise the available boats and start something on an urgent basis. Meanwhile, I am arranging for doctors and health workers,” he said.
Efforts are being made to reach people suffering from diabetes and hypertension who need medicines immediately. The Ministry has also urged the State’s Health Secretary and other officials to dispose of the carcasses lying around Srinagar. Cautioning against the spread of diseases on account of the dead animals, the Minister has called for the launch of an information-education-communication-intervention to make people aware of the need to boil water before drinking.

“I have urged for central monitoring of water supply. For people cut off, I have advised that chlorine tablets be supplied. Just one tablet dissolved in 20 litres of water could safeguard people against water-borne diseases,” Dr. Vardhan said.
The Minister said all efforts were being made by the Army, the BSF and other agencies to offer medical care. “There are a large number of doctors from Delhi’s central government hospitals who rushed there,” he said.

Andhra Pradesh bypoll: Voting begins in Medak Lok Sabha seat, Nandigama assembly seat
13 Sep, 2014
Polling began on a brisk note for the by-election to Medak Lok Sabha seat in Telangana and Nandigama (SC) Assembly seat in Andhra Pradesh at 7 AM today.By-election is being held in Medak as the Lok Sabha seat was vacated by Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhar Rao upon becoming Chief Minister of the newly-formed Telangana state.
As many as 15.43 lakh voters, spread over seven Assembly segments, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-poll.
There is a straight fight between businessman K Prabhakar Reddy of TRS and former MLA T Jayaprakash Reddy of BJP, supported by TDP. Former minister V Sunitha Laxma Reddy is the Congress nominee but she may end up as an "also-ran" in the by-election. The Chief Minister will cast his vote in Chintamadaka village under Siddipet later in the day.

Winning the Medak Lok Sabha seat is critical for the TRS as it is not only a question of personal prestige for KCR but will be seen as an endorsement of his government's actions in the last 100-plus days. But the BJP is seeking to trounce the TRS saying the new state government failed to keep even a single promise it made on the eve of the general elections in May.
Over 9,000 police personnel have been deployed in Medak to ensure an incident-free election. Senior IAS officer Rahul Bojja, who is the Returning Officer, is closely monitoring the polling process.

In Nandigama, more than 1.80 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes. TDP fielded Tangirala Sowmya, a software engineer and daughter of late MLA Prabhakar Rao, whose sudden death soon after the election in May led to the by-poll. Nandigama is a TDP citadel as it won the Assembly seat in consecutive elections since 1994.
Ignoring TDP's request to make it a unanimous election in view of the death of the sitting MLA, Congress, that drew a blank across Andhra Pradesh in the May election, chose to field B Babu Rao while the now principal opposition party in the state, YSR Congress, decided to stay away from the bypoll. Given the sympathy factor, Sowmya should find the going smooth.
District Collector M Raghunandan Rao and Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar are supervising the poll process in Nandigama.

Bypolls in West Bengal: Voting begins in Chowringhee, Basirhat Dashin assembly constituencies
13 Sep, 2014
Amid tight security, polling for the bye-elections to the two Assembly segments, Chowringhee and Basirhat Dashin, began this morning. "The polling in both the Assembly segments started at 7 am. So far everything is peaceful in both the constituencies," said Amitjyoti Bhattacharya, an election department official.
The fate of a total 14 candidates in the fray would be decided in the bye-elections, nine in the city's prestigious Chowringhee seat and five in the Basirhat Dakshin constituency in North 24-Parganas district bordering Bangladesh.

Chowringhee seat was won by Sikha Mitra of Trinamool Congress in the 2011 Assembly elections. The by-election was needed due to resignation of Mitra from the TMC. The Trinamool has fielded Nayna Bandyopadhyay, wife of party leader in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay, from the Chowringhee Assembly segment. The BJP, which has emerged as a major contender this time, has put up its state secretary and spokesman Ritesh Tiwari from the Chowringhee seat. Santosh Pathak is the Congress candidate and Faiyaz Ahmed Khan is the CPI(M) nominee from the seat.
In the Lok Sabha elections, Congress had taken lead of 1,500 votes from the Chowringhee Assembly segment under the Kolkata North Lok Sabha seat.
Basirhat Dakshin Assembly seat was won by CPI(M)'s Narayan Mukhopadhyay in 2011. The by-election was caused due to his death.

Like Chowringhee, the TMC, BJP, Congress and CPI(M) have fielded their candidates in the Basirhat Dakshin seat. Former footballer Dipendu Biswas is the Trinamool candidate while BJP has fielded Samik Bhattacharya, who had contested the last Lok Sabha elections on BJP ticket from Basirhat LS seat. BJP is keen on winning the Bashirhat Dakshin seat to open its account in the Bengal Assembly. Samik Bhattacharya led from this Assembly segment in the Lok Sabha elections by 30,000 votes, but lost to TMC's Idrish Ali. Asit Majumder and Mrinal Chakrabarty are contesting from Basirhat Dakshin as Congress and CPI(M) candidates respectively.
The Assembly bypoll is being regarded as an acid test for the ruling TMC in the backdrop of its MPs and functionaries being questioned and arrested by the CBI in connection with multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.

Bypolls in Rajasthan: Polling begins for four assembly constituencies
13 Sep, 2014
Amid tight security arrangements, polling began today for the Bypolls to the four assembly constituencies in Rajasthan. Twenthy-three candidates including four each from the ruling BJP and opposition Congress are in the fray in Nasirabad (Ajmer), Weir ( Bharatpur), Surajgarh (Jhunjhunu) and Kota South constituencies where 950 polling stations have been set up.
"The polling began in all the constituencies at 7 am," an election department official said.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair polling.Paramilitary forces, companies of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary and 6,000 policemen have been deployed in all the four constituencies, according to Special DGP (Law and Order) Navdeep Singh.
There are 8,95,101 lakh electorate including 4.24 lakh women voters in the four constituencies where the bypolls were necessitated after the sitting (all from BJP) MLAs Sanwar Lal Jat (Nasirabad), Om Birla (Kota-South), Santosh Ahlawat (Surajgarh) and Bahadur Singh Koli (Weir) resigned from the assembly following their election to Lok Sabha.

Crime Branch starts probe into AAP's bribe allegations
13 Sep, 2014
The crime branch of Delhi Police has begun an investigation into the alleged sting operation done by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which purportedly showed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit vice-president Sher Singh Dagar offering a bribe to AAP MLA Dinesh Mohaniya to switch sides. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav confirmed that the Crime Branch is investigating the case.
Yadav, however, clarified that no FIR has been registered in this connection. Although he refused to divulge many details about the nature of the probe, he said, "Whatever is needed will be done."
A delegation of the AAP led by party chief Arvind Kejriwal had met Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi on Friday and demanded Dagar's arrest. Bassi had then referred the case to Crime Branch.

In a letter written to Bassi, Mohaniya, the AAP legislator from Sangam Vihar who the party had claimed was offered a bribe of Rs 4 crore by Dagar, demanded that an FIR be registered in the case and a thorough investigation be conducted. "An FIR should be registered in the case and Sher Singh Dagar should be immediately arrested for offering bribe. The police should also investigate who is the high command Dagar is seen talking about in the sting. The high command should also be arrested," the letter had said.
Kejriwal had also submitted a video copy of the "sting".
After the alleged sting operation, the BJP had issued a show-cause notice to Dagar and sought his response in this matter.

Rajnath Singh plays safe on his maiden media conference
13 Sep, 2014
"What is love jihad? I have never heard of this sort of a thing. I have no idea," said union home minister Rajnath Singh impromptu changing into clothes of a shrewd politician and leaving it for the listeners to interpret the meaning – whether as the home minister he disapproves it or has he chosen to keep himself out of party politics?
Smiling, he deflected the issue repeatedly in the same vain when quizzed how he can be not aware of a catch phrase that is being actively used by his own party leaders like Yogi Adityanath and LK Bajpayee in UP poll campaign.
Lately, a cross section of BJP leaders from various states have made Love Jihad – claim that Muslims are marrying Hindu girls to convert them – to whip up passions.
At his keenly awaited first presser as the union home minister that coincided with the completion of 100 days of governance, Rajnath Singh chose to keep himself out of all other tricky questions.

On BJP MP from UP, Yogi Adityanath's "communal diatribe" that has drawn severe criticism from the poll watchdog, apt came Singh's reply, "The law will take its own course."
When asked about his relations with Prime Minister Modi and his position as a minister, Singh paused choosing his words carefully.
"Modiji is our Prime Minister; he is an able prime minister. I am a minister in his Government. I am the home minister," he said, again after a pause, he added "My relations with him were cordial, are cordial and will remain cordial."
Describing his innings in Home ministry to be compared as a test match instead of a one day match or a 20Twnety, Singh again forced the listeners to think if he was trying to convey that he was not positioning for any bigger post and was content with the post he has been given.

Turing into the garb of union home minister, Singh said that the ministry's main focus areas in priority are Left Wing Extremism (LWE), terrorism in J&K and insurgency in the North East.
"We are working on policy documents for all three areas that will be ready shortly," he said appealing the Maoist ideologues to give up the path of violence and come into the mainstream.
"We are ready for a dialogue if they give up violence. We believe that in a democracy dialogue is very important and should be tried," Singh said.
Singh sat to finalise the anti-Maoist doctrine immediately after the presser with his senior staff and also the NSA. Sources said the new doctrine would be called "Strategic and Tactical Paradigm to Combat Maoist Insurgency" and would be decisively potent than the doctrine under practice now.

Congress Minister asks Maharashtra government to acquire Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's home in London
12 Sep, 2014
A Congress minister in Maharashtra has asked the state government to coordinate with the Centre to acquire a residential property in London where Dr B R Ambedkar lived in the 1920s.The 2,050 sq ft property on King Henry's Road, London, is expected to cost an estimated Rs 40 crore, state Water Conservation Minister Nitin Raut said.
"I came across the auction notice of the house and pursued the matter," said Raut, a prominent Dalit Leader from Nagpur."There is no politics involved," he said, when pointed out that the move comes ahead of the Assembly polls in the state, slated next month.
"The Ministry of Social Justice has given its written consent for the project. The Chief Minister is also very positive on the issue of acquiring Ambedkar's home in London," he said.
"An opportunity has arisen to purchase the former London residence of Dr Ambedkar. The landlord published an advertisement for sale of the house. It is a historic place where Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar lived in 1921-22," Raut said.
Ambedkar lived there while studying at the London School of Economics, he said.
"The Federation of Ambedkarites and Buddhist Organisation (FABO), UK wrote a letter to the Maharashtra government and the Centre, informing about the auction of the private property for Rs 40 crore. As I am associated with Ambedkarite associations, they approached me requesting for help to acquire the property through the state's and Centre's intervention," Raut said.

After eight years in jail, Nithari murder convict Surinder Koli meets mother as execution deferred by a week
12 Sep, 2014
Death-row convict Surinder Koli's mother today met her son for the first time in eight years since he was lodged in jail for Nithari serial killings. 68-year-old Kanti Koli who travelled from Mangrukhlal village in Almora town in Uttarakhand, met Surinder at Meerut jail today for 45 minutes.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Kanti said that Surinder told her he was made a scapegoat in order to save influential people, apparently referring to his employer Moninder Singh Pandher. Kanti further said, "If Pandher was not given capital punishment, my son should also be spared from it. If my son is hanged, Pandher should also be hanged."
42-year-old Surinder Koli was awarded death sentence by a lower court, which was upheld by the Allahabad High Court and confirmed by the Supreme Court on February 15, 2011 for the murder of Rimpa Halder in 2005. He was to be hanged on September 12 in Meerut jail, where he has been kept in a high-security barrack. The Supreme Court on September 8 stayed the execution of his death sentence for a period of one week.
Alleging that Surinder has been made a scapegoat in the case, Kanti said, the main culprit is Pandher as killings took place inside his house. "I do not believe that my son can commit this crime," the grief-stricken mother said. She was meeting Koli for the first time after eight years and was accompanied by panchayat member of Mangrukhlal, Narayan Singh Rawat and other members of her village.

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan booked for 'hurting' religious sentiments
12 Sep, 2014
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was on Thursday booked by the police for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of a community in Yavatmal.
The 48-year-old actor was booked under IPC Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) on the basis of a complaint lodged by one Mohammad Asim Mohammad Arif, a city resident, police said.
According to the complainant, Khan's NGO Being Human had recently organised a fashion show in Mumbai where a model walked down the ramp wearing a T-shirt on which a word was inscribed in Arabic. This hurt the religious sentiment of Muslim community, Arif claimed.
Investigating Officer Dilip Chavan confirmed receiving the complaint and said a probe was on.
"We are investigating the case. The complainant has provided a video clipping of the fashion show," he said.

Google coordinates matched in London saved life of Kashmir police patriarch
12 Sep, 2014
The 82-yeard old patriarch of Jammu and Kashmir Police, Pir Ghulam Hassan Shah stranded in his Shivpora locality house in flood-hit Srinagar near the 15 Corps Army Headquarters, owes his life to Google map coordinates, matched in London.
His son-in-law, a consultant at the Pune-based Armed Forces Medical College was in London, when floods struck the city. Unnerved at the reports of rising water level in Shivpora locality and in absence of any communication, he used his resources to plead with the Army to rescue his ailing and aging father-in-law.
The Major-General at Pune suggested if he could send them google map coordinates of Pir's house so that they can rescue the legendary chief of Jammu and Kashmir Police, who in 70s was credited with breaking the back of militant outfit Al-Fatah and earlier foiling Pakistani infiltration attempts in 1965. The doctor son-in-law spent an hour locating Shivpora and the particular house on Google map and recorded its coordinates. "Once coordinates were identified, we conveyed them to the Army," said a relative of Pir.
With right connections, the Army reached Pir's house within an hour in a boat and rescued him. Army sources said Pir and his servant when rescued were in a semi-conscious state without food and water.
The floods have also exposed inefficiency, insensitivity of the local administration. Case in point is Kashmiri's first Muslim IAS officer Mohammad Shafi Pandit. On September 6, he found water levels in Jhelum rising. Contrary to chief minister Omar Abdullah's assertions that his administration had forewarned people and they didn't pay any attention, the former officer, who has been a divisional commission of Kashmir, contacted the District Magistrate, who allayed his fears.
On September 7, Pandit was back at Jhelum and spotted a crack in its embankment. He immediately contacted the chief engineer of flood control department, who again assured that it was not a breach, but a small crack, which they will repair soon.
The engineer said his men were alert and will not allow embankments to be breached. Upon returning home, when he was sipping tea with his wife, water gushed in. "My wife and I ran away as fast as we could," said the former top officer.

Manmohan knew about 2G scam, three Cong MPs pressurised me to keep PM’s name out, alleges ex-CAG
12 Sep, 2014
New Delhi: Taking a scathing attack on the UPA government and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former CAG Vinod Rai said that even after being informed about unfolding 2G scam, the latter chose to look the other way.
“In 2G and coal there is no way he (Dr. Singh) can shirk responsibility? In 2G all the letters written by (then Telecom Minister) A. Raja were to him and he was replying to those letters. I got no reply to any letter I wrote to him. On one occasion when I called on him, the PM said I hope you don’t expect a reply from me, whereas he was replying to Raja twice a day. So how can he be not held responsible for the onus of that decision?” Mr. Rai said.
Rai also alleged that Singh was not fully aware of the econometric machinations that caused colossal loss to the public exchequer.
He further claimed that Congress leaders had sought to apply pressure on him to keen the PM’s name out of audit reports naming Sandeep Dixit, Ashwini Kumar and Sanjay Nirupam as the three.
Mr. Rai, whose loss estimates in 2G spectrum and coal block allocations pushed the then UPA government into a corner, was also critical of the coalition politics under Dr. Singh and alleged suggested that he was more interested in remaining in power.

“Integrity is not just financial; it is intellectual integrity; it is professional integrity. You have an oath of allegiance to the constitution and that is important,” he told Outlook magazine.
He was asked what was his understanding of PM’s psychology considering that many revered him as an elder statesman.
Mr. Rai replied that “you cannot have the nation being subjugated to the state and the state being a coalition of political parties. The belief was that good politics makes good economics too. But does good politics mean just staying in power?”

Mr. Rai, who is writing a book on his days as head of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), said his phone was tapped by the then UPA government and he felt Dr. Singh was part of the decisions to allocate 2G telecom spectrum on first-cum-first serve basis and coal blocks without auction.
Recalling that Dr. Singh had on November 16, 2010 told him that the figure of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore 2G loss was not the right way of computing, Mr. Rai said he had told the then PM, "Sir, these are the econometric methods that you have taught us’ This was sitting on the stage of Vigyan Bhavan.”
Rai, whose book "Not Just An Accountant" is set for release in the next few days, claimed that Dr Singh was alerted by his senior cabinet minister Kamal Nath about the brewing 2G scam.
Veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath backed Rai’s allegations saying, "I wrote to the Prime Minister that I am hearing all sorts of things are going on in 2G allocation. The PM chose to do nothing," Nath told Times Now.
Reacting to Rai's claim, Sanjay Nirupam said Rai was lying. "I have never spoken to him," he said.

US$ 5.5 billion fund earmarked for disaster mitigation: Kiren Rijiju
11 Sep, 2014
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has said that the Indian government has earmarked 10 per cent of funds in all Centre-sponsored development programmes for disaster mitigation, which amounts to about USD 5.5 billion for the current fiscal.
"India is a leading country now in disaster management. We have to be well prepared in dealing with disasters," Rijiju, who is leading a high-level Indian delegation for the second World Reconstruction Conference being held at the World Bank, told PTI in an interview.

In his intervention at the three-day conference that began yesterday, which among others, was attended by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Rijiju briefed them about the steps that the Indian government was taking to meet the challenges posed by disasters – both man-made and natural. It is in this regard that the minister said the Union government has "earmarked 10 per cent funds in all development schemes" for disaster mitigation, recovery and innovation. This amounts to USD 5.5 billion for 2014-2015. "This is likely to increase over the years, as we tend to invest more and more in development schemes," he said.
Only the second Union Minister of the Modi government to visit the US, Rijiju said India also has a system of funding in the form of dedicated funds for disaster response, capacity building and mitigation. The minister also briefed the participants of the Conference on the steps that the government has taken in the massive floods that has ravaged the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Globally, natural disasters have caused damages of nearly USD 4 trillion over the past 30 years and the frequency and intensity of these powerful storms, droughts and earthquakes continue to rise.

Leaders from developing countries, civil society, private sector and agencies including the World Bank, European Union and United Nations are attending the conference to discuss how vulnerable countries can better prepare and protect hard-won development gains by establishing recovery strategies and processes before disaster strikes. The conference will explore a range of themes related to post-disaster recovery, including the importance of international cooperation, methods for ensuring the efficiency of physical reconstruction, technological and green innovations, recovery in fragile and conflict situations, and reconstruction within the context of a country's overall development goals.
Rijiju said the Union government was taking a series of steps towards disaster mitigation, recovery and innovation.

Narendra Modi asks officials to ramp up relief operations in Jammu and Kashmir
11 Sep, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ON Wednesday directed officials to provide total support to the Jammu and Kashmir government to enable it ramp-up rescue and relief operations following massive floods in the state and he stressed on the need to quickly reach essential commodities to the affected people.
Chairing a high-level emergency meeting to review relief operations in the state late this evening, Modi emphasised that immediate attention be given to providing basic necessities like food and water to people severely affected by the calamity.
The Prime Minister directed that top priority be given to provision of essential commodities to affected people in Srinagar town.

He also directed the Home ministry to immediately depute senior officers from Delhi and other states to coordinate the relief operations with local administration in Srinagar, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.
Modi said there is a need for a massive effort to ensure basic hygiene and sanitation in the water-logged areas of Srinagar.
The Prime Minister was informed that the process of restoration of telecommunication links has begun, with about 8000 landlines being activated in Srinagar. Mobile services have also been partially restored through service provider Aircel.
The Prime Minister directed officials to coordinate the relief efforts of voluntary organisations as well.

The meeting was attended by Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Nripendra Misra, Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Secretaries of the central ministries and officials from the Defence forces.
A total of 76,000 people have been rescued so far by the Armed Forces and NDRF. Arrangements are being made for provision of food, water and essential medicines, the statement said.
The Army has deployed more than 30,000 troops in the relief operations while the IAF has pressed 80 aircraft in action including the C-17 transport aircraft along with helicopters.

Airports Authority of India approves two direct international flights from Gujarat
11 Sep, 2014
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has approved two direct international flights from Gujarat - Ahmedabad to London and Surat to Dubai.
The announcement came after state Aviation Minister Saurabh Patel held a detailed meeting with AAI chairman S Raheja, who was here today, along with other top officials of the Union Civil Aviation ministry, according to an official Gujarat Government press release issued here today.
Besides approving two direct international flights from Ahmedabad and Surat, the AAI chairman also gave his nod to handover airstrips at Deesa in North Gujarat and Keshod in Saurashtra region to the Gujarat government, the release added.
During the meeting, Patel discussed setting up of an international MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) station at Dholera.
He also requested the delegation to improve Ahmedabad airport's amenities, as well as construct an aerobridge.

Railways sends 3 lakh 'rail neer' bottles to flood hit Jammu and Kashmir
11 Sep, 2014
Reaching out to the flood affected people of Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Railways has sent three lakh 'rail neer' water bottles to the State.
The bottles, produced by Railway's PSU IRCTC, were sent with the help of the Air force and through trains, a Railway spokesperson today said.
He said that railways has also decided to sent 50,000 water bottles daily to Jammu and Kashmir.
He said Delhi Division of Northern Railway has also made special arrangements for people coming from the flood affected areas and for those who are visiting the state.
An exclusive waiting room has been earmarked for their use at the New Delhi station, he said.
Passengers can also contact the station manager or the deputy station manager for their journey.
Help desks have also been opened in Jammu, Udhampur and Katra, the spokesperson added.

FIR against BJP leader Yogi Adityanath for defying ban on poll meeting
11 Sep, 2014
Hours after BJP leader Yogi Adityanath defied a ban on his election meeting in Lucknow, police lodged an FIR against the controversial MP and other party leaders who participated in the rally. SSP Praveen Kumar said that cases were lodged late last night against Adityanath and others who participated in the meeting yesterday.
Defying the ban, Adityanath, the BJP's lead campaigner in UP, had addressed an election meeting in which he accused the SP government of following a communal agenda.
A district administration official said that "An FIR has been lodged against BJP candidate from Lucknow (east) seat Ashutosh Tandon Gopalji and others under various sections of the IPC at Ghazipur Police Station".
He said the entire meeting was videographed by the administration.

"Others (whose names are lodged in the FIR) include all those who are visible in the video," he said.Other than Adityanath, BJP MPs Jagdambika Pal, Lallu Singh and former MP and father of Gopalji Lalji Tandon were present during the meeting.
The official said that a CD of the meeting would be sent to the Election Commission today."A CD is being send to the EC by a special messenger," he said.
Claiming that he was not allowed to hold meetings in Thakurdwara, Mainpuri and Nighasan where Assembly bye-elections are being held, Adityanath had addressed one of them using his mobile phone.

Later in the state capital, he defied police which had withdrawn permission to him to address an election meeting at Indira Nagar locality by appearing on the stage.
Adityanath had accused the district administration of not allowing him to address the meeting at the behest of the Uttar Pradesh government.
"I had to hold meetings at Thakurdwara, Mainpuri and Nighasan but the district administration did not allow me to do so. The district administration had withdrawn permission on directions of the government in an illegal way," he had alleged.
BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said the party would reply to the action taken by the administration legally.

"We have full faith in constitutional bodies. We did nothing wrong and Yogi went there only to meet the party workers," he said.
He alleged that initially the administration gave permission for the meeting, but withdrew it at the last moment.
"As we have already publicised the meeting, the leaders had to reach there. Besides neither public address system was used, nor any stage was set," he said.
The Chief Election Officer of Uttar Pradesh Umesh Sinha had sought a report from Lucknow district administration on the rally addressed by Adityanath.
The district administration has also been asked to provide a CD of the rally to ascertain whether the BJP MP had violated the Representation of People Act and the Model code of conduct through his utterances.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Ahmedabad on September 16
11 Sep, 2014
Gujarat government along with state BJP leaders have begun preparations to give a grand welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will land at Ahmedabad airport on September 16 afternoon.
"Since Narendrabhai Modi is coming to Gujarat for the first time after becoming Prime Minister, Gujarat government will greet him as per protocol. Modi will be also welcomed by party leaders," Gujarat minister and state government spokesperson Nitin Patel said.
Modi's arrival on September 16 would coincide with the declaration of election results of bypolls in nine assembly and one Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat. Expecting victory from these seats, the BJP plans to arrange a grand function in Modi's presence.

"Party workers will gift BJP's win to Modi on that day. Thus, our party is planning to arrange a grand function on that day. However, nothing has been finalised yet," BJP media convener Harshad Patel said.
On September 17, which is Modi's birthday, the Gujarat government has organised a gala function at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.
"On 17th September, which is Modi's birthday, the Gujarat government has organised a programme to aid needy citizens in the morning. We have requested our PM to remain present at the function," Patel said.
Later during the afternoon of September 17, Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to land at Ahmedabad airport, as announced earlier by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandi Patel.

NDRF jawan injured in attack by angry locals
10 Sep, 2014
An NDRF jawan was attacked by angry locals, while few other personnel of the force were heckled while they were rendering relief and rescue operations in the flood-hit areas on Wednesday. Officials said a National Disaster Response Force trooper received severe injuries on his hand when the locals attacked him.
The locals apparently wanted the NDRF men to concentrate on a particular area and when the force personnel decided to go to a different marooned area, the locals attacked them. "The jawan has been sent to Chandigarh for treatment and was accommodated on a scheduled IAF flight going to that city.
Few incidents of our men being heckled are being witnessed since yesterday in the state," a senior officer said.
Worried by the development, the NDRF and senior Home ministry officials have asked the Cabinet Secretary to devise some mechanism so that troops are kept safe while they render their duty.
"It has been decided that CRPF will guard rescue teams but we are still to find a way to implement this mechanism as there is limited space on the boat.Carrying securitymen on boat means reducing space for people to be rescued," a senior official said.
Meanwhile, the government has rushed NDRF chief O P Singh to Srinagar to personally monitor and supervise rescue operations in the state.
The NDRF has deployed 19 teams and over 150 boats in the flood-hit states for these operations.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal meet Delhi Lieutenant governor; submits CD of sting operation
10 Sep, 2014
The Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejeriwal and Manish Sisodia met the Liutenant Governor of Delhi. Sisodhia told ANI, "We have met the LG today, also gave him a copy of the sting in which our MLA has been offered 4 crore."
He said, that AAP had also requested him to review his letter, as a government of horse-trading will not address the issues of people of Delhi. He added after the meeting that such a government will be a burden on the people and "forming government this way will be betraying them."
"We are hopeful that he will review his recommendation," Sisodhia said.
AAP also urged the Lt Governor to revise his September 4 letter to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking permission to invite the single largest party (BJP) to form government in Delhi.
At the meeting, AAP asked the Lt Governor to dissolve the Delhi Assembly. Sisodia said that if required they will submit the CD to the President. AAP's meeting with Jung comes a day after the Supreme Court gave the central government a month to end the deadlock over government formation in Delhi.
Meanwhile, BJP on Monday, has refuted the allegations made by Arvind Kejriwal saying that the video's authenticity should be verified. Reacting to AAP's alegation, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy Said, "AAP's sting is just a drama. BJP doesn't need to buy anyone, then why take Arvind Kejriwal seriously."

Over 47,000 people rescued in Jammu and Kashmir, 4 lakh still stranded
10 Sep, 2014
About four lakh people were still stranded and desperate for help today in flood-ravaged Kashmir valley where heavy rains have eased to help scale up the massive multi-agency rescue and relief efforts in which over 47,000 people have been safely evacuated.
As the miseries faced by people--some of them perched on rooftops--in the worst floods to hit Jammu and Kashmir in six decades unfolded, the death toll in the floods, landslides and house collapses triggered by torrential monsoon rains since Tuesday last was stated to be around 200.
Authorities were also trying to fix the telecommunication links snapped since Sunday afternoon on a war footing and hope to restore it in a phased manner.
"The big problem that is hampering rescue activities in the Valley is that telecom links have become dysfunctional... The Department of Telecommunications(DOT) is trying its best to restore the links quickly," an official said.

Officials said shortage of boats was also affecting rescue operations.
A total of 61 IAF choppers and transport aircraft undertook 451 sorties non-stop overnight to carry men and relief material to submerged parts of the Valley where about one lakh troops were engaged in the rescue operations, Defence Spokesman Col S D Goswami told PTI in Jammu.
Officials said that an estimated four lakh people were believed to be still stranded in the aftermath of the floods.
GoC 15 Corps Lt Gen Subrata Saha said the weather condition is improving and the water level has receded in Srinagar and other towns in South Kashmir.
"The weather has cleared and the intensity of the Helicopter operations has picked up. In Srinagar, the water level has receded by 1.5 to 3 feet at some places but we are noticing an increase in water level on the northern side," he said.

The water level in Dal lake was also steadily rising.
TV footage showed overflowing flood waters from Dal Lake having entered the ground around Hazratbal shrine complex.
"A massive rescue and relief operations by the Indian Armed Forces, IAF and NDRF is on in Jammu and Kashmir with more helicopters and rescue materials including boats pressed into service today", the Defence Spokesman said.
"Armed Forces and NDRF so far rescued 47,227 persons in different regions of J&K", he said, adding that about one lakh troops were involved in the operations.
Though 135 Army boats and 148 NDRF's inflatable boats were pressed into service, there were complaints of shortage of boats. More boats were also being airlifted from Delhi.
"We need boats. How can we pull the elderly and children to safety from the marooned areas?," an anguished flood survivor said.
"We are facing a shortage of boats for rescuing people from inundated areas," a state government official said.
BSNL has launched an operation on a war-footing with Army and IAF to restore mobile services through satellite network and the telecom network is expected to be partially restored today, officials said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to visit Afghanistan today
10 Sep, 2014
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to visit Afghanistan today to further enhance the ties and review key projects that have being implemented by India in the trouble-torn country.

In her first visit to the country as External Affairs Minister, Swaraj is expected to hold talks with the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai on crucial bilateral and regional issues, which may include enhancing the defence and security assistance from India.

Sushma Swaraj is also expected to hold a meeting with the presidential candidates in Kabul and inaugurate the new Indian embassy.

Election Commission show-cause notice to Yogi Adityanath for alleged inflammatory remarks in Noida
10 Sep, 2014
New Delhi: The Election Commission has issued a show cause notice to BJP MP Yogi Adityanath. EC on Tuesday issued notice for violation of Model Code of Conduct by making alleged inflammatory remarks. Till 6 pm on Wednesday, Adityanath has to explain why action should not be taken against him. Adityanath was campaigning for assembly by-polls in Noida. In its show-cause notice, EC has reproduced four reported remarks of Adityanath made on Sunday which it said were violative of the model code.
Polling will take place on September 13 in Noida and other assembly constituencies of UP where by-polls are taking place.
Taking cognisance of Adityanath's reported remarks, EC said it is of the opinion that "prima facie" he has "violated" provisions of the model code of conduct.
According to EC, the Gorakhpur MP, often accused of making hate speeches by the opposition, said mikes from a temple were removed in Moradabad but were allowed in mosques and those who protested were sent to jail.

The poll watchdog also said Adityanath reportedly said that an India without Ram cannot be imagined.
It said Adityanath also said those who trouble Hindus with riots will have to pay dearly.
He, according to EC's notice, sought votes for the BJP candidate in the name of Lord Ram.
EC reminded the Gorakhpur MP of the various provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the model code of conduct which prohibits people from indulging in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities.
It also said making an appeal to vote on the ground of religion is a corrupt practice under Section 123(3) of the Representation of People Act.

Election Commission may announce polling dates on Tuesday
09 Sep, 2014
Assembly elections in 4 states to be held in two phases of October and December
According to reports, Election Commission is all geared up to announce the schedule of upcoming assembly elections this week. Polling in Maharashtra and Haryana is supposed to be clubbed together.
Though elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand were supposed to be held in December, this may wary after Kashmir was hit by major floods that ravaged its towns and villages.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said that floods should not deter the election process but EC may fix dates keeping in mind the casualties and tragedy.
The assembly elections will be held in two phases. The first phase will be in Haryana and Maharashtra and the second phase will be in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand.

Sources suggest that Election Commission may announce dates as early as Tuesday.
Earlier, speculation was that all four states would have elections together.
The election dates are awaited by Narendra Modi led BJP and Congress and its allies. This will be a major test for Modi's BJP to check if Modi wave still persists or has subsided after Lok Sabha elections 2014. Meanwhile, Congress expects to change its losing streak and make a comeback in by-polls.
The legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmir comprises 87 members. The last assembly elections were held in 2008. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is ruling Jharkhand with the Congress.

'Pitripaksha Mela' kicks off at Gaya in Bihar
09 Sep, 2014
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the Central Bureau of India (CBI) director Ranjit Sinha to file a counter-affidavit explaining allegations leveled against him and his alleged meetings with the corporates.
Taking cognizance of the petition filed by senior counsel prashant Bhushan asking apex court to direct Sinha to recuse from 2G case , bench headed by Justice H L Dattu and consisting of justices S A Bobde and A M Sapre gave the given direction.
Prashant Bhushan had earlier asked court ti direct Sinha to recuse from 2G case on the ground that he had allegedly attempted to save former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran in Aircel-Maxis case.
Bhushan also submitted a diary in a sealed cover to court which was maintained at the gate of Sinha’s residence.
However, Sinha has dubbed the diary as dubious.

Heavy rainfall expected in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Goa: IMD
09 Sep, 2014
Heavy rains are expected in Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Madhya Pradesh and Goa in the next couple of days, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday evening.With southwest monsoon remaining vigorous over West Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha and active over Marathwada and Telangana, it said a few places in these region could experience "extremely" heavy rainfalls tomorrow and the day after.
Heavy rainfall is also expected over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam and Meghalaya, East Rajasthan, coastal Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during this period.
However, no such warning has been issued for Jammu and Kashmir where rains and floods during the last week claimed 150 lives.
The monsoon trough, meanwhile, passes over Barmer, Chittorgarh, centre of well-marked low pressure area over southwest Madhya Pradesh and adjoining north Madhya Maharashtra, Raipur, Paradip and towards east central Bay of Bengal.

2G scam: SC asks CBI chief to file counter-affidavit on allegations levelled against him
09 Sep, 2014
Land Scam. Gas Scam. Spectrum Scam. Water Scam. coal scam. Forest Scam. Stamp Paper scam. CWG scam. Whatever the scam be, at the centre of it, is the ownership, control and distribution of scarce resources and scarcity. And this should hardly be surprising, because most of history has been the quest to conquer and control these scarce resources. Those who control them dominate history; those who fail to control them do not even make it to the footnotes. The more scarce the resource, and the more key it is to the future of a land or an economy, the more likely are people to use tactics that are neither legal nor honourable to usurp that resource and keep everyone away from its bounty. In a different era, might is right would have been the way of establishing control on scarce resources – wars over land, cattle, slaves, cotton, spices, colonies have been fought for less.

However, the 21st century is, allegedly, a more civilised era than centuries past, and humanity has evolved less bloody methods of allocating resources:
a) It could be individual entities that control the resource and therefore control its exploitation and distribution
b) It could be groups or cartels bidding for a resource to exploit and distribute it at a price decided by it
c) It could be the State controlling the resource, its exploitation and distribution
d) It could be a combination of these.

There are four primary reasons why there is scarcity:
* If there is very little natural occurrence of a resource – for example gold or diamonds are scarce because they don’t occur naturally in great quantities – then optimum allocation is achieved via pricing;
* If a naturally occurring resource is very tightly controlled – for example marijuana and opium, grow freely in nature but are heavily controlled by most governments – in such a case you use the law to ensure scarcity – because the system believes that it is for ‘greater good’ of humanity;
* If manmade products, like stamp paper or guns, are very tightly controlled, the former from the perspective of who is the supplier, and the latter form the point of view of both who makes them and who buys them
* There are too many people consuming that resource – oil would not be a scarce resource if very few people owned vehicles or needed energy.
In each of these cases, scarcity impacts price and availability. There is a premium to be made in bucking the system and creating an underground, illegal, or not so legal route in dealing with these things. if you looked at the 2G scam, it was companies who tried to change the rules so that they were one of the few who took control over a scarce rescource – spectrum; if you look at the Adarsh scam, it was that land is at a premium, especially in South Mumbai, and flats are scarce; and so on. In each case it may be a good idea to understand what is the scarce resource to understand the direction of greed.

At the core of all the scams that we have been witnessing are three very critical, and interlinked, issues:

* Who owns these scarce resources? The ownership of these resources is somewhat ambiguous. Although theoretically, the citizens of India should own all the natural resources that exist within her boundaries, the practise is quite different; the people have very little to say on the allocation of resources or the priority of its use. The Government of India leases out the right to exploit these resources to various corporations – either public holdings or private enterprises – who are supposed to use their expertise to harness these resources for the greater good of society, while still making a profit. The enterprises more or less run these licenses as though they were owners.
* How do you allocate scarce resources? The resources in question – be it land or spectrum, be it drinking water or forest land, be it oil or gas are scarce. Its use by one set of people means less is available for other sets of people. Most of these are not renewable – you can no more grow more spectrum than you can create more petroleum deposits. Are these resources that are nature’s bounty to be split up equally and equitably amongst the people, or do you wait for the market to allocate. And, if the market allocates, how much does the state charge; and finally
* Who benefits the most from the exploitation of the resources – is it, we the people? Is it the corporations? Is it the government. And, how do you measure benefit? Is it that there is more equitable distribution of resources so that more people benefit from it? Or is it extraordinary profits earned from exploiting scarcity?

It is in this context that we need to look at two of the most important decisions on natural resources that will be taken this month. The first will be the Supreme Court’s decision on the coal scam, and later in the month will be the Government’s decision on the KG basin gas pricing issue. Both are vital in their own way, because both will impact the right of Indians to have affordable energy.

At the core of both lie two simple questions – who owns the natural resources of the nation, and who decides how they should be allocated. Is it the Government who decides what is ‘greater good’ of the nation at large and do all other agendas, including the corporate agenda, get subsumed by this greater good?; or does the government get out of the business of allocation and allow business to choose the most optimum path – even if this optimum path means price fixing cartels, that maximise profits for a few, and a highly improbable trickledown for the rest?
If we assume that the Government needs to act on behalf of the people of the country, and this includes ensuring that the economically and socially marginalised have equitable access to scarce resources; then the decision before the Government is simple. It is also the single most honourable thing to in a situation like this. Cancel all the licenses and start afresh. Let the Supreme Court judgement be the start of a new, transparent and people friendly era of resource allocation that puts the interests of India and Indians above all other interests.

The Supreme Court has declared all the coal licenses to be illegal. There were 218 such licenses allocated of which only 40 are operational, and 6 more are expected to be operational in the near future. While the media and lawyers can debate whether this is judicial overreach or not; and while the Government has asked the SC for leniency for the 40 that are already producing coal, and 6 that are on the verge of producing coal ; the fact remains that the verdict is the best thing that happened to the people of India and its government.
For the Government this is a judiciary sent opportunity to clean up energy production. For coal, they can start with a clean slate and allocate on the basis of the priorities of 2014. They will need to bite the bullet for this, because those who currently own the licenses are powerful industrialists with tremendous clout. And, once they bite the bullet and manage the fallout – maybe the government should have another look at the KG Basin Gas allocations, before they look at pricing. Or maybe the SC can.

2G scam: SC asks CBI chief to file counter-affidavit on allegations levelled against him
08 Sep, 2014
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the Central Bureau of India (CBI) director Ranjit Sinha to file a counter-affidavit explaining allegations leveled against him and his alleged meetings with the corporates.
Taking cognizance of the petition filed by senior counsel prashant Bhushan asking apex court to direct Sinha to recuse from 2G case , bench headed by Justice H L Dattu and consisting of justices S A Bobde and A M Sapre gave the given direction.
Prashant Bhushan had earlier asked court ti direct Sinha to recuse from 2G case on the ground that he had allegedly attempted to save former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran in Aircel-Maxis case.
Bhushan also submitted a diary in a sealed cover to court which was maintained at the gate of Sinha’s residence.
However, Sinha has dubbed the diary as dubious.

J&K floods: Over 800 airlifted, 15000 rescued; Home Ministry sets up control room for assistance
08 Sep, 2014
Srinagar: It has been seven days of devastation in Jammu and Kashmir and no sight of relief. Roads, bridges and several homes have been submerged in the water. People had to climb on to their terraces to save their lives. The Indian Air Force officials said it is the worst flood in the state from past 50 years.
According to TV reports, over 800 people were airlifted while nearly 15000 have been rescued from several districts of the state. However, there has been no whereabouts of the three ministers who were stuck in south Kashmir. Thousands of people are still awaiting to be rescued. Poonch, Reasi, Akhnoor, Rajouri, Pulwama and south Kashmir are the worst hit areas.

Rescue and Relief operations underway
Home Ministry has set up a control room in Delhi for people seeking assistance regarding their relatives stuck in flood or other details The team will function and coordinate with Srinagar.The ministry has also provided nearly 150 addittional boats to pace up the rescue and relief operations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the state to assess the flood situation. He announced the calamity as national disaster and also offered a package of Rs 1000 crore for the victims. The Air Force choppers from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh were flown into Jammu & Kashmir. Talking to reporters, Modi said that government is willing to provide aid for relief operations to Pakistan as well. It is notable that floods have killed over150 people in Pakistan.

PM Narendra Modi extends hand to help Pakistan in relief operations
He said "The devastation caused by the record rains and the consequent flooding is unprecedented", he said that "while reviewing the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, I was informed that the damage to life and property is equally, if not more, severe in areas across the Line of Control as well". It is notable that more than 150 people have lost their lives in floods in Pakistan.
"My heart goes out to the affected people and my deepest sympathies are with them and their families. In this hour of need, I offer any assistance that you may need in the relief efforts that will be undertaken by the government of Pakistan. Our resources are at your disposal wherever you need them," Modi said.

Modi held review meeting with CM Omar Abdullah
Modi held review meeting with Chief Minister of state Omar Abdullah. Abdullah said "We are doing the best we can. We will save you, I promise." He advised those stranded in floods to stay on top floors.

Abdullah said that more rescue based inititatives are required to save the people from drowning. Addittional NDRF teams have been rushed to the site. PMO has also ensured the assistance from central government as all rivers in the state continue to flow above the danger mark.

J&K floods: Helpline numbers
* Jammu & Kashmir House (011)-24611210 and 24611108;
* Srinagar 0194-2452138
* Jammu 0191-2560401
* Home Ministry's control room in New Delhi: (011) 23093054, 23092763, 23093564, 23092923, 23092885, 23093566, 23093563

Mass awareness should be generated on eye donation, says Dr Harsh Vardhan
08 Sep, 2014
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has said that he would request the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) to include in school text books passages and essays that generate in young children a positive attitude towards organ donation in general and eye (cornea) donation in particular.
While speaking here at the centenary celebrations of Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital yesterday he stated that the ongoing National eye donation Fortnight that started from August 25 and would continue till today, September 8, an annual event organised by the National Programme for Control of blindness, is meeting with good response in a large number of states, including the national capital. It is now felt that youngsters should be exposed to the enormity of the problem of blindness in India and their responsibility to contribute to its end.
Dr Harsh Vardhan said, "We teach the young the life stories of great savants and leaders with the hope that the new generation will imbibe their qualities. It is also necessary to instill in them their responsibility towards the blind population of India which could benefit if cornea donation becomes part of the nation's culture."

"Eyesight is one of the biggest gifts of God. Unfortunately, the corneal blind population of India is the largest in the world. At a rough estimate, the country needs 1 lakh corneas every year but only about 17,000 are procured. Of these only about 50 percent are utilized," he added.
Dr Harsh Vardhan observed, "We need more eye banks. But that is not enough. There should be synergistic interaction among professional health services and community engagement. Increasing public awareness, promoting eye donation, implementing quality standards and organising a network of trained professionals for procurement, preservation and distribution of tissues are vital cogs in the wheel."
"The history of ophthalmology in the country is inextricably linked to the vision of Dr S.P. Shroff, who founded the institution in 1914," he added.
Dr SP Shroff was a founding father of the Delhi Medical Association, the precursor of the Indian Medical Association. Both Shroff's hospital and DMA were established in the same year and have proved to be lasting institutions that have contributed much to India's development.
The tradition of pledging one's eyes after death is quite old in Delhi thanks to the pioneering work by Shroff's Hospital.

A number of facilitators and donors' families from Delhi, Karnal and other places of northern India were honoured at the function, including the parents of a 14-year-old girl and the son of a 65-year-old man. In both cases, the family members showed exemplary presence of mind while making the emotionally heavy choice of donating the just-deceased's eyes.
The government intends implementing a nationwide programme for setting up regional centres modelled on NOTTO at Chandigarh, Guwahati, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. All the upcoming AIIMS at six cities will also have similar infrastructure.

Majid Menon supports Mamata Banerjee; says, Amit Shah's criticism about West Bengal without substance
08 Sep, 2014
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Majid Memon on Monday, described Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah's criticism about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as not having any substance.
"Whichever state he goes to he tries to make a ground for ensuing elections which may take place next year or thereafter. In West Bengal, he has taken head on against the Chief Minister by making all kinds of allegations, which are probably without substance," Memon told ANI.
He also stated that the BJP chief's speech given against the TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister had a political overtone.

"It is not he who should suggest what the Chief Minister should do, what steps she should take. She as the chief administrator of the state would definitely see what best lies in the interest of the state and the interest of the people. I think Amit Shah's advice is what is only some kind of a political overtone and nothing more like that," he added.
During a rally held yesterday, BJP President Amit Shah had slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying that if she cannot reign in her party workers and associates who are involved in corruption and scam, then she should step down.
Shah made these comments at a time when the CBI and the ED were tightening their grip in the multi-crore Saradha Ponzi scam probe.

Shah also lashed out at Banerjee, saying the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo is only concerned with illegal immigrants from Bangladesh instead of focusing on the state's development.
Taking potshots at the ruling TMC government in West Bengal, Shah said, "If Mamata Banerjee spends only half her time on Bengal rather than indulging in politics, Bengal will develop. She is only concerned with illegal immigrants from Bangladesh instead of being concerned with Bengal."
Attempting to reach out to the voters of the state, the BJP President said West Bengal will have to change if it wants to move ahead on the development path.

Mukul Sangma to continue as Meghalaya chief minister, says AICC leader
06 Sep, 2014
Terming the recent hue and cry for change of leadership as 'figment of imagination', AICC general secretary Luihinzo Falerio tonight said Mukul Sangma would continue to be the Chief Minister. "Mukul Sangma was, is and will continue to be the chief minister of the state," Falerio told reporters after the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting.
He said, "I've never heard of it (demand for change of leadership). It's just a figment of imagination of someone else." The CLP meeting was attended by all the members including those from the dissident group led by MPCC chief DD Lapang and senior leader SC Marak.
Stating the meeting was very intimate one, Falerio said, "Everybody spoke their hearts out... When everybody speaks from their hearts, the outcome is always beautiful." "I congratulate all the members of the CLP including senior leaders who have also given various suggestions on how to avoid misunderstanding created by somebody," he said. He said the meeting decided to come up with a mechanism to ensure that whenever differences arise they are sorted out immediately by discussing with each other.
Asserting that differences are natural in a healthy democracy, he said, "Differences are there among husband and wife, brother and sisters in a family but what is important is that these need to be sorted out."
Asked what grievances were aired during the meeting, he said, "I don't think there are serious grievances but yes these are serious misunderstandings." Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, however, said the party would continue to deliver according to the aspiration and expectation of the people. The MPCC chief who led the dissident group against Sangma's leadership, said "If husband and wife quarrel it makes the family more solid. We have all sorts of quarrel but we will not burn our own family down. The party will stand united."

Automotive industry unit in Tihar to be run by inmates
06 Sep, 2014
Small scale automotive workshop was inaugurated in Jail number 2 of Tihar under a public-private partnership providing training and employment opportunities for the inmates. For the first time in the history of Indian automotive industry, a manufacturing unit has been set up inside Tihar jail premises where work will be carried out by the prison inmates.
The Director General of Delhi prisons, Alok Verma, inaugurated the small scale automotive workshop in Jail number 2 of Tihar in New Delhi, under a public-private partnership providing training and employment opportunities for the inmates.
The manufacturing unit has been set up by Minda Furukawa Electric Pvt. Ltd (MFE), a joint venture company between Spark Minda, Ashok Minda Group of India and Furukawa of Japan.
The company develops and produces the entire range of wiring harness for four wheelers, and components related to wiring harness.
“The inmates will profit in both long term and short term working here. They will be paid wages and will gain work experience which will be useful for them to rehabilitate themselves after completing their terms here,” Delhi prisons DIG and PRO Mukesh Prasad said.
The inmates working in Tihar jail will be supervised by professionals and will earn more wages in comparison to other inmates working in the jail.
“We are hopeful of making the inmates able to earn their living once they are out of jail by gaining technical experience,” Mr. Prasad said.
The venture was inaugurated in the presence of Delhi prisons DG, DIG, Chairperson of Spark Munda, Sarika Minda, President of MFE, A Maenishi and other senior officials.
Chief Marketing Officer of the Spark Minda Group said, “This initiative will certainly produce a sustainable collaborative social business model, which will benefit the convicts of Tihar Jail, their families and victims also.
“We are certainly exploring such avenues at other places also... The investments at Tihar includes machinery, raw material and other quality systems and procedures as laid down per policy and the facility will be run by jail convicts under the supervision of MFE.
“In this manufacturing unit, Wire Harness product, a key automotive component, will be manufactured by the Jail convicts,” he said. Initially 30 to 35 inmates are working on this joint project which is likely to be increased in future, Mr. Prasad said.

100AccheDin: A hundred days of small big stuff from the Narendra Modi government
06 Sep, 2014
Over the last few weeks, newspapers and TV channels have been deluged with hundred days of Modi Sarkaar analyses. Expectedly the reviews and report cards have been a mixed bag. A common theme running through most appraisals, even the ones that have been favorable to the new government, is that the ‘big bang reforms’ are missing. Nothing spectacular has happened yet. Nothing earth shattering has been announced by the government yet.

I don’t know what ‘big bang reforms’ exactly are. No one has been able to explain what the definition of an earth shattering event is. History will record May 16th, when BJP led by Narendra Modi received a massive mandate from people of India, as a turning point. When PM Modi bowed down on the steps of Parliament house, restoring the dignity of temple of democracy it was a significant moment. This country just few months ago had witnessed lawmakers attacking each other with pepper sprays in the same august house whose sanctity newly elected Prime Minister instantly restored. When Narendra Modi , few days after assuming office, sent a memo to his ministers that no relatives should be hired by them as personal assistants or in any other capacity, it was a big bang reform in a country ridden by nepotism. When all the officials of External Affairs Ministry showed up on a Saturday to get rid of mountains of paper not needed anymore, throw away old and unused furniture and obsolete equipment, it was a remarkably spectacular moment. Changing laws to allow self attestation of documents is a big bang reform in a country where lower bureaucracy is afflicted with corruption.

In last hundred days we have seen more of Big small stuff and relatively Small Big stuff. Abolition of Planning Commission from the ramparts of Red fort (symbolism of the same was hard to miss), robust revival of foreign policy, Jan Dhan Yojana are big bang reforms but if we were to find a common theme or a direction of Modi government it is sweating the small stuff and getting the foundation right. Big skyscrapers cannot be built on termite ridden foundation. Massive works of art start with getting the basic canvas ready first.

When Modi was running for his third term for Chief Ministership of Gujarat, in an interview he was asked what has he done so far and what does he intend to do in next term. He said ‘Till now we were only filling the pot holes left by forty years of Congress misrule. The real development and change will happen now’ The historic mandate that Narendra Modi received in 2014 General Elections was primarily a reflection of two things. Complete lack of faith in Congress led UPA government and poor state of economy which reflected in lack of jobs and unrest. Public memory is notoriously short so when Modi assumed office, critics and supporters both expected miracles. Nation building, unfortunately, is not that simple. Modi government will have to undo a lot of mess that has been bequeathed to them. They have to cross lot of landmines that were kept ready for them. Before elections we often talked about scorched earth policy adopted by UPA government. That scorched earth has to be made fertile again before any growth can happen.
Hundred days is certainly not enough for any reviews of a government that has been voted for 5 years. We can certainly judge the direction in which the nation is going though. There are many indications that we are off to a flying start. We have been in a state of paralysis for so long that many of us may not have noticed that the country has taken off.

Here are few things to remind yourself next time you read about lack of big bang reforms (whatever that means):
We finally have a government and a Prime Minister. The dual power, extra constitutional power, remote power and all those nightmares of UPA government are over. We have one centre of power and the buck stops with him. He is responsible for everything he does and his PMO does. If you have not noticed yet we do have a PM is who is in control of his PMO. Files don’t get transported miraculously out of the PMO anymore and dignity has been restored to the office of PM.

We actually have a Foreign Policy and no it is not called status quo. We have also discovered that we have more than one neighbor. (Don’t raise your hand if you thought Pakistan was our only neighbor, look up PM’s recent itinerary instead).Modi visited Nepal and became the first Indian PM to do so after 17 years. We revived our relationship with Bhutan as well. Huge diplomatic win for the newly elected government was when nurses abducted by Islamist terrorists were brought back safely in midst of Iraq crisis. This was done quietly and with needle like precision. The media of course spent its precious time rabble rousing but the government did not lose its focus by relentless shortsighted criticism. MEA is manned by very efficient Sushma Swaraj who has brought a lot of gravitas to the ministry.

Economy will take a while to recover. Even Modi’s worst critics will acknowledge that economy does not recover in a day. It takes time for favorable results to pour in even when you do everything right. Budget was a sore point with many people. Those who expected a lot more forget that budget was presented roughly 45 days after the new government was sworn in. This was four months after fiscal year had already started. An interim budget had already been presented by the previous government. To include Big Bang reforms for the sake of favorable op ed columns right now would not have been prudent. I am assuming first Budget which will have distinct Modi stamp will be presented early next year. In the meantime, finance Ministry is not limiting itself to the budget. Banking reforms, ensuring business friendly environment, and visa on arrival for businessmen is already in works.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitely has underlined that main focus of his ministry is to raise the investor confidence and make India a hot destination for investment. Commerce Minister Nirmala Seetharaman recently announced E biz which will further improve the business environment. According to Seetharaman, E biz is a 24/7 online single-window system for providing efficient, convenient, transparent and integrated Government-to-Business services to investors, industries and businesses throughout the life-cycle of business operations. These are examples of Small Big stuff. Stuff that doesn’t make it to the front pages of newspapers because it is not as exciting as Rahul Gandhi’s comments on price rise but without this foundation set in place big reforms won’t succeed.
Infrastructure building is a big deal for this government and many quiet announcements have been made indicating the end of paralysis. Nitin Gadkari has talked about the very significant Motor Vehicles bill. This bill will overhaul the current obsolete law and make our roads safe with strict adherence to safety norms. According to newspaper reports (small paragraph in the right hand corner of 8th page of course) the bill includes installing CCTV cameras at all traffic signals, and centralizing data to check misuse of driving licenses. Apart from Metro projects, NDA government has also announced ambitious project of building 30 kms of road per day. Small Big stuff that is absolutely needed to get the nation going.

We finally have a Heath Minister who works. Dr Harshvardhan recently announced introduction of Rotavirus vaccine in Universal Immunization Programme which will go a long way in fighting infant mortality. By including this vaccine under UIP along with Japanese Encephalitis, Rubella and Polio, this government has shown its commitment to public health which has long been ignored. Dr. Harshvardhan’s commitment to providing 100% immunization coverage against encephalitis is a big step in battling the disease that has claimed many lives especially in UP and Bihar. Small Big stuff again which is important because only a healthy country can be a wealthy country.
HRD Ministry recently nominated two highly accomplished women scientists to the IIT council, apex body of 16 IIT’S. HRD Minister Smriti Irani in one stroke broke many glass ceilings when names of Tessy Thomas and Vijaylakshmi Ravindranath were announced. Small stuff that will inspire many women across the country to realize their full potential.

These are few examples that give us an idea in which direction the country is headed. I can go on and on about small things that Modi government has already put in place to ensure big things happen at appropriate time. Prime Minister Modi has just begun his journey and the nation has just begun moving again. The rust needs to be removed first. It will take time. Not everything we want this government to do will be done at the end of five years, but the foundation for a strong nation would have been laid. This Prime Minister has the courage to tell us that we need to focus on hygiene and cleanliness. He does not mince words when he says that safety of women is his top most priority. He tells us that we all need to contribute to nation building and no task is small. Six months ago no politician would talk about cleanliness, sanitation and women safety. These issues did not get you votes. Today MP’s are adopting one village each to make it a model village. They are building toilets for girls in schools. Did someone say Small Stuff? Sure. Modi Government is and will be a government of Small Big Stuff.

Snag, power outages spoil Modi’s speech at many schools
06 Sep, 2014
Parents complained of non-availability of any facility to them as they had to wait for hours to pick up their wards. Technical snag and power outages spoilt telecast of the Prime Minister’s much talked-about Teachers’ Day speech at many schools, while many parents rued the “wrong timing” of the event as they had to make a dash from offices to pick up their wards.
Non-availability of last mile connectivity, rains, lack of refreshments, and poor set-top boxes, television sets and speakers also disrupted the telecast at many city schools.
“A television and a set-top box were provided to us last night. Unfortunately, there was some problem in the speakers, so the speech was not audible and many students left in between,” said Surender Sharma, yoga instructor at Secondary School, Babar Road. Mr. Sharma was the in-charge of the programme at the school.

The story was repeated at Balwant Rai Mehta Vidyalaya in South Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar area as the students here had to miss a substantial part of the Prime Minister’s speech as power went off after first 30 minutes.
“We were very excited to be able to hear Prime Minister’s speech and almost all the student were present. But lights went off at the very moment and we could not hear him,” said a disappointed Diksha Bharadwaj, who is a student of class 10 of the school.
On the other hand, parents complained of non-availability of any facility to them as they had to wait for hours to pick up their wards.
“It is good to make the students listen to the speech as they should know what their PM wants from them. But the school authorities should have prepared for the event in a better way. They should have at least made seating arrangements for us,” said Shobha Gupta who had come to pick up her child from a government school in the capital.

“I took an off from office today as the school did not provide any facility to drop the child. There were no instructions provided to us as to when should we come to pick them up. There are many who have been waiting since afternoon,” said Inder Kumar Dubey, who waited amid rain to take his two kids home.
At Delhi Public School in Mathura Road, a giant screen was set up and speakers were installed in all classrooms to broadcast Mr. Modi’s speech. However, students complained of poor quality speakers which spoiled their tryst with the Prime Minister.
“We were waiting for the clock to strike three, but as soon as the Prime Minister started to speak, not a single word was audible,” said Vipul Jain, a eighth standard student of the school.
MI Hussain, Principal of the school who had made attendance compulsory for his students, said “People can argue that students could have watched it at home but it was the order of the department and we have to follow it.”
However, things went well in other schools like Frank Anthony Public School.
At many places, students said that had Mr. Modi spoken in a more simple language they could have understood better. “We really could not understand several things he said. The words were very heavy, but otherwise I liked it,” said Prateek Verma a Class XI student of the school.

The authorities aimed to ensure that all students attend to hear the Prime Minister’s speech, but they did not succeed as even government-run NDMC schools failed to register a 100 per cent attendance.
“Out of the odd 550 students in our school, around 400 students turned up for the event,” said Vishnu Ram, Principal, Secondary School, Babar Road.
“Though we tried to persuade all the students to be present today, only 181 out of the 300 students turned up,” says Renu Prabha Sharma, Head Mistress, Nursery and Primary School, Babar Road.
At many places, students also complained of not being given anything to eat for long hours. “We were not given any instructions for providing additional refreshments by NDMC.
Only mid-day meals are given to them,” said a teacher.
Owing to the space crunch, many schools restricted the telecast to some selected students.
“We had arrangements for broadcast in the gym of our school as we did not have any large auditorium. Only 10th and 12th class students were asked to join in. We were asked to report in the school by 1 and shown the telecast from 3 to 5,” said 11th standard student Nakul Murli of Vidya Bharti School, Rohini.

Irom Sharmila rues lack of public support
06 Sep, 2014
The social activist is disappointed that people are not extending support to her cause.Irom Sharmila who has been on fast unto death since November 4, 2000 demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) At,1958 is distraught and disappointed that people are not extending support to her cause.
Interacting with reporters when she was produced in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal east Court on Friday, she said though she was overwhelmed by the huge crowd who had welcomed her in the women's markets in Imphal on August 21, it appeared that women had assembled to watch her out of mere curiosity.
It may be recalled that she was set free on August 20, 2014 at orders of the District and Sessions court following the failure of the prosecution to prove charges of suicide attempt by the social activist.

The activist wants to live a normal life but merely was using fasting as a tool for her campaign.
On Friday she was informed that if she furnished a surety bond for Rs 10,000 she would be released. However she refused to go out on bail. Accordingly she was remanded to judicial custody till September 19. Although the District and Session court said that the prosecution had failed to establish the suicide charge this time also she is charged under section 309 IPC (attempt to commit suicide). Thousands of women activists who had converged to see her on August 21 in the markets were conspicuous by their absence from the court premises on Friday.

Supreme Court seeks affidavit on CBI chief Ranjit Sinha’s visitors; no gag order on media
05 Sep, 2014
The Supreme Court on Thursday took a serious view of allegations against CBI chief Ranjit Sinha and decided to take the visitors diary at his residence on record so that it can pass an appropriate order on Monday.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan had brought to the court’s notice the series of dna reports that highlighted how people accused in high-profile cases, including the 2G scam, visited Sinha’s 2, Janpath residence in New Delhi on several occasions. The bench, which had asked Bhushan to submit a copy of the visitors entry register so that the judges could go through it, said on Thursday: “We went through the document... it is desirable that an affidavit is required to be filed to support the documents. The court can’t take cognisance until they are taken on record.” The court turned down Sinha’s plea that the media should be banned from publishing any news related to the people who visited his residence.
Meanwhile Sinha said he would recuse himself from the ongoing coal scam investigations if the Supreme Court ordered him to do so. “The CBI director has decided to file a case of perjury for malicious, deliberate and intentional false statement before the apex court,” CBI spokesperson Kanchan Prasad said. The application will be filed before the SC on Friday.

Narendra Modi's Teacher's Day address: Delhi school to quiz students on speech in upcoming exams
05 Sep, 2014
The HRD Ministry, for Teacher's Day, issued an order asking Schools to make arrangements to screen the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address and have students listen to it. However, one school, Bal Bharti Public School in Noida, took this directive several steps further and decided to quiz the students on the prime minister's speech, making it a component of their upcoming exams.
A circular issued by the school stated, "... for Classes III-XII, the key points of the Prime Minister's address are to be noted and learnt for the school to evaluate the same during Summative-I. The weightage accorded to evaluate will be a question of 02 marks each related to the Prime Minister's address will be in all 05 main papers."
The school's Prinicipal seemingly found no fault with including the Prime Minister's speech in the student's curriculum.
Whatever be the content of Modi's speech, it's educational merits are questionable.

Modi's interaction with school students and his address to them will be live streamed through web channels of doordarshan, The Prime Minister's Office and the HRD ministry. It will also be broadcast live on Doordarshan channels as well as on the radio. Arrangements are also being made for the prime minister would also take questions from some students spread across the country through a video-conference facility.
The prime Minister's address was already courting controvery for implying that it was compulsory for all students to listen to it. The HRD Ministry had issued an order asking every school in the country to make arrangements for the screening of the address. The Ministry has also asked schools in the states to prepare a student attendance report after the PM's interaction with the students is over.
Following this, the Directorate of Education (DoE) of Delhi government has issued a notification directing all private as well as Government Schools to organise a broadcast of the Prime Minister's address. It also stated that, "Any laxity in the arrangements shall be viewed seriously."
The move was slammed by several Congress leaders as well as allies of BJP, DMK and PMK. Education Ministers of Assam and Kerala issued statements saying that it was not manadatory for students to listen to the address.

Maharashtra Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan criticised Narendra Modi for creating an autocracy.
After much controversy, HRD Minister Smriti Irani addressed the issue and stated that the listening to the Prime Minister's address was a voluntary exercise.
States like West Bengal voiced dissent over the entire exercise with its Education Minister Partha Chatterjee saying they have little time in which to make the necessary arrangements for it. The scheduled timing of the prime minister's speech, from 3 PM to 4.45 PM has also come under attack from parties like Congress. Reacting sharply, Irani said, "If the prime minister of a free India does not have the freedom to interact with students, then it is ridiculous."
It should be clear to the HRD Minister that this controversy is less about the freedom of Modi and more about the freedom of the students that he is addressing. Just as the Prime Minister is indeed free to address the students, the students should be free to not listen to it, much less have to study it for an exam.

BJP could be invited to form government in Delhi, says Lt Governor Najeeb Jung
05 Sep, 2014
BJP is likely to be invited to form a government in Delhi with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung sending a report to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking permission to call the single largest party to take a shot at power though it is well short of majority in the Assembly.
In his report, Jung gave a detailed analysis of the political situation in the city and underlined the need to have an elected government in the city which is under President's rule since February 17 following resignation of the Aam Aadmi Party government which was in power for 49 days.
The Lieutenant Governor said though no party has staked claim to form government in Delhi, the BJP could be invited to take the reins as it is the single largest party in the Assembly. Jung observed that all options for putting in place an elected government should be explored before contemplating holding of fresh polls.

Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said the party would examine if it was invited to form government. Sources in BJP said almost all its MLAs and senior Delhi leaders were not in favour of facing Assembly election immediately and have already conveyed their views to top leadership.
BJP, along with its ally Akali Dal's one MLA, has 29 MLAs in the Assembly and it will require support of five more legislators to prove majority in the House. BJP had won 31 seats in the 70-member Assembly but the number of BJP MLAs came down to 28 as three party legislators Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Bidhuri and Pervesh Verma had resigned from the Assembly after they were elected to Lok Sabha.
Following resignation of the three legislators, the strength of the Assembly had come down to 67 and BJP will require support of at least five more MLAs to reach the majority mark of 34 to prove its majority in the House.
The Aam Aadmi Party had won 28 seats in its debut assembly elections and had later formed the government with outside support from Congress' eight MLAs. The government led by Kejriwal had resigned on February 14 after the party's pet project, the Janlokpal Bill, could not be passed due to opposition from BJP and Congress.

President's Rule was imposed in Delhi on February 17.
The Lieutenant Governor had not favoured dissolution of the Delhi Assembly as recommended by the Council of Ministers headed by Kejriwal and kept the Assembly in suspended animation.
Last week the Congress and AAP had cautioned the Lieutenant Governor not to take any "unconstitutional move" by inviting BJP to form government. Both the parties have been demanding immediate dissolution of the Assembly, saying keeping it in suspended animation will encourage horse trading.

BJP likely to be invited to form govt in Delhi
05 Sep, 2014
The Lieutenant-Governor has reportedly sought permission of President Pranab Mukherjee to extend an invitation to the BJP. Uncertainty over government formation in Delhi might come to an end soon as Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung could invite Bharatiya Janata Party, the single largest party in Delhi Assembly, to form the next government in the Capital.
Mr. Jung has reportedly sought permission of President Pranab Mukherjee to extend an invitation to the BJP. The President has sent the request to the Union Home Ministry for its opinion. Sources said the Centre could communicate its opinion by the evening as the next hearing in the case filed by the Aam Aadmi Party before the Supreme Court, challenging the President's Rule, is listed for September 9.

The BJP and its ally together had 32 MLAs (31 BJP and 1 of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal)) in the 70-member Assembly. Three of the BJP legislators have now become Lok Sabha members. Sources in Vidhan Sabha said they resigned as MLA on June 29. AAP had 28 members in the House, but its number came down after it suspended Laxmi Nagar MLA Binod Kumar Binny. Congress has eight legislators while Janata Dal (United) has one. The House also has one independent- Rambir Shokeen who has extended unconditional support to the BJP.
Reacting on the developments, Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay said "though his party does not have majority, it would explore formation of a minority government if invited by the LG". On the other hand, both the AAP and Congress have demanded fresh elections. The lone JD(U) MLA Shoaib Iqbal said he would not support the BJP.
"If its is true that the L-G has sought permission to invite the BJP. it is beyond understanding why does he want to give chance to the party which on December 12 declined to form the government with 32 MLAs and which now is left only with 29. It also shows that BJP is running away from election" said AAP leader Manish Sisodia.
Delhi Congress spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said Delhi needs "a stable elected government soon and the L-G should dissolve the Assembly and pave way for fresh elections.

Flood alert in Srinagar, Jhelum flowing above danger mark
04 Sep, 2014
A flood alert was today sounded in Srinagar city as River Jhelum was flowing four feet above the danger mark after incessant rain, while 23 villages have been inundated by floods in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag and Kulgam.
Incessant rain over the past three days has wreaked havoc in many parts of the Valley with south Kashmir's Anantnag and Kulgam districts the worst-hit. "Flood alert has been sounded in Srinagar city and all emergency services have been pressed into service to meet the eventuality of a flood," Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad Shah said. He said River Jhelum at Ram Munshi Bagh in the city was flowing at 22 feet, which is four feet above the danger mark.
Two persons were washed away at Aboora in Budgam district yesterday while nearly 100 persons trapped in flood waters in south Kashmir were evacuated to safety. A senior official said 23 villages in south Kashmir have been flooded so far.Some parts of Srinagar city along the banks of Doodh Ganga stream were flooded as the water was flowing over the banks. Bone and Joint Hospital and adjoining residential areas of Barzullah, Natipora and Rambagh were flooded by the water.
Shah said the district administration has been monitoring the situation round-the-clock and taking steps to provide relief to the affected people. The patients at the Bone and Joint Hospital were shifted to the upper stories of the buildings following water-logging last night.
The MET office has forecast more rains over the next 48 hours raising the possibility of more areas of Kashmir getting flooded.
An official of the Weather office said Qazigund in south Kashmir received 156.7 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours up to 8.30 AM today. Srinagar recorded 52 mm rainfall in the corresponding period while Kupwara in north Kashmir received 119.4 mm rainfall.

After Kolkata, 'norefusal taxi' kicks off in Siliguri
04 Sep, 2014
Siliguri: 'No Refusal Taxi' kicks off To enhance tourism in the region and provide employment, the much awaited and hyped 'no refusal' metered taxis have been started in Siliguri in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal.
The metered taxi will play in the Siliguri sub division areas under the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA).
The main motto behind the service is to give employment to the local unemployed youths and to enhance the tourism industry of the region.
During her four days visit to the hills last week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave away some offer letters to the local youths at a government organized function.
Praising the step, a local youth who got an offer letter said, "I was unemployed, but now I am happy. It is a Durga puja gift from the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee."
According to the transport authority, a total of 1,552 permits have been provided to the selected youths of the region.

Australian PM Tony Abbott arrives in India; to meet Narendra Modi over key civil nuclear deal
04 Sep, 2014
Amid indications that a nuclear deal could be in the offing, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott arrived in Mumbai this morning on a two-day India visit during which the two countries would look at ways to deepen strategic ties and strengthen two-way trade and commerce.
Prime Minister Abbott landed in the financial capital, his first port of call, on a day-long visit during which he will interact with business leaders and select Indian CEOs. He will also attend the launch of the Australian Government's New Colombo Plan in India and be present for felicitation of young cricketers by Oz cricket greats Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee at Cricket Club of India. India's cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar will also attend the ceremony. Abbott is expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of sports but details of the MoU have not been disclosed so far. He will also lay a wreath at the memorial for the victims of 26/11 attacks at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, one of the scenes of the ghastly terror assault in 2008.

Nuclear Deal on Agenda
A big-ticket item on Abbott's agenda as he leaves for the national capital in the evening, however, would be a civil nuclear deal with India efforts for which have been underway since 2012 after Labor party reversed its decision to ban the sale of uranium to India because of New Delhi not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"I am hoping to sign a nuclear co-operation agreement that will enable uranium sales by Australia to India," he told parliament on the eve of his visit to India. Abbott had said on Tuesday that if Australia was prepared to sell uranium to Russia then "surely we ought to be prepared to provide uranium to India under suitable safeguards", noting it was a "fully functioning democracy with the rule of law".

India is not a signatory to the NPT, but Abbott has stressed that Australia will ensure adequate bilateral safeguards before any deal is signed. After failure to conclude a civil nuclear deal with Japan during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to that country, if inked, the pact with Australia, which has about a third of the world's recoverable uranium resources and exports nearly 7,000 tonnes a year, would boost India's energy sector.
Abbott is scheduled to hold talks with top Indian leadership in Delhi including President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tomorrow. A clutch of pacts in areas including mining, finance and education could be signed.
After being accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning, Abbott will lay wreaths at Rajghat and India Gate before meeting Prime Minister Modi at Hyderabad House.

Modi meets Indian businessmen in Tokyo
04 Sep, 2014
After all his official engagements got over in Tokyo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Indian business leaders on Tuesday night for a feedback session on the massive investment promised in India by the Japanese side.
Baba Kalyani, Sunil Mittal, Azim Premji, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Shashi Ruia, Gautam Adani, S. Ramadorai, Chanda Kochar, Ajay Shriram, A.M. Naik, Rajeev Modi, Hari Bhartia, Pawan Munjal, Vikram Kirloskar, R.C. Bhargava, D. Saraf and Sunil Srivastava met Mr. Modi in Tokyo for the review.
Quite apart from the fast-track channel that is to be set up in the Prime Minister’s Office, the Indian business leaders themselves will keep a watch on the flow of investment from Japan. As much as Rs. 2.1 lakh crore worth of investment — in the private and public spheres — has been pledged by the Japanese government in India over five years.
A person familiar with the issue said the India-Japan CEO Forum, which is headed by Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge, would have a formal session before the summit meeting of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe in Delhi next year.
The business leaders, who were all praise for Mr. Modi’s Japan visit, also raised issues relating to the Companies Act as well as the process of land acquisition with Mr. Modi during the meeting .

PM Narendra Modi concludes his successful 5-day trip to Japan, leaves for India
03 Sep, 2014
Tokyo/ New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday left for home after concluding his successful visit during which Japan promised to give USD 35 billion to India over the next 5 years for developmental projects.
The two countries also decided to enhance cooperation in defence and other strategic areas and also signed five pacts covering defence exchanges, cooperation in clean energy, roads and highways, healthcare and women while vowing to take their relationship to newer level. Japan also lifted ban on six Indian entities including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which had been imposed in the aftermath of 1998 nuclear tests.
During the five-day visit, his first outside the subcontinent since becoming PM in May, Modi invited Japanese investments while hard-selling India as a conducive destination for business particularly for the manufacturing sector.
He told the Japanese businessmen that India was awaiting the investments with a 'red carpet' and not 'red tape' as rules and procedures have been eased by his government.
Winding up his official programme on Tuesday, Modi had expressed gratitude to Japan for reposing "trust" in India and demonstrating its friendship with a quip "yeh fevicol se be zyada mazboot jod hai (this bond is stronger than that of fevicol)".
"This visit has been very successful," Modi had said at the Indian community reception hosted in his honour in Tokyo earlier.
"There has been talk about billions and millions. But there has never been talk of trillions," he said, referring to 3.5 trillion Yen (USD 35 billion or 2,10,000 crore) promised by Japan to India through public and private funding over the five years for various works, including building of smart cities and cleanup of the Ganga river.
During the talks between Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, the two sides agreed to enhance their defence and strategic cooperation to a new level and also decided to speed up negotiations on civil nuclear deal that could not be concluded now.
Abe also went out of his way to receive Modi in Kyoto when he went there on August 30 in the first leg of his 5-day tour. In Kyoto, a pact was signed under which Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi would be developed on the pattern of Kyoto 'smart city' with the help of Japan.
Abe also announced that as an of Indo-Japan Cooperation, Tokyo will help India in providing financial, technical and operational support to introduce Bullet trains, a project that Modi has been actively pursuing.

CAUGHT ON CAMERA: BJP MLA shot at by an unidentified man in Delhi, escapes unhurt
03 Sep, 2014
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Jitender Singh Shunty was attacked by an unidentified man on Tuesday night. Shots were fired outside Singh's house as the man tried to attack him. Singh escaped unhurt while the assailant flee from the spot after the MLA called for help.
The incident was caught on a CCTV camera at Shunty's home. The assailant is seen speaking to Shunty in the video after which he suddenly pulled out a gun and shot at the MLA a number of times.
According to initial reports, at around 6 am this morning two-three men on a bike came to his residence to get some forms attested. Two of them got into an altercation with the BJP MLA and fired four shots at him.
The whole incident was also caught on camera, which revealed one of the two unidentified men firing shots at the Delhi BJP MLA.

The BJP leader later narrated the whole sequence of event to the media and informed the police.
Shunty's wife also told mediapersons that the main door of her residence got locked automatically when the assailants attacked the MLA, he had to fight for two minutes and luckily escaped unhurt.
Speaking to reporters, Shunty said that local residents of his area have direct access to him since he is the sitting MLA. Shunty also said that he could not identify the assailants as one of them was wearing a helmet.
"When he started shooting I moved back and the bullet hit my door. I then ran to my neighbour's house and he was still shooting at me. He must have shot at me at least 3 to 4 times. I have no grudges against anyone. Everything can be seen on the CCTV footage," he said adding that the shooter was not even a bit scared.
Singh's wife has appealed for quick action and demanded that the assailant be caught soon. The police has registered an FIR in the case. "We have registered FIR and investigation is going on," DCP East Pushpendra Singh said adding that there were three rounds of shots fired at the BJP MLA.
Delhi Police have registered a case in connection with the incident and formally begun investigation. The police is also likely to examine the CCTV footage of the incident and record the version of Shunty and his family members.
“We have registered the case, investigation is going on,” Pushpendra Singh, DCP East told media.

Mumbaikars caught in BEST, Tata Power crossfire in yesterday's power outage
03 Sep, 2014
If you think it was just a technical glitch causing the power failure of Unit number 5 of TPC that led to Tuesday night's rare outage, think again. It is also the ongoing war between the two power utilities, Tata Power and Brihanmunbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), which is causing much suffering to Mumbai's hapless consumers.
Even as power was restored late on Tuesday night/early on Wednesday morning in Mumbai homes, new details emerged showing that consumers were literally caught between BEST Undertaking and Tata Power.
BEST, which is responsible for power distribution across the island city, issued a statement late on Tuesday night accusing Tata Power of a misleading statement over shut units and trying to poach its customers.
In a hard hitting statement, the utility provider pointed out that it was not ready to buy power at an exaggerated cost of Rs 13 per unit from Tata Power's unit number 6. "As BEST had made adequate arrangements of power procurement and also paying standby charges and transmission charges, furthermore procuring costly power of unit 6 (i.e. at Rs 13 per unit) would further burden the BEST consumers," it said.

"Since BEST had sufficient alternate power arrangements, it had informed non requirement of Unit 6 costly power. As such M/s TPC’s statement (regarding the cold standby of Unit 6 with the consent of the procurer) is totally false and misleading since the power to operate the grid elements, including Unit 6, is not strictly under the purview of BEST," the statement read.
The utility provider went on to make a further grave charge in the statement. "The lackadaisical approach of M/s TPC added with the ulterior motives of poaching BEST's consumers could be the scheme underneath the current fiasco," the statement issued by the BEST spokesperson read.
While Tata Power holds the licence for transmission in Mumbai, and has select high end consumers in the island city apart from BEST, the latter has a distribution network across the city. BEST is largely dependent on supply from Tata Power and has entered into a power purchase agreement with them.
Sources told dna that BEST was unhappy with Tata Power for not honouring the PPA in a time of crisis. "It is TPC's responsibility to supply 555 MW power to BEST as per the agreement. They couldn't have forced BEST to procure power at costlier rates from their own unit," sources pointed out.

Supreme Court to examine issue of visitors at CBI chief Ranjit Sinha's house
03 Sep, 2014
As an impact of dna's news report that top officials of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) have met CBI director Ranjit Sinha at least 50 times in 15 months at his official residence here in Delhi, Sinha was at the centre of controversy on Tuesday with the petitioner NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), telling the Supreme Court that visitors' entry register at is residence is "very disturbing" and contains "explosive material" in 2G spectrum allocation scam against Reliance Telecom.
The court then asked CPIL counsel Prashant Bhushan to place the 'explosive material' before it so that it can go through it and examine the issue by Thursday.
"Give the copy of the material in a sealed cover to us as well as to the counsels of the CBI and its director and we will take up the matter day after tomorrow," a bench comprising justices H L Dattu, S A Bobde and A M Sapre said.

Referring to dna story, Bhushan started his submission that he has moved an application before the court seeking a restraint order against Sinha for allegedly trying to derail the ongoing 2G trial against Reliance Telecom and also keeping the DIG Santosh Rastogi out of the investigation of 2G case a decision which was rectified on the apex court's intervention.
"Last night, I came across very disturbing and explosive material. The entry register of director's residence," Bhushan said.
Bhushan was representing CPIL, one of the PIL petitioners on whose plea 122 licences for 2G spectrum were cancelled by the apex court.
The apex court stopped the NGO's counsel from reading out his note on the issue after CBI counsel raised objections to making the content of the register public in open court and agreed to hear it on Thursday.

Senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for CBI, asked the bench to pass an order that all material be placed before the court in a sealed envelope.
Noted lawyer senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, who was appearing for DMK MP Kanimozhi, one of the accused in the scam, came to the defence of CBI director by saying that "he is performing his duty well but all kinds of allegations are being levelled." Sinha deputed senior advocate Vikas Singh, who said allegations are being made and it appears that attempts are being made to destroy CBI as an institution.
dna has access to the visitors' diary at 2, Janpath. Two officials Tony Jesudasan and AN Sethuraman (whose names are mentioned incompletely in the diary like Tony, Toni, ....., Setu Raman and Toni+Setu) had visited Sinha's house individually and also some time together almost every week between May 2013 and August 2014 and the cars they used are registered in the name of ADAG.

The frequency of their visits increased this year when Sinha moved a proposal to re-investigate the case against Reliance Telecom and Swan Telecom on grounds that some new facts have come to light.
As per details recorded in the register, the two ADAG officials made the visit in 10 different cars and a random check of four cars revealed that they have been registered in the name of Reliance ADA Group.
For example, Setu had visited in a car – DL4C-NE-7809 -- registered in the name of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, 27-BK Road, Delhi. Similarly, another car in which Tony or Toni frequently came to visit Sinha –DL-2CQ-5868 -- is also registered with Reliance ADA Group, 27-BK Road, New Delhi. The duo also came in some other cars --DL4C-AN-4131 and DL-1CP-6732 -- both registered with Reliance ADA Group, BK Road, New Delhi.

Day long bandh in Kerala today protesting murder of RSS activist
02 Sep, 2014
The day-long hartal called by RSS in Kerala today to protest murder of an activist in Kannur district disrupted normal life across the state. Initial reports said buses, taxis and autorickshaws kept off the roads and shops remained closed all over the state. The state government has declared a holiday for educational institutions, including professional colleges and universities postponed examinations scheduled for the day.
Barring stray incidents of stone-pelting at buses no major violence had been reported from anywhere, police said.
Manoj (42), a district office-bearer of RSS was hacked to death by a gang that attacked him in politically-volatile Kathirur in Kannur district in north Kerala on Monday. Two others were injured, one of them seriously, in the attack.
Country-made bombs were hurled at the car in which Manoj and his companions were travelling and the attackers then hacked him to death.
RSS-BJP leaders alleged that the CPI(M) was behind the killing and gave a call for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the state for today. Four persons, stated to be CPI(M) workers, have been taken into custody for questioning in connection with the incident, police said.
BJP President Amit Shah, who was in the state on Monday, condemned the killing at a convention of party workers. The party has pledged support to the hartal.
The area, which was witness to violence involving RSS and CPI(M) workers in the past, had remained largely calm in the last few years. But tension resurfaced with BJP and CPI(M) poaching workers from each side in recent times.
Thriuvananthapuram MP, Shashi Tharoor condemned the murder but also criticised the hartal.

Fire breaks out in Kolkata's Chatterjee International building
02 Sep, 2014
Fire today broke out in the 15th floor of the landmark Chatterjee International building near Park Street in the heart of the city, the police said, trapping several people on the top floor of the high rise which houses many commercial establishments on the Jawaharlal Nehru Road here.
Six fire tenders have already rushed to the spot along with two hydraulic ladders to rescue any trapped person, fire brigade said. Several people were seen throwing clothes and paper from the top floor to catch the attention of fire officials.
"As the fire broke out between the 12th and 15th floors, there were people who were unable to come down. Several fire tender engines have been rushed to the spot," an official of the Kolkata Police said. "There is no news of any casualty and the cause of the fire or the extent of damage are yet to be ascertained," he said.
Since the fire broke out before the office hours, the police said the possibility of any person being trapped in the building, which houses many private and government offices, is less.
The area has been cordoned off to conduct the firefighting operations in the busy area. The cause of fire or extent of damage was yet to be ascertained, the police said.

MODI GOVT’S 100 DAYS: Cong spoils the party for NDA, launches attack with shadow twitter handles
02 Sep, 2014
New Delhi: As Modi government completes its 100 days in office, the NDA has brainstormed and is all set to flaunt its achievements right from style of functioning to GDP growth figures. While Charging Narendra Modi government with not fulfilling the promises made before coming to power at the Centre, Congress has chalked out a strategy to counter the claim of the ruling party. The first step is scaling up its presence on social media, with shadow Twitter handles of ministries.
Social media offers an excellent platform for rival politicians to trade barbs and accusations, and they have embraced it eagerly. Twitter has proven especially conducive to attempts by politicians to control narratives about themselves, and politics is now practised almost as much in 140-character instalments as in more traditional ways. Constructive engagement is rare, and it is a surprise that the Congress, not exactly famed for its communication skills, is importing the shadow cabinet system to Twitter to keep the government honest.
Just like in the shadow cabinet systems in many Westminster-style democracies, individuals with domain expertise have apparently been tasked with tracking each ministry and sector to enable the party to mount more effective and thorough criticism of every government department. Dedicated Twitter handles are shadowing various ministries, from human resource development to home and power. The "shadow" HRD handle has already criticised the HRD ministry for "forcing schools and students" to watch the prime minister’s address on Teacher’s Day.
"This handle will keep a watch on the work of the HRD Ministry and engage in constructive criticism of the ministry’s policies and decisions," the first post by the handle read. Shadow Twitter handles of the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, Home, Power, Railways, Women and Child Development, Youth Affairs and Sports have also been started.
"We will expose the government," Congress general secretary Ajay Maken said. A booklet detailing the "missteps" of the NDA government is also in the works. Sources said a team led by Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Gowda has prepared a "base paper", which will form the basis for the booklet.
A mismatch between the agenda-setting capabilities of the government, which has a large outreach apparatus, and that of the opposition, which lacks such institutional support, is a given. When that opposition has been reduced to paltry numbers in the Lok Sabha, perhaps the force multiplier effect of Twitter can help ensure debate on issues it considers important.

1800km strategic road project on China border put on fast track
02 Sep, 2014
The Centre has decided to put the construction of 1800km long strategic road in Arunachal Pradesh on fast track. The most ambitious strategic border road project till date will join Tawang the western most point in Arunachal Pradesh with the easternmost point of Vijaynagar via Bomdila. The project cost is expected to run close to Rs 25,000 crore.
Overlooking Chinese position along the Himalayan ridge close to the McMahon line the project was envisaged during UPA II regime in 2005, but was hanging fire due to several glitches, including environmental clearances and monetary constraints.

The decision to put the project on fast track came at a meeting held by the junior minister in the home ministry, Kiren Rijiju. Army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag, DG Border Road Organisation and top officials of ministry of environment and forests and road surface transport were also present at the meeting.
The Chinese have already built excellent infrastructure all along the McMahon line putting them in highly advantageous position against Indian interests.
Sources said that the BRO has been asked to get serious about the project or else the project could be opened for the private players.
The ministry of environment and forests has also been asked to get clearances in advance and remove glitches.
"The project is essential for us to connect our far flung and remote villages. We want this project to be completed during the five year tenure of our government," MoS (home) Kiren Rijiju said.

Narendra Modi visits school in Japan, invites teachers to teach Japanese in India
01 Sep, 2014
Keen to upgrade the educational standards in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited a 136-year-old school here as a "student" to understand the academic system of Japan which could be replicated back home.
He also invited teachers from here to teach Japanese language in India and proposed online courses amid his pitch for enhanced cooperation in languages and social values among the Asian countries to make the 21st Century truly that of Asia.
"My intention to come here is to understand how modernisation, moral education and discipline has been blended into Japan's education system. I have come as the oldest student to the 136-year-old school," Modi said at the Taimei Elementary School.
The Prime Minister was given a detailed presentation by Deputy Minister for Education Maekawa Kehai about how Japan's education system, particularly the one run by government, works. He made some queries, including how syllabus is made, whether tests are the only criteria for promotion, whether punishment is awarded to students and how moral education is imparted to them. "I feel enlightened now," he said.

Noting that the whole world recognises that the 21st Century would belong to Asia, the Prime Minister said that to make it truly happen, Asia countries should enhance cooperation among themselves in languages and social values. "It should serve the entire humanity," he said.
In this context, Modi said Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced Japanese language courses in India but the country faces shortage of skilled Japanese teachers. He invited Japanese teachers to teach in India. "Even the retired teachers are welcome," he said.
Modi proposed that online and audio-video courses could be started by Japan and exams could be held here, amid his confidence that it would find many takers among the Indian students. Such a mechanism could be put in place about Indian languages too, he said.

Coal ruling hits NTPC's mega acquisition plan
01 Sep, 2014
Co had zeroed in on 9,000 mw capacity for acquisition; may have to settle for lower target if the power plants the Supreme Court ruling affects mines allocated to shortlisted plants NTPC has considered only the viable units as per its standards, plants where per generation costs matches favourably That's a tough standard as NTPC's cost of production is lowest in the industry even lower than Rs 6 per watt The company's own coal mining plans wouldn't be impacted with the court ruling
The Supreme Court order terming the ad hoc allocation of coal blocks as illegal may derail NTPC's move to acquire some of the troubled private sector power projects.
Country's largest power producer has zeroed in on about 8,000-9,000 megawatt (mw) of power capacity, out of about 55,000 mw of capacities being developed by private players who had responded to the NTPC's call to rescue troubled projects.
The plan would have helped the crisis ridden power sector to a large extent.

While this 9,000 mw plants are being developed by units which have every clearances in place, the Supreme Court ruling may jeopardise the whole process as coal block allocation to many of these units might get cancelled, NTPC chairman Arup Roy Choudhury said.
"With the coming of the Supreme Court order we have to again look at these shortlisted applications. It has to be seen if coal blocks allocated to these projects get affected because of the ruling, which will be known after September 1. In such a scenario our acquisition would be lower than 8,000-9,000 mw that we are expecting," Choudhury told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on energy by BCC&I.

"We decided to go for inorganic growth when we had put out an Expression of Interest, following which we received 34 applications aggregating about 55,000 mw. Due diligence is going on, the board has constituted a sub-committee which is looking at the applications and we are about to appoint a merger & acquisition consultant. We presume that by March we would be able to pick up some power plants which are already in operations or will be in operations soon. Realistically, we might acquire around 8,000-9,000 mw.
He said the company would pick up only those projects which had financial problems.
"Those being held up for basic issues like lack of land availability, water supplies or environmental clearances we won't pick. Ready plants having financial closure but having some minor funding issues would be preferred," he said.

NTPC has considered only the viable units as per its standards, plants where per generation costs matches favourably. That's a tough standard as NTPC's cost of production is lowest in the industry even lower than Rs 6 per watt.
NTPC's own coal mining plans wouldn't get impacted, though.
"We have gone through the order and we believe it wouldn't impact us adversely at all. With these, I like to put to rest concerns and assure that all of NTPC's coal mining activities would continue as it was before without hindrance, and our coal mining as well as capacity addition targets are on schedule.
NTPC so far as been allocated 10 coal blocks but all are under development and none is producing.
Of these, four have been allocated recently, while development of six captive coal blocks are on with a target production of 13 million tonne by fiscal 2017.
The thermal power producer is also getting into solar power generation, and production may touch 3,000 mw shortly.
"We had recently advertised for EoI from domestic solar power equipment makers to install 1,000 mw of solar power. We are progressing towards creating 3,000 mw within the next one-and-a-half years. States including Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan are keen that we come and set up solar power parks there," he said.

PM warns against forces of encroachment in the world
01 Sep, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned against the forces of "encroachment" in the world and said the global situation looked more like the 18th century. Suggesting that the world was divided into the forces of "Vistaarvaad" (expansionism) and "vikasvaad" (developmentalism), the Prime Minister referred to encroachment into nations and "entry into seas".
However, the Prime Minister did not make any reference to any specific country or countries indulging in this kind of encroachment.
The reference of "entry into seas" in this part of the world could be read as a reference to China, but Mr. Modi himself spoke in general teams.
Addressing a business meeting on Monday, his first day of official meetings, Mr. Modi said a "special management team" would be set up in the Prime Minister’s Office to ensure ease of business and speedy clearances.
The Japanese would be free to include two members from their side in this special management team, the Prime Minister told his audience of top business leaders from India and Japan.
Mr. Modi also promised business leaders that the Government would undertake all legal reforms necessary to make business processes easier.

National-level TT player enmeshed in 'love jihad' now in Kanpur
01 Sep, 2014
Close on the heels of the Tara Shahdeo conversion case of Ranchi, another such episode of the much-hyped "love jihad" variety has been played out in Kanpur. While Tara is a national level shooter, the girl in the latest case, allegedly forcibly converted and bound in a farcical 'nikah' besides having been sexually abused, is a national level table tennis player. Neetu (name changed), a minor, is also a state level Taekwondoist.
The Muslim boy Waseem, who had allegedly posed as a Hindu named Raja to court the 17-year-old girl, has been arrested. But the incident has once again exposed the overpowering callous attitude which is now a hallmark of the UP Police.
According to the girl's statement before a magistrate, Waseem and his sister using a false alias (Rani) had lured her to their house where she was taken hostage on August 16. She was then forcibly converted and given a Muslim name. Two days later (i.e. on August 18) she was forced into a 'nikah' with Waseem who took her to an unknown place where he sexually abused her despite her resistance. The same day, she managed to call her father, an auto driver, from Waseem's mobile and told him about her plight. The father immediately went to the Babupurwa police and even gave them the mobile number.
But the police did absolutely nothing despite the parents' repeated cries for help for eight long days. It was only on August 26, when the father met Kanpur DIG RK Chaturvedi who geared up things in the language which the police understand, that the girl was recovered within a record 30 minutes!

"I had to give up my auto driving. All day long, we used to just sit outside the Babupurwa police station hoping someone would listen to us and help us recover our little girl. We even cried before the police officers and constables. But no one helped us," Neetu's father told reporters between wails of agony. "How did they recover her in half-an-hour when the DIG pulled them up? They had his mobile number and could have easily traced him on August 18 itself," he asked angrily.
Neetu said in her statement that Waseem, a bus conductor, had befriended him as Raja during an NCC tour about six months ago. He had taken her mobile number and kept in touch after they returned. "It was only when he and his sister took me to their home on August 16 that I got to know they were Muslim. But, the entire family ganged up and made me a captive in their house," Neetu told reporters.
Babupurwa SO Ajay Varma said initially the case against Waseem had been registered as one of inducing a minor for elopement. "After we came to know of the true story, stringent IPC sections for rape and illegal confinement have also been added," he said. Asked whether it was a case of "love jihad", he said a junior officer was inquiring into it. "We are yet to get papers relating to her conversion, rechristening and 'nikah'," he added.

100-DAY REPORT CARD: Modi Govt passes the preliminary exam, 57% people give NDA Govt 'A grade'
01 Sep, 2014
New Delhi: Unlike UPA-II, the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi never made a big-bang proclamation in their first 100 days, despite that, '100 days' become an inevitable peg for scrutiny. Now that Modi government is inching closer to completing 100 days on September 2, the people of the country have evaluated the NDA government based on its performance so far. The survey conducted by Bhaskar group reveals that people have given the new government an ‘A grade’ on its overall performance.
The people have graded the Modi government on the criteria such as- inflation, employment, engagement with Pakistan, corruption, development and governance. An average of 56.8% people have given the Modi sarkaar an A grade which implies that most people think Modi government is committed to the development and interests of the country and thus are satisfied with the new government.
In our survey we chose different categories and issues on different days, we then asked the people to evaluate Modi government’s performance. 13.5% of the people gave the new government 60-80% i.e. ‘B grade’. While 5.6% of the evaluators gave Modi government a ‘C grade’, and 4.8% people gave the new government 20-40% marks falling under ‘D grade’. While 17% of the people believe that the new government has failed to make its mark in the first 100 days and thus given it an ‘E grade’ i.e. 20% or lower marks.

Inflation
A – 48%
B – 18%
C- 5%
D- 5%
E- 24%

Corruption
A – 64%
B – 15%
C – 7%
D – 7%
E – 7%

Employment
A – 50%
B – 17%
C – 7%
D – 4%
E – 22%

Governance
A – 73%
B – 14%
C – 2%
D – 2%
E- 9%

Development
A – 60%
B – 15%
C - 5%
D – 5%
E – 15%

Engagement with Pakistan
A – 46%
B – 15%
C – 8%
D – 6%
E – 25%

Jawan killed in Kashmir encounter
30 Aug, 2014
One army soldier was killed and another injured in the ongoing operation near the LoC in Keran area of the Kupwara district
One soldier was killed and another injured Saturday in an ongoing operation against separatist guerrillas by the security forces near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, an officer said.
"One army soldier was killed and another injured in the ongoing operation near the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran area of the Kupwara district," a senior police officer said here.
So far, six guerrillas and three army soldiers have been killed in this operation which has been going on for the last 20 days near the LoC.
Police said a large group of heavily armed guerrillas have infiltrated into the Indian side of the LoC in this area following which a massive operation was started against them by the security forces.

PM Narendra Modi leaves for Japan, eyes breakthrough nuclear pact
30 Aug, 2014
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Japan Saturday morning on his maiden bilateral visit outside the Indian subcontinent, which is expected to open new vistas in the bilateral ties and take the Strategic and Global Partnership to a higher level.
Modi and his entourage will touch down at Kyoto airport. In a special gesture, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will fly to Kyoto to receive Modi there.
The PM is visiting Kyoto the 'smart city' of Japan, to see the experiment there considering that he intends to build 100 smart cities in India.
Modi and Abe will have substantive summit meeting in Tokyo on September 1 during which the two sides will look at ways to take the Strategic and Global Partnership forward.
Cooperation in the fields of defence, civil nuclear, infrastructure development and rare earth materials is expected to top the agenda of the discussions.
Some agreements, including in defence and civil nuclear sectors, are expected to be signed. Among the agreements to be signed is one on joint production of rare earth materials.
India is hoping to win Japanese backing for a nuclear energy pact and lure investment into its USD 85 billion market while addressing Japan's concern about doing business with a nuclear-armed country.
India has been pushing for an agreement with Japan on the lines of a 2008 deal with the United States under which India was allowed to import US nuclear fuel and technology without giving up its military nuclear programme.

But Japan wants explicit Indian guarantees not to conduct nuclear tests and more intrusive inspections of its nuclear facilities to ensure that spent fuel is not diverted to make bombs.
India, which sees its weapons as a deterrent against nuclear-armed neighbours China and Pakistan, has sought to meet Japan's concerns and over the past month the two sides have speeded up negotiations ahead of PM Modi's visit.
"I am keenly looking forward to my visit to Japan at the invitation of my good friend, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for the annual summit between India and Japan," Modi said in his pre-departure statement.
Noting that this will be his first bilateral visit outside the immediate neighbourhood as Prime Minister, he said it underlines "the high priority" that Japan receives in India's foreign and economic policies.

I was asked to join BJP, claims Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas
30 Aug, 2014
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas on Saturday confirmed reports that he had been approached by a newly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament to join the saffron party soon after the general election results were declared.
Vishwas said, "I got a call from a newspaper yesterday; they wanted to confirm about this proposal for me from the BJP. I thought I should not lie, and if I have been contacted them, I must divulge that news."
"I have confirmed about the proposal which came to me from a newly-elected BJP MP, who I have been friends with for the past ten to fifteen years, to the newspaper. I was approached by the newly-elected MP, who is also an old friend of mine," he added.
The poet-turned AAP leader, who contested the general elections against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in the latter's political bastion of Amethi, said the BJP MP described him as "CM material" and said that if Kumar joined the saffron party, other AAP MLAs would follow suit.
"That newly-elected BJP MP also insisted that I work for building our nation, but I told them that you should work for nation building as you have the mandate. Our best wishes are with you," Kumar told ANI.

Kumar also said that a long time had passed since this conversation and he did not want to encourage speculation by divulging whether the MP was elected once or twice. He also added that a conversation with a friend should be kept out of the political ambit.
Vishwas said,"I go a long way with other BJP leaders too. Dr. Harshvardhan has treated me like a younger brother. I have asked him to prescribe medicines for me when I was ill, but that does not mean I will support wrong things like the removal of an honest officer like Sanjiv Chaturvedi from AIIMS."
BJP leaders, however, swiftly countered Vishwas over his claims.
Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said, "Kejriwal ji has written a new script for Kumar Vishvaas, it seems. He must reveal the name of the BJP MP, when he spoke to him and where, and how much did he offer for joining the BJP."

Jan Dhan camps by banks on all Saturdays, 1.84 crore accounts opened
30 Aug, 2014
Over 1.84 crore bank accounts have been opened under the Jan Dhan scheme and banks will organise camps from 8 am to 8 pm on all Saturdays to reach out to unbanked households, the government said today.
"It has been decided that henceforth, the banks will be holding such camps on weekly basis, from 8 am to 8 pm on all Saturdays so that the target of covering unbanked households is achieved well in time," a finance ministry statement said.
It further said that beneficiaries, who already have a bank account, are also eligible to take benefits of accident insurance of Rs 1 lakh and life insurance of Rs 30,000 under this scheme by getting a RuPay card issued from their bank branch before January 26, 2015.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna, a mega financial inclusion scheme, to cover about 7.5 crore unbanked households. The statement said said more than 70,000 camps were held all over the country and 1,84,68,000 accounts were opened.
Under the scheme, a person from an unbanked household, opening an account will get a RuPay debit card with a Rs 1 lakh accident insurance cover. An additional Rs 30,000 life insurance cover will also be given if the accounts are opened till January 26, 2015.
"The modalities of this additional life cover are being worked out by the Department of Financial Services," the statement added.

100 days of Narendra Modi government: Major decisions taken
30 Aug, 2014
The Narendra Modi government has almost touched 100 days since it was elected by the people of India. Here we take a look at the major decisions that were taken.

1. Panel created to locate the estimated Rs.50,000 crore ($8 billion) in 'black money' estimated to have been stashed away in tax havens abroad.

2. The previous government's 62 panels, called Groups of Ministers (GOMs) and Empowered Groups of Ministers (EGOMs), supposed to aid the decision-making process scrapped. Modi says there would be one decision-making centre.

3. The Planning Commission that existed for 50 years scrapped as it had not moved with the times. Is likely to be replaced by a think tank.

4. Collegium or internal system of making appointments to the higher judiciary scrapped in favour of a commission comprising the prime minister and the chief justice of India.

5. Juvenile Justice Act to be amended to enable Juvenile Justice Board decide whether juvenile above 16 years involved in heinous crimes such as rape be tried in a regular court.

6. Ambitious financial inclusion scheme - Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana - launched with 15 million bank accounts opened and each of the holders provided Rs.100,000 insurance cover on the first day. First phase target of 75 million account holders advanced to Jan 26, 2015, from August 14 that year.

7. Government to create a National Food Grid to connect deficient areas with surplus producing regions to reduce wastage of fruit and vegetables and ensure stable prices. Government expects it to help contain price rise.

8. Modi prioritising relations with Asian nations as a part of government's Look East policy, visiting Bhutan and Nepal, followed by Japan on August 30-September 3. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yia's visit to India is seen as a positive development for bettering relations between the two countries.

9. Cancelled August 25 foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan after Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit invited Kashmiri separatists for talks. Seen as the government's tough side.

10. Gas price rise put on hold for three months, given that this is a sensitive issue and needs further discussion to address many important aspects before taking the final call.

11. In a major pointer to government's firmness against graft in defence procurement, no further deals with Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica, whose Britain-based subsidiary AgustaWestland is enmeshed in the kickbacks relating to the purchase of VVIP helicopters.

12. Ministers asked to adopt austerity measures; among others, asked not to buy new cars. Ministers were also asked to get PMO approval for expenditure above Rs.1 lakh.

Government announces cash reward of Rs 1 crore on top Naxal leaders
30 Aug, 2014
Government has decided to announce a cash reward of Rs one crore on the head of top Naxal leaders and for informers who provide information about their whereabouts.
CRPF cheif Dilip Trivedi today said undertaking such a policy decision makes "financial prudence" as it takes crores of rupees to deploy and sustain troops in anti-Naxal operations as compared to a sum of Rs one crore for nailing down a Maoist leader.
"We had proposed hiking of reward money on top Naxal leaders to the Union Home Ministry. I am happy that the Ministry and the government have agreed to it. We had a positive meeting with the Home Secretary in this regard," Trivedi said.
The DG said it would be a good step to hike the award money more than the Rs 1 crore figure as this policy is also "financially more viable" and would bear good results for security forces undertaking operations in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states.
"The ultimate aim of the forces and the governments is to bring peace in these areas. Once we apprehend the Naxal leaders and cadres, their violent movement will fizzle out totally," he said.

'Dead' AAP activist found alive; allegedly killed homeless man to fake his death
29 Aug, 2014
In a rather horrific turn of events, RTI activist and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member Chandra Mohan Sharma, who was believed to have been burnt alive in a car fire in Delhi, was found by the police in Bangalore, living under an assumed identity. Sharma was arrested and brought back to Delhi on Thursday, the police said.
Sharma has allegedly admitted to having killed a mentally-unstable man and set him on fire in an attempt to fake his own death, the Hindustan Times reported. He reportedly confessed to faked his death so as to live with an unmarried woman, who has also been brought back from Bangalore along with Sharma.
Sharma has been booked under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including murder, the report said.
What was believed to be Sharma's charred body was found inside his car on May 3 after passersby informed the police that the vehicle caught fire. Early on, Sharma's relatives alleged that he was murdered and was also getting threatening calls from the mafia whose deed he had exposed through RTI.

Child marriage on rise in Kerala: UNICEF
29 Aug, 2014
Notwithstanding a better gender balance in the southern part of the country, child marriage has been found to be on the rise in Kerala in recent years, according to UNICEF. "In the southern part of India we have a relatively better gender balance which explains lower rates of child marriage. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown a rising rate in Kerala," UNICEF's Child Protection Specialist in India Dora Giusti said.
Giusti attributed the phenomenon in the state, considered India's most literate, to migration from the northern part of the country. "Child marriage is more common among certain groups and among disadvantaged communities. In Kerala it was not the case even a few years back, but of late there has been a rise in it due to migration from the northern part of India," Giusti explained.
"The District Level Household and Facility Survey's latest survey (2007-08) study shows that child marriage is widespread but more prevalent in rural areas (48% vs 29%). Further, child marriage tends to be more commonly practised in low caste and scheduled tribes," she said.
According to a UNICEF report, in India there were more child marriages in rural areas than urban. While 52.5% of currently married women in age group 20-24 years in rural areas and 28.2% in urban areas got married before they were 18 years.
Although the gap between urban and rural areas has almost halved from 30.2% in 1992-1993 to 18.6% in 2007-2008, currently married women in rural areas were twice more likely to be child brides than their urban counterparts, the report said.
Bihar has the highest incidence of child marriage at 68% while Himachal Pradesh with around nine% has the lowest incidence, it stated. Six states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal — have the highest incidence of child marriage ranging from 51.9% to 68.2%, the report revealed.
In these states, at least one in two currently married women in the age group 20-24 years happened to be a child bride, it said.
Among five out of the six states with the highest incidence, Uttar Pradesh being the sole exception, more than half of the districts have a higher incidence of child marriage than the state average, the report said.

Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda's son booked on rape charge; model accuses him of cheating
29 Aug, 2014
A case of rape was registered against the son of railway minister DV Sadananda Gowda on a complaint by a woman who claimed that she is married to him, even as his engagement ceremony took place on Wednesday.
A model, who has acted in a Kannada film as a heroine, claimed she is married to the minister's son, who got engaged to another woman at a ceremony at Kushalnagar in Kodagu District on Thursday.
"She has filed a complaint in RT Nagar police station against Karthik Gowda, Sadananda Gowda's son, for allegedly raping and cheating her," Bangalore Police Commissioner M N Reddi said.
The case has been booked against Karthik under sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, Reddi said.
The actress spoke to the media from Coorg in Karnataka and is yet to arrive in Bangalore, while the Gowda family has so far remained tightlipped. Gowda himself however has claimed this was a conspiracy to tarnish his name and blackmail his family.

The model claims that she and Karthik know each other from May 8, 2014 and became very close friends. Now, the model wants Gowda to accept her their daughter-in-law.
Speaking to media she said, "my family was looking for a groom and on June 5, 2014 Karthik married me. I request them to accept me as their daughter-in-law.
Karthik, she claimed, had also told her that he would convince her parents, she said. "How can he (Karthik) get engaged to another girl when he is already married to me," she said.
Later, she also alleged that Karthik Gowda had called her to his Mangalore house, and tied mangalsutra on her neck and then forced her.
She said, I will file case if they don’t accept me, I don’t want any other woman to suffer this. Nobody contacted me from his (Karthik's) family. Sources are trying to talk to my sister saying I shouldn’t contact media."
"I can’t take any one else as my husband, Karthik Gowda is my husband" she added.

Gowda expressed shock at the allegation and suspected a conspiracy and attempt to blackmail, while his son Karthik rejected the woman's claim.
Sadananda Gowda told reporters in Kushalnagar that he was 'shocked' and 'hurt' at the allegations levelled by her. "My life is an open book. I will not lie or cheat public. I am shocked by this kind of blackmail."
"I will speak to my son. I have to think if a girl has to blackmail, if Sadananda Gowda becomes a scapegoat", he said.
Reacting to the woman's claims, Karthik said, "There is nothing like that. My father is a respectable man. why should I spoil it."
Police are yet to verify her claims as the medical tests have not been carried on either the model who claimed they had physical relations too or Gowda's son (Karthik).
Politicians react on the issue
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah: Law takes its own course, what is the point of me saying anything when I don't know the details
Mamta Sharma, former NCW Chairperson: An inquiry must be conducted and the government must take cognizance of the issue.
Shazia Ilmi, former AAP leader: Probe must be conducted and it shouldn't be colored in anyway because he is Railway Minister's son
BJP leader Shaina NC: BJP has no reaction on this, its a personal matter
Congress leader R Sampath: Railway Minister must step down and the girl should get justice.

CBI custody of suspended CBFC CEO Rakesh Kumar extended to August 31
29 Aug, 2014
A court on Thursday extended till August 31 the CBI custody of suspended CEO of Central Borad of Film Certification Rakesh Kumar who has been accused of taking bribe for clearing films. CBI, which is investigating the bribery racket in Central Borad of Film Certification today told a court here that he had received applications for clearance for 900 feature films and thousands of short films during his stint since January.
"In some cases, Kumar violated procedures laid down under the Cinematograph Act and cleared the films," the CBI lawyer told the court which extended Kumar's CBI custody till August 31.
Kumar was arrested on August 18, four days after an agent and a censor board member were arrested for allegedly taking bribes on Kumar's behalf to clear the film.
According to the CBI lawyer, Kumar maintained `tabular sheets' of names of agents and the films which came through them were cleared out of turn.
He had directed his clerk to maintain sheets from April onwards with the names of agents and how fast the certificates were issued to them.
The agency also claimed that Kumar threw an I-pad which he had got from an agent by way of bribe into the sea after he heard about the arrest of the two co-accused.

Haryana Janhit Congress to snap ties with BJP
28 Aug, 2014
Kuldeep Bishnoi-led Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC-BL) today decided to snap its ties with BJP, putting an end to the prolonged tussle between the two parties which have been in an alliance for three years now.
"We tried our level best to keep the alliance working... made sincere efforts...They (BJP) are not ready to stick to agreed alliance principles. So we have taken a decision," a top HJC leader said here. The party is likely to make a formal announcement in this regard in Chandigarh later in the day. The HJC chief had yesterday accused the saffron party for "betraying" it. "Betrayal is in the nature of BJP," Kuldeep Bishnoi had said, addressing a gathering at Ananj Mandi at Loharu in Bhiwani district.
He had claimed that he had been serving and cooperating with the BJP from the "core of his heart for the last three years".
BJP leaders in Haryana have said that the party is in a position to contest all the 90 seats on its own and accused Bishnoi of trying to "break the ties". The alliance between BJP, which is eyeing to wrest power from ruling Congress, and HJC has seen a rift since the Lok Sabha polls, as HJC failed to win the two seats it contested while BJP bagged seven constituencies.
The ties between the partners were under strain due to differences on seat-sharing for the Assembly polls, with Bishnoi seeking 45 of the 90 seats and demanding that he be declared the Chief Ministerial candidate of the alliance, both of which the BJP is opposing.
Bishnoi, younger son of former chief minister late Bhajan Lal, tore into the BJP's claim of having many deserving candidates for the post of Chief Minister, saying many of them have lost successive elections. "Most of these candidates (who claim to be future Chief Minister) have even forgotten when they last contested the polls," he had said without naming anyone.

70% afforestation achieved in Arunachal Pradesh
28 Aug, 2014
Setting an example, the Arunachal Pradesh Environment and Forest Department has achieved 70% afforestation in the state at a time when forest areas are decreasing alarmingly in the country.The afforestation programme was undertaken under the State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority in 2010 in the areas where trees were cut by user-agencies for various purposes.
A Supreme Court judgement recently directed that there should be compensatory afforestation by the user-agency which should set apart a sum of money for the purpose. The judgement also directed that the state concerned would have to make available land on which afforestation could take place.
"The fund resources for CAMPA are generated from the user-agencies who are proposing various developmental activities and against which they are applying for forest clearance," Diganta Gogoi, deputy conservator of forest (CAMPA & WP), said.
The state with a total 83,743 sq km geographical area has more than 5,000 species of flowering plants, 600 species of orchids, 89 species of bamboos, 18 species of canes, 400 species of ferns, 24 species of gymnosperms and equally high number of unexplored algae, fungi, lichens, bryophytes and micro-organism.
Moreover, it is home to more than 100 species of mammals, 650 birds, 83 reptiles, 130 fishes and seven non-human primates and innumerable species of insects, mirco-organisms and other life forms.

No wonder Arunachal Pradesh with its rich bio-diversity has been listed as one of the 18 "biodiversity hotspots" in the world. Arunachal Pradesh has a total 51,540 square kilometres under forest cover out of which 10,089.99 square kilometres fall under reserve forests.
Gogoi pointed out that as per the directive of the state CAMPA, compensatory afforestation was the primary target and the fund was obtained particularly for protection and preservation of forests. "As per the apex court guidelines, we are getting 10% of the deposited amount annually. We will get more fund only if we plead the court for enhancement," Gogoi said.
He said that generally local species are taken up for plantation as indigenous species were more successful. "If the state Forest Act is introduced, which is in the pipeline, with incorporation of traditional laws as suggested by various NGOs, there will be changes in the act and rules while implementing various schemes," he said.

Narendra Modi will launch Jan Dhan Yojana today; to create 1 crore back accounts on first day
28 Aug, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Jan Dhan Yojana, a mega financial inclusion plan under which bank accounts and RuPay debit cards with inbuilt insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh will be provided to crores of persons with no access to formal banking facilities. The Prime Minister aims to open 1 crore bank accounts on the first day of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY.
Apart from the function at New Delhi, almost 76 functions throughout the country will mark the beginnning of the scheme.
The Prime Minister has already sent 7.25 lakh emails to bank officers informing them about the financial inclusion scheme PMJDY, which he had announced in his Independence Day address to the nation.
Public sector banks, according to an official release, will organise more than 60,000 camps in rural and urban areas on the launch day. The scheme seeks to provide two accounts to 7.5 crore identified households by August 2018.
On the occasion of the launch, Prime Minister will also visit an exhibition on Technology and Financial Literacy will be organised in the capital.
A film on 'Financial Inclusion' will also be screened and the Prime Minister will unveil a Logo and a Mission Document on Financial Inclusion. He will dedicate the mobile banking facility on the basic mobile phone (USSD) to the nation.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of State for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and other senior officials will attend the function, said a release.
The main features of the PMJDY scheme include Rs 5,000 overdraft facility for Aadhar-linked accounts, RuPay Debit Card with inbuilt Rs 1 lakh accident insurance cover and minimum monthly renumeration of Rs 5,000 to business correspondents who will provide the last link between the account holders and the bank.
The first phase of the mission, starting this month, would end in August next year.
The second phase will start from 2015 till 2018, covering aspects such as micro insurance and pension schemes like 'Swavalamban'.
The coverage of households in hilly, tribal and difficult areas would be carried out.
While the existing banking network would be geared up to open bank accounts of the uncovered households in both rural and urban areas, the banking sector would be expanding itself to set up an additional 50,000 Business correspondents, more than 7,000 branches and more than 20,000 new ATMs in the first phase, the release said Some of the Phase II activities would also be carried out in Phase I. In addition, the coverage of households in hilly, tribal and difficult areas would be carried out.

Two Assam Rifles jawans killed in bomb explosion
28 Aug, 2014
Two jawans of the Assam Rifles were killed and another injured when a powerful bomb exploded in interior Chandel district of Manipur, police said today. The bomb exploded when the personnel of 3rd Assam Rifles battalion were patrolling near their post at Old Somtal area, about 70 km south-east of here, yesterday, the police said.
While the injured was taken to the army hospital at Leimakhong, about 25 km north of here, the bodies of the two deceased jawans were taken to Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital here for postmortem, they said.
Meanwhile, major insurgent organisation United National Liberation Front in a statement claimed that their armed wing, Manipur People's Army (MPA), planted the bomb to attack the security personnel.

BJP’s generational shift apace
27 Aug, 2014
Carrying on with a generational shift of its leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party dropped veteran leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi from its parliamentary Board, the party’s highest decision-making body, on Tuesday.
The three veterans, leading lights of the party for nearly four decades, were dropped from its central election committee too.
As a token gesture, they find place in a new five-member Margadarshak Mandal (guidance panel), along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. BJP media managers said the presence of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister on the panel proved it was a "high-powered" body, but conceded it was powerless.
Chouhan, Nadda on BJP board
Three-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and party general secretary J.P. Nadda are the new members of the parliamentary Board of the BJP. Party president Amit Shah will be the chairman of the all-powerful body.
Others on the 12-member Board are Mr. Modi; his Cabinet colleagues Mr. Singh, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari, Ananth Kumar and Thawar Chand Gehlot; and Ramlal.
Mr. Chouhan and Mr. Nadda are also new entrants in the party’s central election committee. Among the notable exclusions from the panel is firebrand Uttar Pradesh leader Vinay Katiyar. The panel strength has been pruned from 18 to 15.
Mr. Shah will chair the election committee, too. The other members on the panel are Mr. Modi, Mr. Singh, Mr. Jaitley, Ms. Swaraj, Mr. Naidu, Mr. Gadkari, Mr. Kumar, Mr. Gehlot, Mr. Ramlal, Jual Oram, Shahnawaz Hussain and Mahila BJP chief Vijaya Rahatkar (ex-officio).
Reacting to the Congress charge that the BJP had relegated its seniors to an "old-peoples’ home," Mr. Hussain, BJP spokesman, said, "Let the Congress bother about its seniors."

Local body taps into its power base
27 Aug, 2014
The first hydel power project owned and operated by a local body in the country, the Meenvallom mini-hydel project at Karimba, near Mannarkkad, will be inaugurated on Friday. The project, a long-pending dream of the local community who faces frequent power outage, taps the Meenvallom waterfalls at Karimba in the Bharathapuzha river basin.
Though the trial run began in June last week, the project of the Palakkad district panchayat became fully operational only now. It will have an initial generation capacity of 3MW.
The power generated will be sold to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) as per a 2007 agreement, with the board ensuring dedicated supply in the region.
With the project set for inauguration, the panchayat wants to enhance the tariff it is set to charge from the utility.
The panchayat wants a considerable increase in tariff as it feels the existing rate is inadequate to repay loans taken from agencies such as Nabard. The tariff was fixed in 2007 at Rs.2.50 a unit for 25 years.
Panchayat president T.N. Kandamuthan said he had approached the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission to enhance the tariff to Rs.4.80 a unit.
The Rs.22 crore-project, 20 years in the making, had to brave many odds, technical and financial. The Registrar of Companies raised an objection regarding perpetual succession and limited liability under the Companies Act, 1956, as the local body will have new elected representatives every five years. Moreover, there was no precedence of a local body executing a power project.

Hurdles galore
The project started at an estimate of Rs.10.11 crore to generate 85 mu annually with a 3MW capacity had to face cost overruns.
Nabard sanctioned a loan of Rs.7.56 crore and the rest came as equity from 12 grama panchayats, block panchayat, and the district panchayat. Delay in getting clearance to use 1.15 hectares of forestland also hampered the project.
Engineers of the panchayat said the project was aimed at generating peak load time power.
Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed will inaugurate the project at a function to be presided over by Local Administration Minister M.K. Muneer.

British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg invites Indian film producers to shoot in UK
27 Aug, 2014
British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Tuesday invited Indian film producers to take advantage of "the facilities, expertise and glorious locations" in his country to shoot films. Clegg today attended 'the muhurat' of Vistaar Film Fund's and WSG Pictures' latest film 'Veda' here.
"Amid the colour, the drama and the spectacle of Bollywood, it is easy to forget how important it is to the Indian economy, generating hundreds of millions of pounds in Mumbai and the rest of India," Clegg said.
"As we have seen with American co-productions on a grand scale, Britain is one of the world's top destinations for film makers. I hope Indian producers will follow their counterparts in the US and take advantage of the UK's facilities, expertise and glorious locations to create the next Indian Star Wars or Game of Thrones," he said.
Host of the evening and former Indian cricketer Farokh Engineer introduced the main cast and crew of the film an adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' which includes actor Sanjay Suri, Ashish Bisht who plays the role of Hamlet, director Onir and producer Bhavna Talwar.

Goa government suppressed assessment report on mining impact: Madhav Gadgil
27 Aug, 2014
Noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil on Tuesday alleged that the state's BJP government has "suppressed" his report assessing the impact of mining on environment in Goa."State government had commissioned a committee led by me to prepare a report on assessment of mining impact on environment in Goa. We had submitted the report in last October.
The report is based on two-year long careful work. It is with the government and they are not making it public. They are suppressing the report," Prof Madhav Gadgil, who heads the committee said.
The erstwhile Digambar Kamat-led government had roped in Gadgil to assess the impact on environment due to mining activity in the coastal state.
Though contents of the report are not known, according to reports Gadgil had accused a number of mining companies of lying in their submission before the Union Environment and Forests Ministry.
Gadgil had also chaired the Western Ghat Ecology Expert Panel which in its report has demarcated eco-sensitive areas in the region. However, the state government had refused to accept the report, with Environment Minister Alina Saldanha saying they will commission their own study in this regard.
However, Gadgil said he had no faith in the reports prepared by the state government.
"Our experience is that the government statistics are by and large fraudulent. I have no faith in audit done by the state government. They may conduct it (audit) in non-participatory and non-transparent fashion," he said, adding that, the assessment by the panel under him was transparent and participatory in nature.
On his report, Gadgil said extensive assessment of ground situation and field work had gone into preparing the document.

Mumbai, Delhi airports gear up to screen 112 passengers from Ebola-hit Liberia
26 Aug, 2014
Elaborate precautionary arrangements have been put in place at the Mumbai Airport here to screen the 112 stranded Indians, who are expected to arrive on Tuesday by various flights from and around the Ebola-hit Liberia, authorities said on Monday.
"As part of the tentative plan, the aircraft will be first taken to a remote bay and all passengers will be screened at the step-ladder exit after the arrival of flights at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA)," Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said here.
Besides, while the passengers without any symptoms will be cleared and shifted to terminal for immigration and customs clearance, those coming from Liberia with symptoms suggestive of EVD, will be directly shifted to designated hospital in ambulance from the bay, it said.
According to MIAL, Ethiopian Airline, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Jet and South African Airways are flying these passengers to Mumbai. Some of these passengers will first arrive in Delhi and then come to Mumbai by domestic airlines flight, MIAL said.
Mial also said the baggage of the flights need to be kept separate by the concerned airline in their custody, adding disinfection of the flight will be carried out once all passengers would be deboarded.
Flights will be allowed to board next passengers only after thirty minutes of disinfection, it added.

Proposed strike of petrol dealers in Maharashtra called off
26 Aug, 2014
The proposed indefinite strike called by petrol dealers in Maharashtra from midnight has been called off after mediation by Vinod Tawade, BJP leader and leader of opposition in the state legislative council, according to a BJP release.

The decision was taken after Tawade assured leaders of Federation of All Maharashtra Petrol Dealers' Association, including its president Uday Lodha, that Shiv Sena-BJP alliance would positively consider scrapping local body tax and reducing VAT if voted to power in the October assembly election, it added.
According to Lodha, Maharashtra government did not hold any talks with the Association to avert the strike.

3 jawans, 5 terrorists killed in two separate gun battle; encounter still ongoing in Kupwara
26 Aug, 2014
Three jawans and five terrorists have reportedly been killed in Kupwara district of north Kashmir, in two separate gun battle incidences that have been ongoing since Saturday.
One jawan was killed, while another militant was gunned down on Tuesday morning. So far, three soldiers and five terrorists have been killed the encounter in Kalaroos forest area. This is the fourth fatality suffered by army in Kupwara district in the past two days.
Meanwhile, a dead body of GDR Rahul Kumar of 23 GDR Battalion, who lost his life in Kupwara encounter on Monday was brought to his village in Bulandshahr on Tuesday morning.
Extending ceasefire violations to Samba district, Pakistan troops, on Monday, heavily shelled and fired upon 40 Border Out Posts (BoPs) and 24 villages along the International Border in Jammu, leaving three persons injured.
Since July 16, there have been 35 ceasefire violations.

Home Ministry seeks report on 'Love Jihad' from Jharkhand government
26 Aug, 2014
New Delhi: The Centre has asked for a report from Jharkhand government on 'Love Jihad' after the national shooter was tortured to change religion. The Home Ministry asked Jharkhand government to submit a report in this regard.
The national rifle shooter Tara Sahdeo has alleged that she was forced to change her religion to Islam by a Muslim man. According to woman, she married man named Ranjit Kohli in June but she came to know later that he was actually a Muslim.
Tara said that people started coming over at her home to invite her husband for iftar during Ramadan. It was then that she came to know his name was not Ranjit Kohli but Rakibul Hussain.
Hussain along with some other people forced Tara to change her religion from Hindu to Muslim. When she resisted it, she was tortured and beaten up by men. Thereafter, she was rescued by her family after she sent them a message while her husband was out of town.
In the meanwhile, Mahua Manjhi, the Jharkhand Women's Commission chairperson met Sahdeo and assured to help her. The agenda of 'Love Jihad' in the western parts of Uttar Pradesh, has been taken up by BJP as a big challenge ahead of the Assembly elections.

UN chief asks India-Pakistan to resolve issues through dialogue
25 Aug, 2014
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has asked India and Pakistan to resolve their issues peacefully and through dialogue, against the backdrop of cancellation of foreign-secretary level talks between the two nations and continued ceasefire violations by Pakistan along border posts.
"The Secretary-General calls on both sides to solve the issues peacefully and through dialogue," according to a statement given to PTI from the office of Ban's spokesperson in response to questions about the cancellation of the talks and ceasefire violations.
The statement did not respond to a question whether the UN chief would intervene in the tensed situation and encourage the leaders from the two countries to meet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government cancelled the August 25 meeting scheduled in Islamabad between the foreign secretaries after Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit held talks with Kashmiri separatist leaders.
Also, ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces along the Line of Control and the International Border have increased over the last few weeks. There have been 21 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops in less than a fortnight and 23 in August.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has said in New Delhi that India has been responding effectively and strongly to the ceasefire violations by Pakistan side.
India has also further strengthened its counter infiltration grid to tackle any attempt by Pakistan to push in militants during the ceasefire violations.

Indian national found murdered in Singapore industrial estate
25 Aug, 2014
A 26-year-old Indian national was found murdered near his workplace in the industrial estate of Pandan on the west coast of Singapore, according to a media report on Monday. The victim, Suresh Kumar, was found motionless near his workplace on Saturday. Paramedics responding to a help call reached the spot but later pronounced Kumar dead at the scene on Saturday 10.53 pm local time.
Singapore police have meanwhile, classified his death as a murder, The Straits Times reported.
Blood stains were found at the scene, near a construction site where Kumar was found lying. The victim suffered trauma injuries to his head and neck, and he was found with a deformity on his left hand, said the daily, citing a Singapore Civil Defence spokesman.
Chinese-language Shin Min Daily reported that Kumar was allegedly attacked but his possessions were not taken.
Kumar has been working with a ship servicing company since 2009.
The company's operations manager Wong Boon Tiong described Kumar as "straightforward and hardworking" man close to his co-workers. "The company is also in touch with and assisting Kumar's family," said Wong.
Kumar, a single, is survived by a 30-year-old brother working in Singapore and his parents are living in India.

BJP leads in 6, secular alliance ahead in 4 seats in Bihar
25 Aug, 2014
BJP is leading in six seats while secular alliance comprising RJD, JD(U) and Congress is ahead in 4 seats of the total 10 Assembly seats where bypoll was held on August 21. According to trends made available by the Election Office at 9 AM, an hour after counting began, BJP is leading at Narkatiaganj, Rajnagar (SC), Jale, Hajipur, Banka and Mohania (SC). RJD is ahead at Chapra and Mohiuddinagar, the EC office statement said.
JD(U) and Congress are leading at Parbatta and Bhagalpur respectively, it said. The outcome of the bypoll is being considered as a "semi-final" before the crucial state poll next year as it will prove whether regrouping of "Mandal forces" against BJP has paid or not.
For BJP the challenge is to maintain its winning streak it had registered in the state in the general election.
Of the 10 seats that went to bypoll, BJP had 6 seats in the 2010 Assembly election while RJD had 3 and JD(U) 1.