e-paper (Hyderabad, Saturday, September 6, 2014)

Transcription

Indian
[email protected]
RNI No: APENG/2010/35309
www.indianhorizon.org
Volume
Issue No: 177
No: 6
Horizon
English Daily
[email protected]
In memory of Dr Asima Kemal and Prof. Dr. Salim W Kemal
Published from Hyderabad & New Delhi
Hyderabad, Tuesday, June 30, 2015
P-2
Defence Ministry
charges Rs 500 crore
for flood assistance to
Jammu and Kashmir
TS Govt releases
Rs. 5 Cr for Ramzan
arrangements
Hyderabad, June 29 (INN) The Telangana
Government on Monday released Rs. 5 crore
for the repair of mosques and Idgahs across the
State in view of holy month of Ramzan.
As per usual practice, a review meeting was
convened by Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed
Mahmood Ali, along with all public representatives on 28th May to review the preparedness
and steps to be taken in view of the ensuing
month of Ramzan. In the meeting all the public
representatives have represented for sanction of
funds for taking up Minor Repairs, Renovation,
Leakages to Roof, Whitewash, Toilets, Wazukhana, Electrical Repairs and Replacements of
Items etc., to those Mosques and Idgahs, which
are not having any income.
While considering the proposal, the State Government ordered for sanction and release of Rs.
50 Lakhs to each district for taking up the works
as mentioned above in Mosques and Edgahs.
Over 300 people died and more than 12 lakh people were
affected in the floods that devastated large parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar. PTI
Congress-BJP war rages
on -- over Raje
New Delhi/Jaipur, June
29 (IANS) Stepping up the
demand for Rajasthan Chief
Minister Vasundhara Raje’s
resignation, the Congress
on Monday alleged that she
had “direct financial dealings” with former IPL chief
Lalit Modi. The BJP vehemently refuted the charge
as “baseless”.
Congress leader Jairam
Ramesh, who has been at
the forefront of making serious allegations against Raje,
claimed that the chief minister had helped convert a
state-owned palace in Dholpur, about 260 km from Jaipur, into private property.
He alleged that Niyant
Heritage Pvt. Ltd., a company
owned by Raje, her son Dushyant Singh, daughter-in-law
Niharika Singh and Lalit Modi
had taken over a Rajasthan
government property, converted it into a private highend luxury hotel and invested
over Rs.100 crore.
“A joint venture company
is running Niyant Heritage
which is running Dholpur
palace,” he said. Ramesh
showed Rajasthan govern-
ment documents to claim
that Dholpur palace -- built
in the late 19th century and
which has eight royal palace
rooms and 18 luxury villas
-- was never a private property of the erstwhile Dholpur
royal family.
In Jaipur, the Bharatiya
Janata Party’s Rajasthan
unit rubbished the allegations, saying that the palace’s ownership was very
Price: 3.00
Russia vows
continued support
for Syria
P-8
P-5
Srinagar, June 29 (IANS)
The Defence Ministry has raised
a bill of Rs 500 crore for its assistance to Jammu and Kashmir
government for carrying out relief and rescue operations during the floods that battered the
valley last year.
The Defence Ministry was
paid Rs 500 crore by the Union
government as the amount was
adjusted from the Rs 1602.56
crore assistance given to the
state government from its share
in the National Disaster Relief
Fund (NDRF) for dealing with
the floods last September. The
state government was informed
about the Rs 500 crore bill by the
Union Home Ministry through a
letter dated February 6.
“The high level committee in
its meeting held on 30.01.2015
Ramdan Timings
Sahar - 4:10
Iftar - 6:58
Pages 12 + 4 pull out (P16)
UP govt’s schemes
unparallelled, better
than Centre: Akhilesh
Telangana CM
KCR suppressing
employees unions
Briefs
Postal Registration Order No HD/1188/2014-16
approved the following assistance, Rs 1602.56 crore from
NDRF subject to adjustment of
90 per cent balance available in
SDRF account of the state. This
includes payment of air bills for
airdropping of essential supplies and rescue (tentatively Rs
500 crore) as per actual, based
on the bills raised by the Ministry of Defence,” the letter reads.
Over 300 people died and
more than 12 lakh people were
affected in the floods that devastated large parts of Kashmir,
including Srinagar. More than
two lakh people, including tourists and non- Kashmiri labourers, were rescued and essential
supplies like food, water and
medicine were air-dropped in
what the armed forces called
“Operation Megh Rahat”.
much with Dushyant Singh.
“All the allegations are
baseless. We have papers
to prove that the Dholpur
palace belongs to Dushyant Singh. There is no illegal
occupation on the palace.
Moreover, everyone knows
that Vasundhara Raje ji is
known as the Maharani
(queen) of Dholpur city,”
BJP state president Ashok
Parnami said.
“Even the records with the
municipality show that the
palace belongs to Dushyant
Singh,” he added.
Parnami challenged Jairam Ramesh to a debate on
the issue. “Either he should
prove the charges or quit
politics.”
Parnami accused the Congress of running a smear campaign to tarnish Raje’s image.
“The party, which has a history of corruption, is levelling
allegations against us.”
After Maggi, Top
Ramen withdrawn
from Indian market
New Delhi, June 29 (PTI) After Maggi controversy, Indo Nissin on Monday announced
withdrawal of its instant noodles brand ‘Top
Ramen’ from the Indian market on orders
from central food safety regulator FSSAI.
Earlier this month, Nestle had to recall
Maggi noodles, while Hindustan Unilever also
withdrew its Knorr instant noodles brand over
safety and regulatory issues.
On June 8, FSSAI had come out with the
advisory on product safety testing of all instant noodle products in India after lead
beyond permissible limits in Maggi noodles
along with taste enhancer Monosodium glutamate (MSG).
“At that time we had sought clarification
from FSSAI since Top Ramen product approval is pending with the regulator. They have
requested us to withdraw the product until
they give the product approval,” Indo Nissin Foods Pvt Ltd Managing Director Gautam
Sharma said in a statement. He further said
Top Ramen was extensively tested in the last
few weeks after product safety concerns arose
in the category.
“We have tested at two FSSAI accredited independent laboratories and shared the results
with FSSAI a few weeks ago. While many Top
Ramen samples have been tested by various
state FDAs across India, only in two cases —
slightly higher lead level has been found in the
tastemaker,” he added.
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HC refuses to restrain Meena from
Delhi ACB office, work
New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) The
Delhi High Court on Monday declined the Delhi government’s request to restrain Anti-Corruption
Branch (ACB) chief Mukesh Kumar
Meena from dealing with the anticorruption department or even entering the office.
Justice V.P. Vaish refused to pass
an interim order on the Delhi gov-
ernment’s plea seeking to restrain
Meena from entering the premises
of the ACB and “interfering” in its
activities, but asked him to “act in accordance with law”.
The court also issued notice to the
central government, seeking its response by August 11, on the ACB’s
appointment as also on the main
petition that challenged the Centre’s
CBI must probe mysterious
deaths in Vyapam
scam: Whistleblower
New Delhi, June 29 (PTI)
Prashant Pandey said he fears
for his own life after becoming
the whistleblower. The CBI must
probe the deaths of accused and
witnesses under mysterious circumstances in Madhya Pradesh’s
Vyapam scam, says the man who
exposed the massive admission
and recruitment scandal.
“There must be a CBI probe. It
is not a coincident that all the accused are dying of one ailment or
another. There is something more
to it,” Prashant Pandey, a forensic
expert, who blew the whistle on the
scam, told PTI. Mr. Pandey said he
fears for his own life after becoming the whistleblower.
A total of 25 accused and witnesses, including the son of Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav, Shailesh, have died
so far in the high-profile Madhya
Pradesh Professional Examination
Board (MPPEB) scam, also known
as Vyapam scam. “There is a coverup by the high and mighty in the
state government. There has to be
a probe by a third party which is in-
notification holding that Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung has discretionary
powers on appointments and transfers to key bureaucratic posts in the
Delhi government.
Meena was appointed the ACB
chief by Jung on June 8, superseding ACB chief S.S. Yadav, despite
objections from the Aam Aadmi
Party government.
dependent of state’s interference,”
the whistleblower said.
Mr. Pandey, a digital forensics
expert from Indore has been provided a guard by the state police in
view of threat to his life.
A Madhya Pradesh High Courtappointed Special Investigation
Team (SIT) is supervising the probe
by the state’s Special Task Force
(STF) into the scam, in which the
role of some senior state government officials and politicians has
come under the scanner.
Chief of the SIT Justice (Retd)
Chandresh Bhushan refused
to speak about the action being taken in the case. “I cannot
say anything on the phone,” Mr.
Bhushan told PTI when asked
whether the SIT would take cognizance of the deaths.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with BJP Leader L K
Advani during the Memorial meeting of former bureaucrat M N
Buch in New Delhi on Monday.PTI
Manipur ambush: NIA arrests
top NSCN(K) commander
New Delhi, June 29 (PTI) National Investigation Agency has
arrested a key member of Naga
insurgent group NSCN-K for allegedly being a part of conspiracy to carry out the June 4 ambush
that killed 18 army men in Manipur, in the first breakthrough in
the probe into the incident.
Khumlo Abi Anal, 40, the selfstyled ‘Regional Commander’
of NSCN-K, is alleged to be a
part of the conspiracy that was
hatched to carry out the attack
on army men at Chandel area of
Manipur on June four, NIA said.
The accused has been produced
before Special Judge, NIA, who
remanded him to the agency’s
custody till July seven.
This is the first breakthrough
achieved by NIA, which was
handed over the probe in the
case within a couple of days of
the attack. The investigating
agency had deputed a team of
experts, led by a Deputy Inspector General, to the spot. About
Anal, the officials said that after
the attack, he got himself arrested in a different case to evade his
role in the June four killings.
2
Indian Horizon, Hyderabad
City
SCSC launches ‘She Shuttles’ in Cyberabad
News Brief
Hyderabad HC
rejects petition on
Section 8
Hyderabad, June 29 (INN): The
Hyderabad High Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking
implementation of Section 8 of the
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation
Act in Hyderabad.
Responding to the petition filed
by Andhra Association of Telangana President K Veera Raghava
Reddy, the High Court refused to
intervene on the issue. The petitioner had urged the court to direct
the Central Government to ask the
Governor to implement Section
8 of the APRA on Law and Order
in Hyderabad and claimed that
people hailing from Seemandhra
regions and living in Hyderabad
were not feeling safe ever since the
formation of Telangana on June 2
last year. However, the court said it
could not intervene on the issue as
the Act does not say that Governor
would not implement Section 8 on
the directions of the Centre.
The High Court also rejected a
similar petition filed by an advocate.
Revanth Reddy’s
judicial remand
extended till July 13
Special Court for ACB Cases on
Monday extended till July 13 the
judicial custody of TDP MLA A.
Revanth Reddy and two other accused - Sebastian Harry and Uday
Simha - in the Cash for Vote scam.
Following end of their judicial
custody, all three accused were
produced before the ACB Court on
Monday. They were brought to the
court at Nampally amid tight security. The ACB sought extension of
their remand on the grounds that
the investigations in the case are at
a crucial stage. Revanth Reddy was
arrested by the Anti-Corruption
Bureau on May 31 when he allegedly tried to bribe nominated legislator Elvis Stephenson to get his
vote his party’s candidate in MLC
elections.
The High Court will pronounce
the verdict on Revanth Reddy’s bail
petition on Tuesday.
‘Cash for Vote’ case:
HC quashes Elvis’
petition against
Hyderabad High Court on Monday
quashed the petition moved by
nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson
seeking the judge to rescue himself
from hearing a petition filed by J
Muthaiah, an accused in the ‘Cash
for Vote’ case.
Muthaiah had earlier filed a petition requesting the court to quash
the FIR filed by Telangana AntiCorruption Bureau against him in
the ‘Cash for Vote’ case. Since the
same court had stayed Muthaiah’s
arrest by the ACB, Elvis filed a petition asking Justice Shiv Shankar
Rao to rescue himself from the
case as he alleged that he may not
get justice in as the court “seemed
to be pre-determined”.
While dismissing the petition
Justice Shiv Shankar Rao said he
was impartial and nobody can
doubt his integrity. Stating that the
allegations leveled by Elvis against
the High Court amounted to contempt of court, the judge directed
the High Court registry to file a
criminal contempt of court case
against the MLA.
KCR suppressing
employees unions
Hyderabad, June 29 (INN): Congress senior leader and former MP
Ponnam Prabhakar has accused
Chief Minister K Chandrashekar
Rao of suppressing the employees
unions by luring their leaders with
big posts.
Speaking to media persons in
Assembly premises here on Mon-
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
day, Ponnam said that the State
Government did not resolve the
problems of employees during the
last one year. He said that the bifurcation of employees was yet to
be completed and the entire division process has been turned into
a puzzle. He said that the government also failed to resolve issues
concerning the retired employees.
Ponnam said that the State Government was not allowing the employees to even agitate. He said
KCR has taken complete control
of employees unions by giving top
posts to their leaders like Swamy
Goud, Srinivas Goud and Devi
Prasad. He demanded that the
State Government resolve the issues of employees on priority basis.
Gandra asks TRS
Govt to waive off
cross loans
Hyderabad, June 29 (INN): Congress senior leader Gandra Venkataramana Reddy on Monday
demanded that the Telangana
Government waive off remaining
dues of crop loan waiver scheme.
Speaking to media persons here,
Gandra criticised the State Government for delaying the clearing of
crop loan. He said instead of clearing the crop loan dues of nearly
Rs. 17,000 crore, the State Government has splitted them into many
installments. He said the government did not clear dues of even
40% so far. He said that the TRS
Government should emulate the
previous Congress Government
in taking up welfare measures for
farmers. He said that the Congress
Government not only waived off
crop loans, but also provided free
power, input subsidy and other
benefits.
TDP stages dharna at
GHMC Headquarters
Hyderabad, June 29 (INN): Hundreds of TDP activists held a massive protest at the GHMC headquarters on Monday demanding
better civic amenities.
Led by MLAs, Maganti Gopinath
and G Sainna, TDP activists alleged
that development has come to a
halt in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and their
peripheries. Speaking to media
persons, Maganti said that Rs. 50
lakh sanctioned for each area under ‘Swachh Hyderabad’ campaign
were yet to be released. He said
that the condition of city roads,
nalas, street lights, drainages and
other amenities were in highly
deplorable condition. Accusing
GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar of acting like a TRS agent, he
said that the corporation and State
Government was paying attention
only to publicity stunts.
The TDP leaders threatened that
they would launch massive agitation if the GHMC fails to perform
its duties.
AAP activists
demand dismissal of
tainted ministers
Hyderabad, June 29 (INN): Several workers of Aam Admi Party
held a dharna at Ambedkar Statue
at Tank Bund on Monday demanding dismissal of tainted Union
Ministers.
Speaking ot media persons, AAP
Telangana unit president Prof.
P.L.Visveshwar Rao demanded
that Union HRD Minister Smrithi
Irani should be removed from cabinet as she lied about educational
qualification. He said that the AAP
Government in Delhi has sacked
its Law Minister after he was accused of possessing a fake degree.
Similarly, he said External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara
Raje should be removed from their
posts for having links with ex-IPL
chief Lalit Modi.
Hyderabad,
June
29
(INN): The Society for Cyberabad Security Council
(SCSC) on Monday rolled
out ‘She Shuttles’, an exclusive women only transport
system for the transit safety
of women employees in the
Cyberabad IT Corridor.
She-Shuttles is an integrated transport solution
which leverages cutting
edge technologies and infrastructure to provide a
safe and smart ride for its
commuters especially for
last mile transport. It has a
full time lady security guard,
24 Hour Monitoring from
Central Control Room at
Cyberabad Police Commissionerate, Smart App for
every passenger with Panic
Mode Travellers can see the
dynamic location of the bus
in the Smart App at any given time and save time spent
in waiting for the shuttle. It
also has the ability to integrate with Company Security, Whatsapp Control Room
and Citizen Marshalls from
the IT Corridor.
The service is free for all
women employees of SCSC
member companies and it
operates from Shuttle Services from 8 AM to 10 PM.
The She Shuttles have
been procured with the
funds released by the TSIIC
and shall be run with the
funds sponsored by DLF
IT Park and Ascendas IT
Park. The bus also packs
with it “Reach Safe’ Women
safety App which has been
developed and deployed
by Votary Tech, a leading
technology company from
Hyderabad specialising in
solutions for SMART cities
Two SHE shuttles have
been launched during the
event by Information Technology Minister K Tarakarama Rama Rao and Transport
Minister Patnam Mahender
Reddy at the Raheja Mind
Space here on Monday.
Speaking on the event,
SCSC Secretary Bharani Kumar Aroll said that, “The
SHE Shuttle is yet another
trendsetting initiative being
launched by SCSC, a first of
President arrives in Hyd
for southern sojourn
Hyderabad, June 29 (INN):
The Telangana Government
has extended a warm welcome to President of India
Pranab Mukherji, who arrived here on 10-day Southern Sojourn, at Air Force Station at Hakimpet on Monday.
The President was received
at the Air Force Station by
Governor ESL Narasimhan,
Telangana Chief Minister
K Chandrashekar Rao and
other dignitaries. In a rare
fete of sorts, KCR touched
the feet of Pranab Mukherjee
after welcoming him with a
bouquet.
Legislative Council Chairman K Swamy Goud, Assembly Speaker S. Madhusudana
Chary, Deputy Chief Ministers Kadiyam Srihari and
Mohammed Mahmood Ali,
Ministers including Nayani
Narasimha Reddy, T Padma
Rao, T Harish Rao, K Tarakarama Rao, MPs K Kavitha,
K. Visheswar Reddy and B.
Suman, Chief Secretary Dr
Rajiv Sharma, DGP Anurag
Sharma and other senior officials were present at the
reception. Top officials of
the Armed Forces were also
present on the occasion.
Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister N Chandrababu
Naidu had abstained from
receiving the President for
the first time after bifurcation of the State.
The President of India will
stay in the Rashtrapati Nilayam in Secunderabad during
the 10-day Southern Sojourn
lasting till July 8. During his
Southern sojourn, the President will also visit Tirupati in
Andhra Pradesh on July 1.
On July 3, the President
will receive first copy of the
book ‘Uniki’ written by Ch
Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of
Maharashtra at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC). He will
also inaugurate a ‘Nakshatra
Vatika’ at Rashtrapati Nilayam, Bolarum on July 6.
Digital Telangana programme
to be launched from 1st July
Hyderabad, June 29
(INN): After ‘Make in India’ and ‘Swachh Bharat’,
the Government of India
is launching its 3rd major
campaign, called Digital
India with the objectives of
enabling digital empowerment of citizens, facilitating
digital infrastructure as a
utility to every citizen and
providing governance and
services on demand.
Digital India will be
launched through a weeklong programme starting
1st July.
Under the leadership
of Information Technology Minister K Tarakarama
Rao, the ITE&C Department has simultaneously
planned for a very ambitious Digital Telangana
programme. The State
Government has claimed
that some of its goals under
Digital Telangana far exceed Digital India’s goals.
“Digital Telangana stands
on two pivots; each of them
representing the supply
and the demand side. On
the supply side, the main
aim is to ensure that digital
facilities become available
to each and every person
in the state. This is being
made possible through laying OFC to each household
using the water grid trenches, Providing 4G services
in the entire state, Wifi in
major cities and towns and
e-Panchayat scheme under
which a One Stop Shop kiosk will be available in each
Panchayat,” said a press release on Monday.
Similarly, on the demand
side, the intention is to make
each and every person digitally empowered so that he/
she can make best use of the
digital facilities that are being made available right at
his/her doorstep. The strategies for this include Digital
literacy programme, under
which one member of each
Marri seeks
Talasani’s
dismissal as
Minister
Children play on floating electric cables in a water logged area after heavy
rains in Mirzapur on Monday. (PTI Photo)
Regularise outsourcing
staff: CPI tells CM
Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to regularize on humanitarian grounds the
services of outsourcing employees and
Hyderabad, June 29 (NSS): CPI Telan- other workers based on their eligibility.
gana State Secretary and former MLA, As the government did not come to their
Chada Venkat Reddy today urged Chief succor, with no other go the outsourcing
CREDAI Hyderabad
elects a New
Executive Committee
Hyderabad, June 29 (INN):
The Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of
India (CREDAI), Hyderabad
announced its newly elected office bearers and members of the
Executive Committee, who will
be responsible for spearheading
and strengthening the CREDAI
initiatives for the development
of the real estate sector in Hyderabad. The newly elected team of
CREDAI Hyderabad will be led
by its President S. Ram Reddy
and the General Secretary P.
Rama Krishna Rao from Mon-
day. The team includes Vice
Presidents G Aditya, G. Anand
Reddy, Dr. M.S. Ananda Rao and
D. Murali Krishna Reddy other
EC members who will all work
together for the betterment of
the real estate sector of Hyderabad. The team stated its key
objectives for the year are to lay
increased focus on consumer
satisfaction and emphasis on
adherence to ethical and building standards.
Outlining the agenda of the
new Executive Committee,
Ram Reddy said, “We are taking
charge at a very crucial phase of
the real estate sector in Telangana State. The Real Estate sector in the state is on a threshold
KTR expressed his satisfaction on the yeomen work
undertaken by the SCSC and
the Cyberabad Police Commissionerate for the promotion of the safety and security
of the Women Employees of
the IT Sector. He stated that
the Non-AC Buses were
launched on a pilot basis and
announced that 4 more Air
Conditioned buses would be
sanctioned for the She-Shuttle buses. He expressed satisfaction that SCSC has been
initiating projects which have
been hither fore to unheard
of in India.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner CV Anand congratulated the SCSC for the
new initiative.
its kind in the entire country.
SCSC, in its pursuit for promoting safety and security to
the Cyberabad IT Corridor,
is planning on unleashing
many such progressive initiatives particularly towards the
women safety.” The App can
downloaded from reachsafe.
co.in/she-shuttle.
The Transport Minister
stated that the safety and security of women was of high
priority for the Government
of Telangana. He mentioned
that transport solutions like
She-Shuttle which integrates cutting edge technology with transport will be
explored for extension to the
other parts of the state.
Addressing the gathering,
Hyderabad,
June
29
(INN): Congress senior
leader and former minister
Marri Sashidhar Reddy on
Monday demanded the dismissal of Talasani Srinivas
Yadav as the minister from
State Cabinet.
Speaking to media persons here, Marri said that the
Constitutional Bench of Supreme Court, in its judgment
delivered on 14-2-2007 in
workers are on strike for 15 days and resorted to hunger strike for four days for
their just demands. In a letter addressed
to the chief minister, he said that MGNR
EGS scheme is not proving handy for
them. If the Government failed to resolve
of rapid growth as the policies
of the government under the
dynamic leadership of Chief
Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao
are pro-industry and pro-growth
that would give fillip to real estate
sector. We, at CREDAI Hyderabad, pledge our whole hearted
support to the Chief Minister,
in realizing his avowed policy
to raise the Brand Image of Hyderabad, and make Hyderabad
a slum-free GLOBAL CITY and
an Economic Engine of the State
and hope that the government
rapidly implements the plans
for single window approval for
the real estate projects and other
reforms to facilitate rapid growth
of the housing sector.”
household will be taught
to become digitally literate,
School computer literacy
programme: To teach every
child from Class 6 onwards
the basics of computers,
Expansion of mee-seva services, Converting as many
mee-seva services as possible on mobile platform and
make mobile governance a
reality in Digital Telangana
and Identifying technology
solutions for all government
agencies to provide better
services to the citizens.
The Government of Telangana, in the last six months,
has been working on making
the vision of Digital Telangana a reality by providing
4G services in major cities;
enabling WiFi facilities at
Tank Bund, Necklace Road,
Charminar, Public Gardens,
Railway Station, etc; expanding mee-seva services and
working towards the goal of
One Stop Shop (OSS) kiosks
at each Gram Panchayat.
the Rajendra Singh Rana Vs
Swami Prasad Maurya case,
observed that the indecision
by the Speaker on the applications seeking disqualification cannot be merely in the
realm of procedure. He said
that the judgment and observations of the Constitutional
Bench will be binding on all
the courts.
“Srinivas Yadav is guilty
of defection under the provisions in Paragraph 2 (1) of
the Tenth Schedule. He will
stand disqualified from 2910-2014, when he was admitted to the TRS - whereby he
has voluntarily given up his
membership of TDP.
their issues, works related to Harithaharm program may be hampered, he said.
Though KCR hiked the salaries of the
staff and regularized the contract staff
services these workers are awaiting some
succor from the government.
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All medical colleges in AP to have Wifi soon
News Brief
Four teenagers
drown in water tank
nagar districts. In the present phase,
Sharmila will tour Ranga Reddy
district for four days starting from
Visakhapatnam, Jun 29 (PTI): Monday. She will visit 15 families in
Four teenagers including two broth- seven constituencies.
ers drowned in a water tank at Narsapuram village here, police said Andhras in
today.
Hyderabad have
The incident took place last eveproblem at all: JP
ning under Padbanabham mandal when they entered the tank
Hyderabad, June 29 (NSS): Loksatfor swimming and were suddenly ta founder-president Dr Jayaprakash
caught in the heavy currents.
Narayana today administered shock
The deceased were identified as to TDP by uttering that there was no
K Kalyan (14, his brother K Mohan problem for Andhra people living in
(12), S Vinay (14) and J Simhachalam Hyderabad for the last 13 months.
(14),Inspector S Kanta Rao said.
Jayaprakash’s comment came
Locals spotted a cricket bat and against TDP claim that there was
clothes lying at the spot around 7.30 no security to people belonging to
PM yesterday and alerted police fol- Andhra Pradesh, who are living in
lowing which the bodies were fished Hyderabad. He lamented that leadout and taken to government K G ers are playing with the lives of comhospital for postmortem.
mon people for their vested interests
and the State was divided in a hurry
AP CS discusses
due to elections. “Political leaders
Protocol Services in all are raising some issues for political
gain after bifurcation of one year
districts of Andhra
which is unwarranted”, he said.
Jayaprakash Narayan demanded
Hyderabad, June 29 (INN): Chief
Secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao held a handing over of investigation of
meeting on Monday to discuss on cash-for-vote case to CBI.
organizing Protocol Services in all
Jupudi sees conspiracy
the districts in Andhra Pradesh.
The Chief Secretary has directed behind Revanth episode
the officers concerned to take an immediate action to establish a Special
Hyderabad, June 29 (NSS): TDP
Wing particularly for Protocol with- leader Jupudi Prabhakar today alout involving the Revenue Depart- leged that a political conspiracy was
ment. Structure the Protocol wing hatched against his party MLA Requickly with the co-operation of vanth Reddy, who was arrested in
District Collectors to design the staff the infamous “cash-for-vote” scam
pattern particularly for protocol by case.
allocating separate head of account,
Speaking to mediapersons at the
he said.
NTR trust bhavan, Jupudi also said
“We may also adopt the Proto- nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson
col System being maintained in was used as a pawn in the conspirStates viz., Madhya Pradesh, Uttar acy hatched by the TRS government.
Pradesh, West Bengal etc.,. Pressure Stephenson’s meeting with KCR in
on revenue officials may avoid by his farmhouse amounts to conspircreating full-fledged protocol wing acy, he said.
in all the Districts in the State,” the
Stating that TDP has full confiChief Secretary opined.
dence in the judiciary, Jupudi said
General Administration Depart- development in the residuary State
ment Secretary M.K. Meena, Fi- has been scuttled due to the nexus
nance Secretary M. Ravichandra and conspiracy between the TRS
and Special Secretary to Govt. N.V. and YSR Congress Party.
Ramana Reddy participated in the
Six district judges
meeting.
Telangana CM
congratulates
Jwala, Ashwini
Hyderabad, Jun 29 (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar
Rao today congratulated Indian
women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta
and Ashwini Ponnappa for winning
the Canada Open title.
The victory of the shuttlers would
be a motivation for sportspersons,
he said in a release here.
Jwala and Ashwini won the Canada Open women’s doubles title after
upstaging the top-seeded Dutch pair
of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek in
the summit clash at Calgary in Canada last night.
The third-seeded Indian pair triumphed 21-19 21-16 in the contest
which lasted 35 minutes.
Sharmila arrives
for Paramarsa Yatra
in RR dist
Hyderabad, June 29 (NSS): YSR
Congress Party leader YS Sharmila,
on her latest phase of “Paramarsha
Yatra”, landed at Shamshabad airport to a warm and rousing welcome.
Party workers and leaders turned up
in big numbers to welcome her.
From
Shamshabad
airport,
Sharmila will reach Saroornagar
of Maheswaram constituency. She
would launch her Yatra after garlanding the statue of late YSR in Jellellaguda. During the four-day Yatra,
Sharmila will be accompanied by
party’s Telangana working president
Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, general
secretaries, secretaries and other
leaders. She will console 15 families
as part of the yatra. Her tour will
cover 590 km stretching into seven
constituencies.
The Yatra has been completed in
Khammam, Nalgonda and Mahbub-
3
State
transferred
Hyderabad, June 29 (NSS): The
Hyderabad High Court of Telangana
Government here on Monday issued orders transferring six district
judges.
According to the order, M. Venkataramana has been appointed as
special judge for CBI Court. Similarly, Vijaya Sarathi Acharyulu was
posted as chief judge of Warangal
district; Aravainda Reddy as chief
judge of Nizamahad district; Balayogi as chief judge of City Civil Court;
Sambasiva Rao Naidu as fourth
additional
metropolitan
judge,
Nampally; Tirumala Rao as second additional metropolitan judge,
Nampally.
Pawan to air his
views on TS-AP
wordy duel soon
Hyderabad, June 29 (NSS): Popular Tollywood actor and Janasena
president Pawan Kalyan today announced that he would disclose his
opinion on the latest political developments in the two Telugu States i.e.
cash-for-vote, phone-tapping and
other issues by the end of this week
or in early next week.
In a twitter, Pawan Kalyan stated:
“Elders say, everything depends on
the wisdom of the Ruler and let’s see
how our leaders’ wisdom takes us
forward in the near future. If needed,
I might call for a press meet by the
end of this week or in the beginning
of next week to express my views on
cash-for-vote case, phone-tapping
and on Section 8 in the next two
days.
He further observed that “irreparable inter-State wars will be inevitable for the future generations
(Bhavi Tharala Madhya Thirigi Kolukonantha Antharyuddhalu Sambhavistayi).
Hyderabad,
June
29
(INN): The Government
of Andhra Pradesh has directed all medical colleges
in the state to make Wifi
facility available to students
immediately. This decision was taken by the Chief
Minister during the second
meeting of the State Medical Advisory Board at Secretariat on Monday.
With healthcare systems
in the state in shambles in
the last 10 years due to lack
of proper direction and focus on public healthcare,
human development indices have worsened, leading
to high maternal mortality
and infant mortality rates.
To set direction and making considerable investments in public health,
the state government had
formed State Medical Advisory Board to work on
revamping public health
systems in Andhra Pradesh.
The Board first met in January 2015.
In the meeting today, the
Chief Minister was briefed
about how digitisation of
exams, course modules,
journals, text books and
library in Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences
(NTRUHS) has made things
easy for students and has
saved time.
The Chief Minister directed Dr. Ravi Raju Tatipudi,
Vice-chancellor of the University to also upload results
of all examinations taken by
students previously. “That
will make it easy for them
if they want to check their
scores and improve their
performance,” he added.
Special Chief Secretary
(Health) L.V. Subramanyam
informed the Chief Minister that specialised cardio
care facility has began in
Guntur General Hospital
while it will soon be started
in Visakhapatnam’s King
George Hospital, Ria Hospital in Tirupati and Kurnool
Medical College.
Meanwhile, Dr. Somaraju
of Care Hospital suggested
that medical colleges/universities should be housed
in the same campus as the
hospital in order to create
an entire ecosystem while
Dr. Arun Singh, a neonatologist, suggested that
nursing colleges too should
be part of the ecosystem to
give hands-on experiences
to nurses/paramedical staff
instead of being isolated.
Dr. Singh also highlighted
the need for fundamental research in universities
where professors have to
carry out the research.
Dr. P. Jagannath, Chairman, Department of Surgical Oncology, Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre,
suggested that paramedical
courses with diploma or
certificate-course be introduced in order to allow rural students to complete the
course in a short time and
acquire on-ground practical experience.
The Chief Minister has
asked the Advisory Board
to come up with a strategic
AP to form 6 sub-committees
including bankers to drive growth
Hyderabad, June 29
(INN): In order to give a
thrust to economic activity
in Andhra Pradesh, Chief
Minister N. Chandrababu
Naidu suggested forming
six sub-committees for
agriculture, horticulture,
livestock, fisheries, MSME
and affordable housing.
These sub-committees,
the Chief Minister said,
will identify growth drivers
in each sector and monitor how/why an entity (to
which credit has been lent)
is non-performing and
give hand-holding until it
begins performing to generate revenue.
Meanwhile, the Chief
Minister also launched the
state credit plan for 201516 at the State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting at
Secretariat today.
Cong questions
PM’s silence on
‘Lalitgate’
Hyderabad, Jun 29 (PTI):
Senior Congress leader V
Hanumantha Rao today
questioned Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s silence on
‘Lalitgate’ issue during his
‘Mann ki Baat’ programme
and on allegations against
foreign minister Sushma
Swaraj and Rajasthan chief
minister Vasundhara Raje.
“He (Modi) talked about
yoga, environment, women and all in his ‘Mann ki
Baat’. That is good. But, he
did not remember Lalitgate,” Rao said.
During the UPA govern-
The proposed credit plan
for 2015-16 is Rs.1,25,748
crore where agriculture
has been given Rs.65,272
crore, MSMEs Rs.16,960
crore and other priority
sectors at Rs14,688. The
total credit for priority sector is Rs96,920 crore while
non-priority sector
is
Rs.28,828 crore.
During the meeting, the
Chief Minister directed all
banks in the state to adapt
interoperability which allows business correspondents of one bank to offer
payment services to other
lenders for better efficiency and optimisation.
“This can enable us to
disburse pensions in an
efficient way to people.
Eventually, this will help us
become a cashless economy by achieving our goal
of financial inclusion,” the
Chief Minister added.
Stating that the government has successfully implemented two phases under the debt redemption
scheme, the Chief Minister
sought banks’ cooperation
to ready themselves for the
third phase of the roll-out.
“We’ve linked most of
bank accounts to Aadhar.
This should be carried out
immediately and efficiently.
We have to relieve farmers
from debt-burden and make
farming profitable,” he said.
The Chief Minister also
said that failure in proper
communication to farmers from banks has led to
some confusion. “By now,
all the loans should have
been renewed. I want
banks to work on solving
this confusion,” he added.
ment, Congress leaders
like Pawan Bansal, Ashwini
Kumar and Shashi Tharoor
had quit as Union ministers
soon after allegations were
made against them, he recalled.
Swaraj and Raje are under opposition fire to quit
their respective posts over
their links with former IPL
commissioner Lalit Modi,
who is facing probe by the
Enforcement Directorate
in connection with alleged
Forex violations.
On a separate issue, Rao
urged Telangana Government to help the family of
Hyderabad-based Ghazal
singer Vithal Rao who
passed away recently.
KTR offers Rs 1 lakh
to ‘Vedam’ Nagaiah
Hyderabad, June 29 (NSS):
The Santoshnagar sleuths
have busted a notorious interstate snatching gang of three
persons and seized stolen
property 13 tolas of gold and
two motor bikes from their
possession. The criminals
were arrested on Sunday evening during vehicle checking
at Rakshapuram ‘T’ Junction.
M. Appalanaidu, DI, Santoshnagar PS, arrested the trio
under the guidance of. V. Satyanarayana, IPS.
The accused were identi-
fied as Syed Afroz Ali, 24, of
Indiragandhipuram Colony,
Sanathnagar, Syed Azeem
Ahmeduddin, 22, of Murgi
Chowk, near Stayfit Gym,
Khilwath and Mohd Pasha,
24, of Sai Nagar, Kukutpally
Housing Board, Hyderabad.
Police said the gang used
to commit theft of high
speed two wheelers by using
false keys parked in front of
houses. These vehicles were
being used for committing
Snatching Offences. The
modus operandi of the gang
is the rider drove the vehicle
just beside the selected old
women going alone; pillion
rider would snatch the chain
Take up Harithaharam, Srihari
tell education officials
Hyderabad, June 29
(NSS): Ahead of the launch
of the flagship program of
Harithaharam on July 3,
Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari today directed
vice chancellors of various
universities and officials of
education department to
conduct massive plantation of saplings program in
their campuses and premises. During a high level review meeting with them at
Secretariat here, the deputy
chief minister asked them
to take up on war-footing
the project to expand green
cover in the state.
The flagship Harithaharam – a “brainchild” of
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is being
considered as the noted
to extend green cover in
and outside of the forests
in Telangana State, Srihari said. This project will
help increase green cover
to about 33 per cent from
25.16 per cent in the state,
according to information.
With a plan to plant 230
crore saplings across the
state in four years the government aims to distribute 40
lakhs of saplings to every Assembly constituency including 10 lakhs of saplings to
every mandal and adequate
number to the educational
institutions he said. Taking
this opportunity, the vice
chancellors and top officials
should focus on the greenery project, the deputy chief
minister said. The State Government will offer complete
cooperation for the greenery
project to attract more rains
and check the menace of
pollution he added.
Vehicles move through a water logged road after heavy rains in Jammu on
Monday. (PTI Photo)
Rao’s shoes to lend a helping hand
to the poor and deprived, IT Minister KT Rama Rao today offered
Hyderabad, June 29 (NSS): Prob- Rs 1 lakh to Nagaiah who acted in
ably stepping into his father and Vedam film and begging at Film
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Nagar. Moved at the penury of
Three-man
snatching gang
busted
action plan which will identify the low-hanging fruits to
bring in immediate results
and also suggest methods
to revamp the entire healthcare system which will bring
in long-term results, keeping the changing dynamics of healthcare across the
world. “We have to shift
from curative system to preventive healthcare system,”
the Chief Minister said.
The strategic plan will
include integrating various departments within
the medical sector to
enhance the response
systems and services.
“We need to shift from a
institutionalised-centric
healthcare to people-centric healthcare system,”
the Chief Minister added.
Nagaiah, who is begging in Film
Nagar to make both ends meet,
KTR invited him to his residence
and offered Rs 1 lakh cheque.
Besides, offering to provide Rs 1500
old age pension the Minister prom-
from the neck of the women.
One of these persons would
watch the surroundings
while committing offences.
They normally select isolated places like colonies and
commit the offences targeting lonely moving ladies
near temples, lanes, by lanes
and secluded areas. In this
fashion, the gang committed
seven offences in the limits
of Hyderabad and Mahbobnagar. Out of seven offences,
five are snatchings and two
are two-wheeler thefts.
Police said three months
back they were released on
bail from the Cherlapally Jail
and Bidar Jail.
ised to sanction a house to to Vedam
Nagaiah in future irrespective of his
region. Telangana Government will
extend a helping hand to the old artists who should not remain in penury
the IT Minister asserted.
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South
Jaya flags off first phase of Chennai metro
News Brief
DMK welcomes
Metro Rail launch,
takes credit for
bringing it
Chennai, Jun 29 (PTI): The
DMK today welcomed the launch
of Metro Rail services in the city
and claimed credit for bringing
the transport system to this metropolis.
DMK Treasurer M K Stalin said
that the inauguration of the Metro Rail done by Chief Minister J
Jayalalithaa, brought ‘great joy’
to him.
“This project was initiated by
the DMK government to provide the city with a world-class
mass rapid transport system. The
sanction of Rs 14,600 crore for the
Metro project was approved by
the DMK cabinet on November
7, 2007,” he said in a statement
here.
As then Minister for Local Administration, he had visited Japan to seek a loan for the project
and the construction work which
began in 2009 was unfortunately
delayed, the statement said.
“At last, the long wait is over
for the residents of Chennai,” he
said, adding, the benefits of such
a Mass Rapid Transport System
included decreased commuting
time and reduced vehicular congestion, among others.
With the inauguration of the
Metro, Chennai was one step
closer to the definition of ‘an advanced city,’ he said while urging
that metro services should be expanded to all parts of the city and
the state.
Jayalalithaa had flagged off the
first of the Metro Rail services today with the government launching trains on the Alandur-Koyambedu sector.
LGBT community
conducts parade,
conference
Chennai, Jun 29 (PTI): Seeking to showcase their unity and
strength, the LGBT (lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender)
community organised a host of
programmes including parades,
conferences and cultural events
in south Indian city Chennai on
Sunday.
Around 500 members holding
placards and flags began their
“Pride Parade” from Raja Rathinam Stadium, Egmore to Mahatma Gandhi Road Nungambakkam, here.
Representatives of Tamil Nadu
Rainbow Coalition, the organisers of the event, said, it was an attempt by community members to
assert their space in the society.
“The month of June is very
special for us. This is the time we
meet our members who come
here from various places.
This time the number of people participated crossed 500. I
consider it as one of the proudest
moments for us”, Jaya, one of the
members, told PTI.
“All we seek is a recognition
in the society. Some feel we are
adopting western culture. It is
not. We do have the right and
this parade allows us to assert our
space in the society,” she said.
A conference on “Society and
LGBT
Community-building
bridges” was also held as part of
the programme.
Decomposed bodies
of man and woman
retrieved from well
Coimbatore, Jun 29 (PTI): The
decomposed bodies of a man
and woman were found in a well
in Kinathukadavu, about 20 KMs
from here, today.
Balakrishnan, a driver by profession and Sumitra, a worker
in banyan factory, of different
castes, were in love for the last
few months, police said.
Learning about the affair, the
parents of Sumitra, arranged her
marriage with another person,
they said.
Meanwhile, Sumitra was reported missing from June 22 and
the parents lodged a complaint
with local police, who carried out
search for her, police said.
Later the bodies were found in
a well in farm.
Couple electrocuted
Salem, June 29 (PTI): A couple
was found dead in their shop
here today, police said.
The postmortum of the bodies
revelaled that they were electrocuted, police said.
Minor girl killed as
tree falls on two
wheeler
Kozhikode, June 29 (PTI): A
16-year-old girl was killed when a
roadside treee fell on the motorbike she was riding on with her
male relative at Narath near Kannur today, police said.
Nahata and her relative Faisal
(25) were on their way to Valapattinam for her higher secondary course admission when the
mishap occurred around 3.30 PM
near a Public Health Centre.
She was rushed to a private
hospital in Kannur where she
succumbed to injuries. Faisal was
discharged after treatment, they
said.
Keralite Neurology
professor awarded
British Fellowship
Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 29
(PTI): Dr Abraham Kuruvilla, professor of Neurology at Sree Chitra
Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, here has
been awarded the fellowship of
Royal College of Physicians of
Edinburgh.
The fellowship, FRCP, was
awarded by Prof Derek Bell,
President of the Royal College
of Physicians of Edinburgh at an
award ceremony held on June
26 at the Queen Mother Conference Centre in the Royal College
of Edinburgh, UK, a press release here said.
Kuruvilla is an American Board
certified Academic Neurologist in
India holding sub-speciality certification in Clinical Neurophysiology, Neuromuscular Medicine
and Vascular Neurology (Stroke).
He is a WHO International
Consultant in stroke and had successfully set-up state-of-the art
Stroke Program and Acute Stroke
Unit (ASU) at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the release said.
Man fatally knocked
down by bus;
tension in Annur
Coimbatore, Jun 29 (PTI): Tension prevailed for some time at
Annur in the district today when
some people blocked vehicular
traffic after a private bus fatally
knocked down a motorcylist, police said
The man, an electrician in a local mill, was on his way to work
at around 6.30 AM at the town,
some 35 km from here when the
mishap occurred, police said.
The bus was proceeding to
Sathyamangalam from here
when it hit the motorcyclist, killing him on the spot.
On coming to know of her husband’s death, his wife, a local
body member, rushed to the spot
with relatives and other members of the public, squatted on
the road with the body and demanded the immediate arrest of
the bus driver, who fled from the
spot, police said.
They dispersed after police assured them that the guilty would
be booked and action taken
against them.
Chennai, Jun 29 (PTI): The
first phase of the much anticipated multi-crore Metro
Rail chugged into the city
today, with Chief Minister J
Jayalalithaa flagging off the
inaugural service steered by
a woman driver.
Jayalalithaa launched the
services on the Alandur-Koyambedu sector by flagging it
off from the state secretariat
through live video, throwing
open to the public a mass
rapid transport system.
The route dedicated to the
public is an elevated structure covering a distance of
10.15 km, consisting of Alandur, Ekkathuthangal, Ashok
Nagar, Vadapalani, Arumbakkam and Koyambedu Railway
stations besides the yard at
the last stop, a state government release here said.
The route of the train has
been mainly on the busy 100
ft road and would cater to
lakhs of commuters when
fully completed.
The first train having four
coaches, which left at 12.15
PM from Alandur to Koyambedu was driven by A Preethi, a 28- year-old diploma
holder in engineering from
Government Dharmambal
Polytechnic College here.
The flower decked sprawling and swanky Alandur
metro station, the biggest in
Chennai, was brimming with
activity, with enthusiastic
passengers eager to board
the first train.
“I wanted to board the first
metro train, I hope metro
makes travel easier and a
pleasure,” said K Ramesh a
young executive.
The 45 km Metro Rail
project is estimated to cost
Rs 14,600 crore and would
cover two routes-- the 23.085
km Wannarapet to Airport
section-- and the 21.961 km
stretch from Chennai Central
to St.Thomas Mount.
Of the total expenditure,
Centre’s contribution is 15
percent as share capital and
five percent as loans, while
People on board a metro train after Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa flagged off the
Chennai Metro Rail Limited’s passenger services between Alandur and Koyambedu
through video conference, in Chennai on Monday. (PTI Photo)
that of the Tamil Nadu government is at 15 percent in
share capital and 5.78 percent as loans, the release said,
adding the state has released
its entire share of funds.
The rest 59.22 percent has
LDF walkout over Vigilance move
to close case against Mani
Thiruvananthapuram, Jun
29 (PTI): Opposition LDF today
staged a walkout in Kerala Assembly in protest against denial
of permission for adjournment
motion seeking discussion over
state Vigilance department’s
decision not to prosecute Finance Minister K M Mani in the
bar bribery scam.
Replying to the notice for the
motion, sought to be moved by
the the CPI(M)-led LDF, state
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said Vigilance was yet
to submit the probe report in
court and the Opposition was
seeking a debate on a matter
based on media reports.
“The government cannot
carry on the investigation
based on rumours and media
reports,” he said.
Stating that the state government had never intervened
at any time during the investigation, Chennithala said the
probe was progressing in a free
and fair manner.
Justifying the Vigilance’s
action seeking legal opinion
in the bar scam from former
Solicitor General L Nageswara
Rao, Chennithala said earlier also the anti-corruption
department has sought legal
opinion in several cases.
The Kerala Home Minister
also rejected Opposition allegation that the Vigilance chief
altered the “factual report”
prepared by the investigating
officer and sought a new one.
Seeking notice for the adjournment motion, S Sharma
(CPI-M) alleged that government had interfered in the
probe and the investigating
officers were denied chances to submit a free and fair
probe report.
He also said it would not
be “sub-judice” to discuss the
matter in the House as the
charge sheet in the case was
not filed in the court.
servation and Ecological restoration of Lakes under the
jurisdiction of Lake Development Authority and Urban
Local Bodies’ was conducted
to assess the effectiveness
of the initiatives taken by
various agencies involved in
conservation and rejuvenation of lakes in urban and
semi-urban areas.
The performance audit for the period 200914 covered the activities
relating to conservation
and restoration of lakes in
the Revenue Department,
Forest Department, Urban
Development Department
and Fisheries Department.
The audit also covers the
role of various implement-
Repolling held in
one booth in R K
Nagar constituency
Belagavi (Kar), Jun 29
(PTI): The Opposition today turned the heat on the
Siddaramaiah government
on recurring farmers’ suicides in Karnataka, accusing it of being “irresponsible” and “careless” in
addressing the issues concerning peasants.
Giving a stormy start to
the monsoon session, the
opening day was marred
by protests by a united opposition over government’s
alleged failure, which BJP
leader Jagadish Shettar
charged had left the farmers with no other option
but to commit suicide.
Soon after obituary references were made by Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa
to members who died recently, Shettar raised the issue of farmer’s suicide and
Chennai, Jun 29 (PTI): Repolling was today held at one of the
booths in Radhakrishnan Nagar
constituency here, being contested by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, where by-election was
held on Saturday. Repolling in
Booth No 181 was announced
by the Election Commission yesterday after it was found that the
Presiding Officer allowed some
voters ‘not duly enrolled in the
ing agencies namely Lake
Development
Authority,
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Bangalore Development Authority, Belgavi and Hubballi-Dharwad
city corporations, Pollution
Control Board and Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewage Board.
It covered 56 lakes, including 13 under BBMP,
Bengaluru civic body and
19 lakes under BDA.
The report also said that
Revenue Department had
failed to carry out its responsibilities related to
conducting surveys and
removing encroachments
in lakes, despite having the
mandate for the same.
electoral roll’. Chief Electoral Officer Sandeep Saxena yesterday
said that “the Election Commission has stated that its observer
deputed in the constituency reported that the presiding officer
of polling Station No 181 in the
constituency allowed some of
the voters who were not duly enrolled in the electoral roll.” “The
Election Commission directed
that the poll taken on June 27 at
the polling station 181 has been
‘vitiated’ within the meaning of
section 58(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” he
and 2010-11 and an additional Rs 9608.63 crore from that
year till date, it said adding
a total sum of Rs 10,751.94
crore was the expenditure
since work commenced on
the Metro rail activity.
Farmers’ suicide issue
rocks Karna Assembly
CAG finds loopholes in lake
conservation, devpt efforts
Belagavi, Jun 29 (PTI):
The Comptroller and Auditor General has said the
Lake Development Authority and urban local bodies
have taken up conservation
and development of lakes in
an “ad hoc manner” without proper coordination
with each other.
The results of performance audit showed that
implementing agencies had
taken up conservation and
development work in lakes
in an ad-hoc manner without adequate prioritisation
and coordination amongst
each other, CAG said in
a report tabled in the Assembly here today. The
performance audit on ‘Con-
been sourced as loan from
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the
release said.
A sum of Rs 1143.31 crore
had been spent on the
scheme between 2007-08
non-payment of dues by
mills to cane farmers, a major issue in Belagavi district,
considered the sugar bowl
of Karnataka.
Charging the government with being “irresponsible” and “careless” in addressing the issues faced by
farmers, he said, “this attitude has left farmers with
no option other than committing suicide.”
BJP and JDS demanded
that the government immediately take steps to pay
dues to cane farmers to the
tune of Rs 960 crore.
Intervening, the Speaker
requested that the opposition should allow Question Hour and he will give
them an opportunity for a
detailed discussion on the
issue later.
Not relenting, the Oppo-
sition said they are ready
for any kind of discussion
only after government pays
cane farmers their dues.
“Give money first and
let’s discuss after that,”
Deputy Leader of opposition R Ashoka said.
Shettar said there have
been only discussions on
the issue in the last three
years but nothing that was
promised by the government has happened on
the ground. Ministers R V
Deshpande and Jayachandra as also several ruling
Congress MLAs defended
the government, leading to
verbal exchange between
both the sides. Intervening,
Siddaramaiah said government is ready for discussion and added, “our government is pro-poor and
farmer friendly.”
Karnataka govt’s ‘Suvarna
Gramodaya Yojana’ a failure: CAG
Belagavi (Karna), Jun 29
(PTI):
Karnataka
government’s ‘Suvarna Gramodaya
Yojana’ was a “failure” as the
overall development of each
village was not achieved, the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India has stated.
Suvarna Gramodaya Yojana
was launched by the state government in February 2007 with
an intention to develop village
communities by adopting an
intensive and integrated approach to rural development.
The objective of the scheme
was development of 1,000 villages every year through the concentrated efforts of government,
non-government organizations,
partners from private sector and
village communities.
PM should
sack Sushma
Swaraj, says
Narayanasamy
Puducherry, Jun 29
(PTI): AICC General Secretary and former Union
Minister V Narayanasamy
today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack
External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj for helping
scam-tainted former IPL
Commissioner Lalit Modi
in procuring travel docu-
The
government
today
tabled the CAG report on local bodies for the year ended
March 2014 in the Assembly,
which is holding its monsoon
session here. The report contains results of the performance audit and compliance
audit of Panchayat Raj institutions and urban local bodies.
Stating that the performance
audit of the scheme for the period 2009-14 showed that Rural
Development and Panchayat
Raj department allocated funds
in pre-determined percentage
for 10 different components,
the report said there were no
parameters and benchmarks
of desirable levels to determine
when a village would be regarded as a developed village.
ments in the UK.
“If she does not step down
on her own, the Prime Minister should sack her from
the cabinet” he told reporters here today.
He said Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje “were safeguarding the former the
former IPL chief”.
He also demanded resignation of Maharashtra
Minister for Women and
Child Development Pankaja Munde for awarding
contracts without inviting
tenders.
He also also wanted
the Union HRD Minister
Smriti Irani to quit office
for allegedly giving false
information about her educational qualifications in
the affidavit filed with the
Election Commission.
He took strong exception to the exclusion by
the Centre of Union Territory of Puducherry from
the list of smart cities released recently.
Indian Horizon Hyderabad
Justice Katju
moves SC against
parliament’s
resolution
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) Justice
Markendey Katju, former apex court
judge, today moved the Supreme
Court seeking quashing of resolutions passed against him by both
Houses of Parliament for calling Mahatama Gandhi and Subhash C Bose
as British and Japanese “agents” respectively.
The former judge, in his Facebook
post, alleged that both Houses of
Parliament condemned him for his
statements “calling Gandhi a British
agent, and Subhas Chandra Bose a
Japanese agent” without even giving
him a hearing.
A former chairperson of the Press
Council of India, Justice Katju, who
also annexed the copy of his petition
with his facebook post, has sought
quashing of resolutions passed
against him by Lok Sabha on March
12 and Rajya Sabha on March 11.
Alternatively, he has sought a direction to Lok Sabha Speaker and
Chairman of Upper House that he be
heard personally or through his duly
designated lawyer(s).Katju’s post on
the social site also said that senior
lawyer Gopal Subramaniam would
represent him.
Trinamool suspends two
Bengal legislators
Kolkata, June 29 (IANS)
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress on Monday suspended two of its
legislators - Seuli Saha and
Silbhadra Dutta - for antiparty activities.
“They have been suspended from the party
for indulging in anti-party
activities. They have not
been listening to the party
and provoking others to
quit our party,” Trinamool
secretary general Partha
Chatterjee told IANS.
The suspension comes
a day after Saha, who
represents Haldia constituency, and Dutta, from
Barrackpore constituency,
attended an iftar party
hosted by sidelined Trinamool leader Mukul Roy.
Perceived to be close
to Roy, Dutta was earlier
removed from the post of
parliamentary secretary.
Both Dutta and Saha said
they will comment on the
issue only after getting a
formal intimation about
their suspension.Speculations have been rife of Roy,
a Trinamool Rajya Sabha
MP floating a new political
party after Eid.
During Sunday’s iftar
party where both Saha
and Dutta were present,
Roy’s aide and expelled
Trinamool leader Dipak
Ghosh had claimed the
formalities of floating the
new party will begin after
Eid.
“The draft is ready, we
will file the documents
for floating the new party
with the Election Commission after Eid. Once
the formalities are completed we will make the
announcement,” Ghosh
had said Sunday.
Roy remained noncommittal,
terming
Ghosh’s comments as
personal.Critical of the
Banerjee government for
“not fulfilling aspirations
of minorities”, Roy in the
last couple of months,
held talks with several
leaders from the Muslim
community.
Besides holding talks
with Pirzada Toha Siddiqui of Furfura Sharif, an
influential spiritual leader,
Roy met All Bengal Minority Youth Federation
general secretary Mohammad Quamruzzaman, and
former Left Front minister
and expelled CPI-M leader
Abdur Rezzak Mollah.
Once the second in
command of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool and
credited as the architect
of the party electoral success, Roy was stripped of
all party posts. His relation
with the party fell out following his quizzing by the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the multicrore rupee Saradha scam.
Going against the party
stand that the CBI was
targeting Trinamool leaders, Roy insisted he would
cooperate with the probe
agency even if it called it a
hundred times.
AMU to set up intermediate colleges across UP
Aligarh, June 29 (IANS) The
Aligarh Muslim University
(AMU) will set up English medium Intermediate Colleges
across Uttar Pradesh as a tribute to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan,
founder of the university, on
his bicentennial birth anniversary in 2017.
Last week, AMU’s vice
chancellor Lt. Gen.(retd.)
Zameer Uddin Shah, signed
a Memorandum of Under-
standing with the All India
Muslim Educational Conference, a 129-year-old organisation, to make the dream of Sir
Syed Ahmad Khan become
a reality. He said the first college would start operating at
Jaula village in Uttar Pradesh’s
Muzaffarnagar district from
this August and the “process
to appoint teachers has already begun”.Shah said these
intermediate colleges would
tion, in Aligarh. An organising
committee has also been constituted under the chairmanship of Shah. Stating that they
would be based on the pattern of Christian missionary
schools, Shah said “We have
to empower our students and
equip them with good schooling so that they qualify for institutions of higher learning
like IITs, IIMs, NDA (National
Defence Academy).
be recognised by the Central
Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE).
Stating that these institutions would be secular education centres where students
of all faiths would be able
to study, he said: “But there
will be some reservation for
Muslims.”Shah said Sir Syed
Education Foundation already
runs Aligarh Public School,
a CBSE recognised institu-
Lalu Prasad Acts Like ‘Duryodhan’
and ‘Kansh’, Says Pappu Yadav
PATNA June 29 (PTI): Expelled RJD leader Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav today hit
back at Lalu Prasad for calling
him “Mir Jafar and Jai Chand”
and said his former mentor
acted like “Duryodhan” and
“Kansh” for the Yadav caste.
“Lalu Prasad acted as
‘Duryodhan’ and ‘Kansh’ for his
own caste Yadav and also minority Muslims who made him a
powerful leader,” Pappu Yadav
who founded the Jan Adhikar
Party (JAP) after his expulsion
from RJD told reporters reacting
to Lalu Prasad’s remarks against
him. ”
Being a descendant of Lord
Krishna, I would fight against
the Duryodhan and Kansh,” Mr
Yadav, Lok Sabha member from
Madhepura, who has launched
a scathing attack at his former
mentor after being expelled
from RJD, said.The RJD Presi-
Dog’s photo in
student’s admit card,
police action ordered
Kolkata, June 29 (IANS) Sniffing a conspiracy, the West Bengal government on Monday
ordered police action against a candidate who
claimed he downloaded an admit card for the
ITI entrance exam from the official website
with a dog’s photo on it.
Soumyadip Mahata from Jhargram in West
Midnapore district on Saturday claimed he
downloaded the admit card for the Industrial
Training Institute (ITI) entrance test with a
dog’s photo. The test scheduled on Sunday
was cancelled after a question paper leak.
State Minister for Technical Education and
Training Ujjal Biswas on Monday said he has
directed police in West Midnapore to take action against Mahata, saying the candidate had
himself uploaded the canine’s picture in his
application form.
“It’s a candidate who pastes a picture on
the application form and not the department.
Mahata had uploaded the application form
with the dog’s photo and is now making false
claims to malign the department and the state
government,” said Biswas.
“We suspect he acted in pursuance of a
conspiracy. We have directed district police
to initiate action against him and, if required,
arrest him to unravel the entire matter,” the
minister said.Biswas claimed the Communist
Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) was involved in
the leak of the question papers that eventually
led to rescheduling of the exam to July 5.The
technical education department on Sunday
cancelled the test after media reports said
question papers were being sold openly.
5
Nation
dent while attacking Pappu Yadav who has formed Jan Adhikar
Party (JAP), as well as, leaders of
the Hindustani Awam Morcha
(HAM) had compared them
with “Mir Jafar and Jai Chand”
who have crossed over to destructive forces.
The Madhepura MP sought
to correct Lalu Prasad saying
“since he was thrown away from
the RJD by Prasad, he could be
Mir Kasim and not Mir Jafar or
BJP using silence to blunt
Congress onslaught against Raje
New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) Amid the
stepped-up attack by the Congress on
beleaguered Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the BJP central
leadership has asked its national leaders not to speak on the charges made
against her by the opposition party.
The BJP thinking is that the allegations will die down if the media hype
over Raje is not fed further with comments from senior party leaders.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah has issued a gag order
to the party spokespersons and central
leaders while allowing only the state
leadership to respond on this particular matter, party sources told IANS on
the condition of anonymity.“Since it
is a matter purely linked to the Rajasthan BJP, there is no point for senior
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI)
CPI top brass would hold
parleys on its role in the
upcoming Bihar elections
and is likely to adopt an agitational programme with
other Left parties and mass
organisations in the coming days to protest the government’s economic and
other policies.The party’s
three-day National Council meeting, beginning in
Chandigarh from tomorrow, would also discuss the
recent national and international developments including BJP’s one-year rule
at the Centre.
Will push policies to strengthen
cyber security: NITI Aayog
Kolkata, June 29 (IANS) NITI Aayog
member V.K. Saraswat on Monday
said the think-tank of the central government will push policies for the indigenous manufacture of electronics
and hardware to strengthen India’s
cyber security.
Saraswat, a former Defence Research and Development Organisation chief, stressed on the creation of indigenous technologies
through ‘Make in India’ in electronics and hardware sector to prevent
the country’s vulnerability to cyber
threats.“Cyber defence or cyber security is very important. If cyber
space is weak in today’s scenario, the
country’s economy is going to be affected. So it is very important for us to
develop tools for cyber defence,” the
NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog member told
media persons here.“We have to cre-
Jai Chand.”The JAP founder
accused Lalu Prasad of working against his own castemen
to promote the interest of his
family.“For the sake of family interest he threw out not only me,
but also Ramkripal Yadav, Ranjan Yadav, Nawal Kishore Yadav
and Awadh Bihari Chaudhary
among others from the party,”
he said.Using strong word
against Lalu Prasad, Pappu Yadav called him “politically illiterate”, but hailed Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar as “political visionary” and expressed surprise
over their coming together.
Drinking is a fundamental right:
MP minister Babulal Gaur says
BHOPAL June 29 (PTI): Madhya
Pradesh home minister Babulal Gaur
fuelled another controversy with his remarks that drinking liquor is a “fundamental right” and that it is a status symbol too.The 85-year-old Gaur made the
remarks while asserting that crime rate
doesn’t go up by consuming alcohol.
“Alcohol does not increase crime.
People lose their consciousness after
consuming alcohol and that’s how it
causes crime. The person who drinks
within control does not cause crime,”
he said, adding,” one should not overdrink. It is one’s fundamental right.
Drinking is a social status symbol these
BJP leaders to get involved in this verbal duel,” said a BJP source.
Stepping up the demand for Raje’s
resignation, the Congress on Monday
alleged that she had “direct financial
dealings” with former IPL chief Lalit
Modi.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, at
the forefront of making these allegations against Raje, alleged that Niyant
Heritage Pvt. Ltd., a company owned
by Raje, her son Dushyant Singh,
daughter-in-law Niharika Singh and
Lalit Modi had taken over a Rajasthan government property, converted
it into a private high-end luxury hotel
and invested over Rs.100 crore.
Most BJP national spokespersons
contacted by IANS refrained from
commenting on the issue.
CPI to discuss
Bihar polls
at National
Council meet
days”.The controversy-prone minister
was asked by reporters here yesterday
for his reaction to extending the timing
for sale of alcohol in Bhopal from 10 pm
to 11.30 pm.
Gaur had previously said that sexual
crime in Chennai is low as women wear
“full clothes”.“Women in Tamil Nadu
wear full clothes and hence the crime
rate is lower there as compared to other
states,” he said after a visit to Chennai.
He was also at the centre of a controversy when he recalled at an event on
how he had once told the wife of a Russian leader that he can teach her how to
untie a dhoti.
Congress activists burning an effigy of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan in Bhopal on Monday, demanding for a CBI investigation into
the death of at least 42 people allegedly linked with Vyapam or Madhya Pradesh
Professional Examination Board scam. PTI
ate a hardware without vulnerability;
we have to produce things in-house
because most of our network infrastructure is imported. It comes from
either China or other countries and
because it is imported, it is vulnerable
(to malwares etc.),” he said.
Saraswat was speaking on the sidelines of his address on the scope of statistics in cyber security at the Indian
Statistical Institute’s 2015 Workers’
Day celebration in commemoration
of the 122nd birth anniversary of its
founder P.C. Mahalanobis. The day is
also celebrated as National Statistics
Day.Elaborating on NITI Aayog’s role
in pushing policies, the think tank’s
permanent member said India’s electronic and software policy has to cater
to indigenous production to protect
the nation’s economy.“Our electronic
policy has to cater to the indigenous
production of computers and com-
munication systems and the entire
gamut of things which go into the
network,” Saraswat said.“If we are not
able to protect it, our whole economy
will be in trouble since the banking,
defence and railway systems will be
affected. We have to lay down our very
own policy for the indigenous manufacturing of electronics and development of software,” he said.In addition,
India needs “dependable collaborations” to accelerate pace in these sectors, he said.“Obviously, it requires
monetary and human resource investments. That is, it requires a policy
push. NITI Aayog will go for a policy
push in all these areas. The government of India has already announced
major programmes like ‘Make in India’, which cater for this kind of production and development of systems
to make our country’s cyber security
more potent,” Saraswat added.
Facing backlash, Kolkata college
goes soft on dress code
Kolkata, June 29 (IANS) Facing
a backlash over its decision to impose a dress code on its students,
the city’s Scottish Church College
has now urged its pupils to attire
themselves considering the country’s “rich culture” and the institution’s “glorious heritage”.
Recommending students to
come in “unostentatious dress”,
the college authorities on Saturday
issued a notice proscribing roundneck t-shirts, short and slit skirts
and called for ‘properly wearing’
salwar-kameez and sarees.However, in a notice issued late Sunday
night, the institution has invoked
its eminent alumnus - the likes of
Swami Vivekananda, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Manna Dey
- in asking the students to dress according to the country’s heritage.
“The College recommends that
students come to college in simple
and unostentatious clothes suitable to an academic environment,
taking into account India’s rich
culture, and the glorious heritage
of this college, whose alumni include Swami Vivekananda, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Manna
Dey, to name only a few,” reads
the new notice.While the old notice threatened disciplinary action
Paswan makes ‘jungle raj’
barb at Nitish over Nalanda
Patna, Jun 29 (PTI) Union
Minister Ramvilas Paswan today
hit out at Nitish Kumar government over the Nalanda incident
in which a school’s director was
lynched by a mob and said it
was a reflection of the return of
“jungle raj” in the state.“School’s
director was beaten to death with
lathis by people and the administration could do nothing...does
this not reflect jungle raj has returned in Bihar?” Paswan told
PTI.
Making a scathing attack at
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,
Paswan said if this could happen in the CM’s native district
for not complying with the dress
code, there is no such mention in
the new order.
Besides banning captions/writings on t-shirts or tops, the previous order said only full length
trousers and “skirts well below
knee length without slits” should
be worn to the college.
The words “salwar-kameez
and sarees should be worn properly” also don’t find a mention in
the new notice. Claiming that the
dress code was an infringement
on the students’ personal liberty,
educationists and activists had
slammed the decision.
one could imagine the law and
order situation in other parts of
the state.
“Does ‘Sushashan Babu’ (Nitish Kumar) have any answer to
what happened in Nalanda?”
the union food minister and LJP
chief asked.He said had the administration been alert it could
have properly investigated the
case of death of two students and
prevented people from taking
law into their own hands.
UP govt’s schemes unparallelled,
better than Centre: Akhilesh
Lucknow, Jun 29 (PTI) Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said that the
schemes launched by his government were “unparallelled”
as against those launched by the
NDA-led Centre.
“Samajwadi Pension yojna
is an unparallelled scheme.. we
give benefit to the living people
whereas the one brought by the
Centre extends help only in the
case of death,” he said while
addressing workers on the 68th
birthday celebrations of national general secretary Ram Gopal
Yadav here.The Chief Minister
pointed out that the scheme is
aimed at helping 50 lakh families.
“As many as 45 lakh women
are getting the benefit of the
pension scheme in their life
time .. the money goes straight
into bank accounts of the beneficiaries and they get financially
stronger,” he said.
Yadav maintained that the
work done by his government
has “no comparison with anyone”.Citing other schemes, the
Samajwadi leader said that efforts were on to increase employment opportunities in the
state.The socialist ideology is
the most relevant one in the
present times, he said.Stressing
that danger of communalism
was rising, Yadav said that it was
a challenge before the Samajwadi Party and youth will have
to come forward to deal with it.
Meanwhile, holding a review
meeting with district magistrates of six districts at his official residence later, Yadav
asked them to implement the
schemes launched for the welfare of poor and farmers with
sincerity.“Villages,
farmers,
poor are among the priority of
the state government and their
neglect will not be tolerated at
any cost”, he told the meeting.
6
EDIT
Indian Horizon
‘Pakistan is facing fundamental
challenges to its capacity’
BY SAHANA GHOSH
Tuesday June 30, 2015
Balance in supply of three elements for
development are basic to it and must be
monitored and controlled delightedly
Economic development is the main source for the prosperity of
a nation and development requires three basic elements: land, labour and capital. If a nation has these resources available within the
country, it can have a balanced development, which improves the
productivity of a nation and with it standard of life also improves. If
we try to create an equitable balance, then we have to attain balance
among the three elements. If the balance required is lacking, then the
health of an economy becomes problematic. Now we turn to imbalances, which affect the quality of development. If a country faces imbalance, which means the application of these elements have been
mismatched the economic growth and the standard of life of the
people are adversely affected, we then must wish to correct the balance and see that the flow is allowed to grow freely. The productive
elements in harmony will help to produce good results. If some ele-
W
ith Sunni militants advancing
on Iraqi capital Baghdad and
the twin attacks on Karachi
airport, an Indo-Canadian author and
expert on South Asian politics says Pakistan’s fight against insurgent groups is
getting harder while the country is “not
that effective” in confronting them, given the complexities and contradictions
of its policies.
Author T.V. Paul described the airport
attacks as a “tit-for-tat” strategy and said
the country must confront both arms
of the Taliban - the Pakistani Taliban as
well as the Afghan Taliban - to tackle the
long-standing issue.
“Pakistan is facing a fundamental
challenge to its capacity to control the
Pakistani Taliban. The state tried to appease them and bargain, negotiate with
them but didn’t succeed, then they use
force...so its basically tit for tat attacks,”
Paul told IANS at the Oxford Bookstore
here on the sidelines of a discussion on
his book, “The Warrior State - Pakistan in
the Contemporary World.”
In the country to promote his book,
the academic, originally from Kerala and
who has penned 15 books, advocated the
need for Pakistan to formulate a coherent counter-terrorism policy.
“The (Pakistan) civilian authority has
great difficulty in developing a coherent
policy...a coherent-counter terrorism
policy is needed. There is the big problem
of Afghanistan with the Afghan Taliban
there; so Pakistan has to confront this
menace ...they have to go all out against
both Taliban,” he said. Earlier this month
a brazen terror attack was mounted at
Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport,
in which 23 people, including 10 militants, were killed. Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan (IMU), the militant group,
along with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the
attack.
A second strike followed when the
Airport Security Force (ASF) Academy’s
camp near the airport came under attack
from heavily-armed Taliban gunmen.
The attackers managed to escape.
Paul elaborated: “They (Pakistan) are
still keeping the Afghan Taliban as a bargaining chip for a greater influence in
the post-Karzai regime. This is the challenge...how do you maintain on the one
side support for Afghan Taliban and on
the other hand oppose the mystic Taliban or other forces?
“And do the civilians and the military
really collaborate or co-ordinate...so far
they are doing it but it’s not very clear
they have a coherent policy.”
Meanwhile, in Iraq, a violent campaign
is being waged by the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in north and
northwest Iraq. “So now, with the Iraq
situation developing, the fight against
these insurgent groups will be getting
harder. They are getting more emboldened and the state of Pakistan is not that
effective in confronting them, given the
complexities and contradictions of their
policies,” he said.
In the face of such crisis, India, with
its investments in Afghanistan and its
newly-opened dialogue with Pakistan,
Paul believes, should deal with more tact.
This means the Narendra Modi government should involve Afghanistan in its
dealings with Pakistan. “India has to be
a bit more pragmatic diplomatically be-
cause it’s investing in Afghanistan and
if Taliban again becomes a real menace,
then that investment will be affected in
a real way. So, India has to use as much
diplomacy with Pakistan...what negotiations India is doing with Pakistan should
include Afghanistan ... what do you really
want? “If you want peaceful Afghanistan
then let’s talk about developing a regional approach to reconstruction and individual countries,” he said.
Lauding Modi’s decision to invite
South Asian leaders, including the muchanticipated meeting with Pakistani Prime
Minisiter Nawaz Sharif, for his swearingin ceremony, the author underlined the
importance of policy-making as the logical follow-up of these diplomatic steps.
“It was a very good step. Inviting all
South Asian leaders is good PR plus atmospherics for a government because
all these countries have issues with India...to show he is willing to listen to
their issues...he is doing the right thing.
But what sort of policy initiatives follows
this...will the dialogue with Pakistan continue, for instance?
“A big problem is that even if they start
(talks), spoilers of peace can come either
from India or from Pakistan,” he said,
citing the example of Pakistan military’s
peace spoiler in the 1999 Kargil operations after then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had travelled to Lahore
by bus. “So we don’t know what will be
the reaction of those who don’t want the
kind of peace that these political leaders
are talking about,” said Paul.
Though India’s current diplomatic
stance with Pakistan is “good”, Paul
cautioned against making any provocative move. “India has to be careful not
to do anything provocative even in Afghanistan...the current policy is good
I think...supporting the infrastructure
building...civilian support...all the help
that India is giving.
IANS
ment is missing or not in balance, we could apply resources brought
Is India globally competitive?
from other countries or substituted with some other resources kept
under preservation to make up the shortages but, this action has got
to be taken as soon as the imbalance is felt and given no chance to
exhilarate towards terminal failure. The economists have to address
the reason why neglected that growth has become imbalanced and
must be rectified and the process of readjustment must be allowed
to work carefully, so that growth leads to equitable welfare. Infact, if
the resources of development are lacking and the proper element is
not present, then we must take the first step to correct the imbalance
at the earliest and watch productivity and monitor whether it is helping the country in achieving the desired results. Any factor which
goes out of balance must be brought into balance, the farmers and
manager of factories must feel and assess, which factor is missing
in order to maintain the balance. Any shortages that arise but the
labour or capital must be dealt with economists and the manager
must search and identify the factors missing.
In a country as large as India, it is not very easy to keep with the
right balance working, therefore management is responsible to identify the lacking element and give its stimulant to make all the factors
employed constantly are kept under review to ensure a steady flow
. This is a watchful activity and should never be neglected to ensure
progress, either internal or outside to create a productive balance.
BY AMIT KAPOOR
I
ndia’s position, since the Narendra
Modi government completed one
year in office, has been a matter of
wide-ranging discussion and speculation. Numerous articles have been written about the economy and other aspects
of India’s prospects for the future. A pertinent question to ask in the economic
sphere is how does India fare in its overall competitiveness in comparison with
other countries?
One approach to answering this question could be in looking at composite
indices like the Global Competitiveness
Index in which India fares a poor 71st
of the 144 countries considered in 201415. However, the problem, with this approach is that it is static in time for one
year during which many significant
things happen in an economy.
The approach here for assessing India’s competitiveness would be to use
a conceptual model and look at some
recent data and key developments that
have taken place in the past year. It helps
in making a dynamic reflection of India’s
competitiveness at present. For making
an assessment of India’s competitiveness, it is pertinent to look at a four-part
matrix that consists of external and internal conditions along one dimension
of the matrix while hard facts and policy
are put along the other dimension of the
axis. Along the four quadrants of this
performance matrix, it is easy to look at
the overall efforts and outcomes of the
government/s and the private sector in
making India competitive. Along the internal conditions hard facts quadrant,
Nature also has shortages. For example, the monsson can be timely, late or be lacking which could famine or scarcity for certain goods.
Under these circumstances, the planned resources with appropriate
techniques must be used, so that the shortage of any product is kept
in balance, either through stored water or even by changing the timing of cultivation. Items like raw material as a factor has to be kept
in view and in the case of shortages, we must know from where
and how soon without much lost time it can be supplemented. Of
course, the third element depends on atmosphere of international
relations, which becomes an important element in this bargain. This
year have had erratic rains, we must then have adequate water storage to compensate for this shortage of rain water, in sufficient quantity stored is always of a great help. Development in a country with
enlightened management will keep all these balances in view and
ensure that the productivity of a country will not suffer. This is only a
brief description, how and when shortages occur, economic growth
must not suffer and immediate remedies can be taken, if there has
been forethought and planning to remedy an imbalance.
one witnesses an improvement in the inflation data as well as the old GDP data.
India’s consumer price inflation (CPI)
subdued to 5.01 percent (provisional)
in May 2015 against 8.33 percent in May
2014. The RBI has taken cognizance of
this development and has adjusted key
rates accordingly.
An improvement of roughly one percentage point is also observed if one
looks at the GDP data from the old series.
Also, employment has bettered from
May to December 2014 (2.75 lakh jobs)
if one compares it to May to December
2013 (1.26 lakh jobs). Sector-specific data
on power also shows that a capacity addition of roughly 22,000 MW in a year the largest in a year in India’s history.
Data on Index of Industrial Production
(IIP) shows that for April 2014 to March
2015 there was growth of 2.8 percent over
a contraction of -0.1 percent for the same
period in the previous year. Thus, quite a
lot has been achieved in this sphere.
Along the internal conditions policy
quadrant, there are three distinct things
one observes.
First, there is a growing recognition
of making states as partners in the development process. Similarly, there is a
growing recognition of understanding
that states need to cooperate as well as
compete to make India more competitive. The power to attract investments
for states also depends on competitive
tax rates that are a bit higher at present at the union level. Second, the urban programme (Smart Cities, AMRUT,
housing for all) will hopefully empower
city leadership to become more autono-
mous and independent in deciding the
destinies of cities and their residents.
Hopefully, it will also lead to better environmentally and economically viable
cities of the future. Third, within the
railways sector that connects India, the
recently released Bibek Debroy committee report is a step in the right direction
for modernization. Along the external
conditions hard facts quadrant, four
points are worth mentioning.
First, trade growth has seen a precipitous decline. Particularly shocking is the
way in which both exports and imports
have contracted over the past six months
from December 2014 onwards. Experts
believe this is due to the falling demand
in the international region, particularly
Europe, the US and China. Imports have
fallen in value terms particularly due to
a commodity price collapse of crude oil.
Second, despite the export performance, FDI inflows in India remain robust. According to UNCTAD’s World
Investment Report 2015, India is 9th
overall in attracting FDI inflows. India’s
FDI inflows jumped 22 percent to reach
$34 billion in 2014. China remains the
top destination with approximately four
times our inflows at $129 billion. India
also regained the top slot in remittances
with overseas Indians sending back a
staggering $70 billion in 2014, according
to World Bank estimates.
Third, there has been a surge in the
capital markets since Modi took over
and the BSE Sensex has increased from
roughly 24,700 points in May 2014 to
near the 27,500 points mark at present.
IANS
Blame game in Left over poor show in Kerala
BY SANU GEORGE
T
he Left parties have done well in
the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala
compared to other states, but a
blame game has begun within the two
Communist parties in the state over the
poll results and analysis. Kerala accounted for more than half of the Lok Sabha
seats won by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the country. Five
CPI-M candidates were elected from the
state, while two each were elected from
West Bengal and Tripura.
Besides this, two Independent candidates - supported by the Left - film actor Innocent and advocate Joice George
- also won. The CPI managed to win only
the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency,
where C.N. Jayadevan defeated K.P.
Dhanapalan of the Congress.
In the polls, the CPI-M secured 21.59
percent votes, the CPI got 7.59 percent
while 31.1 percent of the votes went to
the Congress. Since the announcement
of the election results, it has been an uneasy calm between the two Left parties in
the state. The first salvo came from CPIM politburo member M.A. Baby, who lost
from the Kollam Lok Sabha constituency
and informed his party that he wished to
resign as a legislator from the Kundara
assembly constituency as well.
His stand gave sleepless nights to the
CPI-M leaders.
After discussing the issue at all levels,
the state secretariat meeting held here
with CPI-M general secretary Prakash
Karat in the chair Saturday dismissed
Baby's request, saying it would lead to
bad precedence. While the CPI-M meeting was going on, some party leaders attended a CPI national executive meeting
in Delhi.
Leaders from Kerala blamed senior
leader A.B. Bardhan and the party leadership for selecting the candidates. They
especially targetted the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, where a political
greenhorn and doctor Bennet Abraham
with practically no political experience
was fielded and lost the poll.
CPI state assistant secretary C.N.
Chandran and former CPI parliamentarian K.E. Ismail Saturday went hammer
and tongs in the meeting against Bardhan, forcing the veteran to walk out of it.
The Kerala unit of the CPI has also
turned highly critical over the party's de-
cision to align with the Congress in the
newly-formed Telengana in the assembly polls, as the alliance was politically
used by the Congress to belittle the CPI
during the Lok Sabha elections.
At the end of the meeting Saturday,
CPI general secretary Sudhakara Reddy
offered his apologies for the party's poor
show in the national election.
Even though the two Left parties put
up a good show in the state, they rue
that with a strong anti-Congress wave
that swept the country, the Oommen
Chandy-led Congress and its allies managed to get 12 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats
in Kerala. The Congress won eight seats,
one less than the highest in Karnataka but the party got a total of only 44 seats,
its lwoest tally in the Lok Sabha since Independence.
A look-back into the polls reveals that
the Left parties started losing to the Congress from the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, followed by the 2010 local bodies polls, the
2011 assembly elections and the recent
Lok Sabha polls. The Left parties have to
set their house in order. If not, things do
not augur well for them.
IANS
www. indianhorizon.in,Readers Response and contribution Welcome
7
OP-ED
No one should
Minorities in Sri Lanka face growing terror
meddle in Iraq’s affairs Buddhist Sinhalese terrorists have been instigating attacks against the island’s minorities, particularly the Muslims
The way forward is for a new national
government to be formed, which
represents all the people
BY PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN NAWAF AL SAUD
T
here are three things that the government
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia strives for
above all others: Peace, stability and security, for the international community, for our region
and for our country and our people, whether they
are old or young, men or women, Sunni or Shiite.
These are the cornerstones of our government and
they lie at the foundation of our thinking.
The escalating and alarming situation in Iraq is
of serious concern. These are our neighbours, our
friends, and we watch with distress as this terrible
situation escalates next to us. As our Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al Faisal, told the Islamic Conference of regional leaders in Jeddah last week:
“This grave situation carries with it signs of civil
war that has implications for the region we cannot
fathom.” The number of the dead is mounting into
hundreds, maybe thousands, with many thousands of ordinary Iraqi citizens being displaced.
These are people who have suffered enough —
too much, indeed. Their families have withstood a
long war with Iran as well as a violent and repressive regime under Saddam Hussain and the ensuing civil war, before an uneasy peace was brokered
less than a decade ago.
As neighbours and fellow Muslims, we despair
for them and pray for them all — innocent families, men, women and children — in this critical
situation. We wish to see the protection of all civilians and the alleviation of their current sufferings.
So where do we stand?
Despite the false allegations of the Iraqi cabinet, whose exclusionary policies have fomented
this current crisis, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
supports the preservation of Iraq’s sovereignty,
unity and territorial integrity. We also absolutely
oppose all foreign intervention and interference.
So the call by the Iraqi foreign minister for US
President Barack Obama and the US government
to launch air strikes against the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant (Isil) rebels is beyond our
comprehension.
An air strike will not just eliminate extremists
— whom we do not support — but will effectively
sign the death warrant of many Iraqi citizens, innocent families trapped and terrified by this crisis. This request to Obama is madness: It reveals
a government that no longer sees clearly and no
longer cares about the people it has been appointed to care for.
The people of Iraq, of all and any faith and denomination, like all people in all countries of the
world, look to their government to provide them
with the peace and security they need and deserve.
The current Iraqi government is dramatically failing in meeting that objective. In our view, there
must be no meddling in Iraq’s internal affairs: Not
by us, by the US, the United Kingdom or by any
other government.
This is Iraq’s problem and they must sort it out
themselves. Any government that meddles in Iraq’s
affairs runs the risk of escalating the situation, creating greater mistrust between the people of Iraq
— both Sunnis and Shiites. Instead, we urge all the
people of Iraq, whatever their religious denominations, to unite to overcome the current threats and
challenges facing the country. As the United Nations envoy to Baghdad, Nickolay Mladenov, has
said, the current situation is “life-threatening for
Iraq, but it poses a serious danger to the region”.
This is our region; we are their neighbours.
So what can we do? We have to look at the cause
behind this civil unrest. This situation did not happen overnight, but has been developing over years,
under the sectarian and exclusionary policies of
Nouri Al Maliki’s government, which has angered
large swathes of Iraq’s very mixed population. We
can and do urge the present Iraqi leadership to
cease forthwith these aggressive policies, which
have clearly fuelled the current violent chaos.
This unashamedly sectarian agenda — which
has included violent and fatal action against Sunni
protest groups in the past — has alienated Iraq’s
Sunni population, many of whom have “disappeared” under this regime. Our view, and that
of many international observers, is that the way
forward is for a new national government to be
formed, which represents all the people of Iraq —
Sunni as well as Shiite. We have been alarmed by
suggestions made by Al Maliki, and by some western commentators, that in some ways we in Saudi
Arabia support Isil.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wishes to see the
defeat and destruction of all Al Qaida networks —
and of Isil. Saudi Arabia does not provide either
moral or financial support to Isil or any terrorist
network. Any suggestion to the contrary is a malicious falsehood.
We do not and we will not support violence or
extremism in any form, anywhere by anyone. At all
times, we seek and strive for a peaceful coexistence
between all people — within our country, within
our region and in the wider global community.
Whether they gather under the banner of Al Qaida
or Isil, extremists — jihadists — have become the
scourge of the 21st Century. Their influence and
power over people is fuelled by disappointment
and disaffection of the sort created by the Iraqi
leadership’s exclusionary policies.
Only last month, the security forces in Saudi Arabia foiled a plot to assassinate Saudi officials and
religious figures by a group linked to Isil. We are
asked what can be done. At the moment we wait,
we watch and we pray.
COURTESY : AL-JAZEERA
BY TARIQ A. AL MAEENA
T
he region is deeply engrossed in events around
Iraq and the implication of a wider scale sectarian conflict that may spill across several borders.
Lost in the quagmire of such a troubling issue is the
conflict against minorities, and particularly Muslim
minorities, in several countries.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) a
body of 45 Muslim member countries was formed
some 45 years ago to deal with such issues. Although
its founding members agreed on the charter that principally ‘aims to preserve Islamic social and economic
values; promote solidarity amongst member states;
increase cooperation in social, economic, cultural, scientific, and political areas; etc,’ there have been several revisions and the recent scope of OIC activities has
gone beyond the boundaries of just Muslim states.
In the recently convened 41st Session of OIC Foreign Ministers in Jeddah, the current secretary general
of the organisation stated in his opening speech that
‘One of the primary concerns of the Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation is to address the phenomenon of
terrorism, religious and sectarian extremism, the rights
of Muslim minorities outside the Muslim world, and
concepts of human rights, and rights of women and
children and religious practice as all of these concepts
have been codified in major international conventions
and declarations on whose basis countries are judged,
condemned, classified and sanctioned.’
He went on to highlight the organisation’s efforts
and concern in countries such as Palestine, Syria, Mali,
Myanmar and areas such as Kashmir. What I failed to
read in his speech before the foreign ministers from
the member states was a condemnation against the
Sri Lankan government led by President Mahinda
Rajapaksa for allowing Buddhist Sinhalese clergy ter-
rorists operating under the banner of Bodu Bala Sena
(BBS) to intensify their ethnic-cleansing motivated
hate crimes against the island’s minorities and particularly the Muslims living on that island who have
been part of the population since the 7th century. A recent such act prompted a reader to write to me for the
services of my pen saying that, ‘Sri Lanka Muslims are
being massacred by Sinhalese mobs led by Bodu Bala
Sena clergy members. Muslims properties are being
looted and destroyed. Mahinda Rajapakse’s government has failed to protect Muslims. Muslim ministers
and MPs are not in a position to press the government.
Situation is deteriorating fast. Please give this message
to Muslim world… A desperate Sri Lankan.’
In the past week alone, a mob of some 7,000 Sinhalese spurred on by their bloodthirsty Buddhist clergy
stormed Aluthgama, a town less than 75 kms south of
the capital of Colombo. One of the mob’s leaders said
that there would be no more Dharga Town once they
finished with their attack on Muslims and Muslimowned businesses and property.
They razed a number of Muslim-owned homes
and businesses in the popular tourist town. “Three
deaths have occurred,” Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem
told reporters in Aluthgama, blaming hard-line Buddhist mobs for the violence. With his eyes filling with
tears, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader said “I am
ashamed. I am ashamed that I could not protect my
people”, his voice breaking with emotion as he surveyed the site of death and destruction.
Many others blamed the government for allowing
the Buddhist mob to rally in a Muslim-dominated district considering recent events elsewhere which had
seen similar scenes of death and destruction against
the Muslim minorities, and all at the hands of the Bodu
Bala Sena. The government’s lack of forceful action in
recent times against this band has encouraged these
wild Buddhist thugs to perpetuate their acts of terrorism against the island’s minorities. Their declared aim
is simple. Get rid of all other races on the island.
Mainstream Sri Lankan media muzzled the events
as they unfolded, claiming a series of excuses for their
failure to live up to the journalistic code. A popular
website claimed that ‘during the violence, there was
radio silence across all mainstream media,’ and most
of the island’s leading publications did not carry a single report on the escalating violence.
One Sinhalese editor said that there was a desire to
‘not spread tension’ in the country by reporting on
the events; all this while lives were lost and mob savagery was in full force less than an hour’s drive from
the capital. While we sit in the safety and comfort of
our homes, others are not so fortunate, and particularly the minorities on the island. So what should the
OIC session with the foreign ministers in attendance
have included in their agenda? There should have been
a clear warning to President Mahinda Rajapaksa that
such terrorist activity will not be tolerated and that all
Muslim member states will act within their capacity to
ensure justice to the island’s minorities.
One way would be a blanket ban on all Sri Lankan
imports including non-Muslim workforce. Another
would be to apply premiums on oil exports to the island to get the message to the Sri Lankan government
that enough is enough! Tourism to the conflict-ravaged
country should be banned altogether. The majority of
Sinhalese Sri Lankans are generally peace-loving and
have long established good communal relations with
the island’s minorities. However, their solidarity with
their neighbours is in danger of being swept away by
the ugly face of Buddhist terrorism.
COURTESY : AL-JAZEERA
What the US can do to stop ISIL advance
It has to chart out a comprehensive Iraq counterinsurgency plan, with military and political lines of operation
BY MAX BOOT
T
here are no good options in Iraq
right now. But some are worse
than others. Three of the worst,
unfortunately, are also the most popularly debated in Washington today:
launch US air strikes without US boots
on the ground; work with Iran to fight
Isil, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant;
and/or break up Iraq into separate Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish states. All
three options are alluring, but their appeal is fool’s gold.
Start with the idea of hitting Isil with
US drones, sea-launched Tomahawk
cruise missiles and, possibly, manned
bombers. This is the easiest policy, but
it is also the least likely to succeed. It
recalls nothing so much as Operation
Desert Fox, four days of bombing of
Saddam Hussain’s Iraq in 1998 that accomplished pretty much nothing.
The effective employment of air power, especially against non-state targets
such as Isil that don’t have tanks, uniformed troop formations or infrastructure to hit, requires reliable eyes on the
ground to direct air strikes and an army
capable of exploiting the air strikes.
Both conditions were met in Afghanistan in the fall of 2001, which is why a
few hundred special operations soldiers
and CIA officers were able to work with
the Northern Alliance to overthrow the
Taliban. But President Barack Obama
has already ruled out sending US ground
troops to Iraq. Aerial surveillance is sel-
dom effective enough, on its own, to accurately identify terrorist targets, and
relying on the Iraqi government for help
is a bad idea because Prime Minister
Nouri Al Maliki seems to think that all
Sunnis are terrorists.
Employing US air power under those
circumstances would lead to the US being perceived as the enabler of a Shiite agenda that is tearing Iraq apart. It
would, in effect, turn the US into an adjunct of Iranian plans to exert hegemony
across the region.
But don’t the US and Iran have a common enemy in the Sunni extremists of
Isil? To a limited extent, but the differences that remain between Washington and Tehran preclude joint action
in Iraq. The Iranian agenda is simple:
Install a Shiite sectarian government in
Iraq that is beholden to Tehran. The US
agenda — to install a moderate, multisectarian, pro-western government — is
diametrically opposed.
Sure, the Iranians don’t want Isil in
control of significant chunks of Iraq, but
they would prefer that Shiite extremists —who from the American viewpoint
are just as bad — be in control. In the
short run the Isil threat even serves Iranian interests by mobilising Iraqi Shiites
around radical, Iranian-backed militias
such as the Asaib Ahl Al Haq and Khattaib Hezbollah for protection.
The more Shiites feel embattled, the
more Iran’s influence as their protector
grows. The last thing Iran wants is a ne-
gotiated compromise in Iraq that gives
Sunnis significant sway in the government, but that’s the only thing that can
pry the Sunnis away from Isil now. The
last option is to accept the division of
Iraq into three parts, the very idea VicePresident Joe Biden embraced when
he was still in the Senate. It won’t work
because Sunnis and Shiites are mixed
together in Baghdad, Iraq’s largest city.
Neither side would give up the capital
and both would battle it out indefinitely
for control. The result would be ugly
ethnic cleansing verging on genocide.
Realpolitikers might be willing to accept that as the price of separation, but
the further problem is who would be in
control of the successor states of Iraq.
The Kurdish region would be in moderate, pro-American hands, but the Sunni
Arab region, which would extend deep
into Syria, would be under the control
of Isil and its radical ilk, while the Shiite
area would be under the effective control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
Corps. Creating two terrorist states in
the heart of the Middle East is hardly in
America’s interests.
So what should America do? To stop
the advance of Isil, Obama should immediately offer to send into Iraq a limited number of special operations forces
and military trainers who can call in air
strikes and buttress the battered Iraqi
security forces. At the same time, the
president must get personally involved
— this isn’t a job that can be delegated
— in pressing the Iraqi government for
serious political reforms that include
embracing Sunni tribes, ending the persecution of Sunni leaders, curbing the
prime minister’s authority and weeding
out political hacks and sectarian actors
from the security services.
It is unlikely that Al Maliki would
agree to such reforms, so the US needs
to work behind the scenes to ensure that
he doesn’t win a third term in office. His
State of Law party was the top vote-getter in the April 30 elections, but it needs
support from other factions to form a
government. The US should take advantage of Isil’ attacks to press the other political parties to dump Al Maliki and find
a more inclusive figure.
This is, admittedly, an ambitious
agenda. But there are no quick or easy
fixes. What appears to be a simple solution can actually make the situation
worse. But if the US puts in place a comprehensive counterinsurgency plan,
with military and political lines of operation, the situation can reverse more
quickly than anyone imagined.
That’s what happened during the
“surge” of 2007-08, when in a matter of
months Al Qaida went from looking triumphant in Anbar province to being all
but beaten. It’s possible to re-create that
success, and without nearly as many US
troops, but Obama must act fast and he
must disregard the bad ideas now floating around Washington.
COURTESY : GULF NEWS
Indian leftists frittered away opportunities
The Modi juggernaut suddenly and unexpectedly crushed quite a few political parties, but communists had been losing their relevance for quite some time
BY S.N.M. ABDI
A
n Italian thread runs through the Congress party’s rout and the downfall of communists in Indian parliamentary elections. No prizes for guessing the Congress’s Italian connection. In the case of the
communists, it is Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist
theoretician that armchair leftists in India swear by,
even as they grapple with an existential crisis after a
catastrophic electoral performance.
Let me clarify rightaway that Indian communism
is a sham because it is parliamentary and not revolutionary, which is utter negation of Marxism. Phoney as
a vegetarian gorging on beef steaks and chicken tikka
masala. India’s most famous communist, Jyoti Basu,
who nearly became prime minister, once admitted that
“We are communists only in name”, but many still foolishly equate India’s home-grown leftists with the comrades in China, Cuba or erstwhile USSR — which is not
the case at all. Talk of cheese and chalk!
Voters have this time put the so-called communists
in their place. The flagship Communist Party of India
(Marxist), or CPI(M), won only nine seats, while the older but smaller Communist Party of India (CPI), won just
one in the 545-strong Lok Sabha, or Lower House of the
parliament. Taking into account two CPI(M)-supported independents who got elected, the CPI(M)’s tally is
11, but not enough to retain its national party status as
per Election Commission rules. Smaller constituents
of the Left Front, like Revolutionary Socialist Party and
Forward Bloc, have been wiped out.
Remarkably, Left Fron’t Lok Sabha strength has been
halved this time — it was 24, including 15 CPI(M) MPs,
in 2009. In 2004, there were a record number of CPI(M)
MPs — 45 — among the left’s 61. It was an all-time high.
In 1999, left’s strength was 43, including 32 CPI(M)
MPs. And in 1991, 51 left MPs were elected. How come
the left’s tally in 2014 is down to just a dozen from three
states, from a record high of 61 MPs from six states ten
years ago? What went wrong? It would be over-simplification to lay the entire blame at the door of Prakash
Karat, general secretary of the CPI(M), who is being accused of succeeding what the Indian bourgeoisie had
failed to achieve in decades — evicting communists
from mainstream Indian politics. But what a fall it has
been is best understood by recalling that Basu almost
became the prime minister in 1996. He was the unanimous choice of squabbling national leaders who pleaded with Basu to run the country. Eight years later, Left
Front emerged as the third-largest group in Lok Sabha
after the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, eclipsing
a wide array of centrist regional outfits like Samajwadi
Party and Bahujan Samaj Party. Despite losing ground
in 2009, it was still a force to reckon with. But no longer.
Post debacle, Ashok Mitra, an old and ailing communist stalwart who wears his Marxism on his sleeve, lamented in a newspaper that “the country’s under-privileged, persecuted millions would, at least for a while,
have none to defend them against the aggression of immensely reinvigorated economic liberalisation policies
jointly sponsored by the country’s two principal political parties”. Mitra’s rant notwithstanding, Indian communists are nothing more than social democrats claiming to fight for the have-nots within the parameters of
India’s multi-party parliamentary democracy. Their
broadly left-wing politics attracted the poor, religious
minorities and educated elite disillusioned with rightist
parties. And they did win a reputation for good governance wherever they ruled — West Bengal, Tripura or
Kerala — since Independence. But they squandered
most of that goodwill. At present, CPI(M) is in power
only in tiny Tripura. In 2011, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front narrowly lost the Kerala assembly elections,
but the CPI(M)-led Left Front (LF) in West Bengal was
routed from power after 34 years. In 2006, LF had won
229 seats out of 294 in the Bengal assembly. In 2011, the
LF tally had come down to a meagre 69. That shattering
defeat in the communist stronghold was a precursor to
the national rout in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP-Narendra Modi juggernaut suddenly and
unexpectedly crushed quite a few political parties. But
communists had been losing their relevance for quite
some time. The BJP offensive simply hammered a few
more nails into that coffin. I think communists have
been done-in essentially by fence-sitting and double
standards and to some extent by arrogance and corruption. How can any political party be relevant if it cannot
make up its mind? Indian communists chose the path
of parliamentary democracy. They formed the first
communist government in Kerala in 1957. Later they
came to power in Bengal and Tripura also.
But they mysteriously shunned federal power or
power at the Centre. Basu, who was the chief minister
of Bengal from 1977 to 2000 — a national record — was
keen to accept the 1996 offer for prime ministership, but
the CPI(M) politburo turned it down. Basu, who many
believe was the best PM India never had, later branded
the politburo’s decision as a “historic blunder”. In 2004,
despite having 61 MPs, communists refused to join the
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
They felt they had the moral high ground by refusing
ministerial posts in the UPA regime, which they were
propping from the outside. The then prime minister
Manmohan Singh flattered the red brigade, calling it
his “conscience”.
COURTESY : GULF NEWS
The views expressed in these columns are the writers’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Indian Horizon or its management.-Editor
8
International
Russia vows
continued
support for
Syria
Damascus, June 29 (IANS)
Russian President Vladimir Putin
has promised continued military,
political and economic support
for Syria, a Syrian minister said
on Monday.
“I have obtained a promise
from President Putin on a Russian military, economic and political support to Syria,” Xinhua
quoted Syrian Foreign Minister
Walid al-Moallem as saying in
Moscow at a joint press confer-
ence with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.Al-Moallem
said the Russian leader stressed
the need to found a regional alliance to fight terrorism.
Lavrov stressed that Moscow
would keep supporting Syria
by all means to enable it to put
an end to terrorism, calling on
countries in the region to put
aside their differences and work
together to battle rampant terrorism.
The Russian minister highlighted the risk of some countries
in the region using extremist
groups as tools to achieve temporary gains.Al-Moallem said
his visit to Moscow was aimed at
finding a political solution to the
Syrian crisis.
Iraqi forces repel IS attacks on oilfields
Baghdad, June 29
(IANS) Iraqi security
forces and allied militias
on Monday regained
ground near Iraq’s largest oil refinery of Baiji
and repelled attacks by
Islamic State militants
on two other oilfields in
Salahudin province, security sources said.
The troops and allied
militias known as Hashd
Shaabi, advanced in
Albu Jwari area just east
of the vast oil refinery of
Baiji, some 200 km north
of Baghdad, a security
source from the north-
Egypt’s state prosecutor killed
in bomb attack in Cairo
Cairo, Jun 29 (PTI) Egypt’s Prosecutor General, who has referred
thousands of Islamists to trial in recent months, was today killed after
militants targeted his convoy in a
car bomb attack.Egypt’s Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat, 65, has
died following the bomb attack on
his vehicle, officials said.
Earlier it was reported that he had
sustained minor injuries in the attack the bomb targeted his convoy
near his house in Misr el-Gedida
district in Cairo. But later it emerged
WORLD SNIPPETS
Great Wall of China
disappearing: Reports
Beijing, June 29 (IANS) A considerably long stretch of the
Great Wall of China has disappeared due to natural erosion and
unchecked human activity in the absence of preservation measures, says a report in Beijing Times.
Research conducted by the China Great Wall Society showed
that only around eight percent of the Great Wall built in Ming
dynasty -- the most visible section of the Great Wall today -- are
well-preserved.
The report on Sunday, citing a survey last year by the Great
Wall of China Society, said nearly one-third of the Wall has given way as rains led to the erosion of ramparts and the wall. Trees
and grass growing in the cracks of the wall have also increased
the risks of collapse.
Somalia repels Al-Shabaab
attack on military base
Mogadishu, June 29 (IANS) Islamist extremist group Al Shabaab fighters raided a military base in the southern Somali state
of Jubaland but were repulsed after fierce fighting, a senior military official confirmed on Monday.
The heavy fighting took place on Sunday night near the military base in Kismayo, the capital city of Jubaland, but denied
there were casualties on their side, Xinhua quoted an official as
saying.
“The heavy exchange of fire broke out after Al Shabaab attempted to capture the base, but our forces managed to push
them back,” the official said, adding that it caused casualties
among the extremists.
In the latest series of attacks, Al Shabaab on Friday stormed
an African Union (AU) peacekeepers’ base in southern Somalia’s Leego town, claiming to have killed “more than 50 soldiers”.
Burundi holds crucial
legislative, polls
Bujumbura, June 29 (IANS) More than 3.8 million Burundian citizens on Monday went to polls to elect lawmakers and
community councillors amid a tense climate after two months
of protests sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a
third term.
Polls were expected to open at 6.00 a.m. and close at 04.00
p.m., but in the Burundian capital Bujumbura, polls opened
late due to insecurity that prevailed on Sunday night, Xinhua
reported.
“I came here to exercise my right as a citizen. That’s why I
have voted because I need new faces in the parliament and in
the local administration,” said Jean Pierre Bizoza, a voter met
in Kinama neighbourhood.The voting operation took place
throughout the east African nation without major incidents.A
grenade was, however, blasted near a polling station by an unidentified person at Kibago in the Burundian southern province
of Makamba, disrupting the voting operation.
Woman sentenced to death
for UAE murder
Dubai, June 29 (IANS) A woman who killed an American
teacher in December last year was on Monday sentenced to
death by the Federal Supreme Court of Abu Dhabi.
Alaa Bader Abdullah Al Hashemi, 29, was held guilty of stabbing to death Ibolya Ryan, 47, in a shopping mall toilet on Al
Reem Island and “creating a handmade bomb” that she placed
in front of an Egyptian-American doctor’s home, the Khaleej
Times reported.
She was also held guilty of sending money to Al Qaeda in Yemen, knowing the funds would be used in terrorist acts.Hashemi asked the court to provide her with psychological help, saying she had “unreal visions” and would see “ghost-like people”
due to a chronic mental illness.
ern central province of
Salahudin told Xinhua
on condition of anonymity.
The troops, backed by
government air power,
also regained control of
a strategic road adjacent
to Tigris River east of the
refinery and another
road in Tal Abu Jrad area
south of the oil refinery,
the source said, without
giving further details
about
casualties.The
troops’ advance came
amid continued heavy
fighting in the past few
days to drive IS militants
that he had succumbed to his
wounds in a hospital after undergoing a critical surgery.
At least three other people apart
from Barakat were injured in the incident, spokesperson of the Ministry of Health Hossam Abdel Ghafar
said.
The injured include two from
the security forces and one civilian, Ghafar said.The security forces
out of Baiji and its oil refinery, the source added.
Separately,
security
forces and Hashd Shaabi
militias repelled attacks
by dozens of IS militants
on two other oilfields,
Allas and Ajil, in Himreen area in the eastern
part of the province, the
source added.The battles, which started after
midnight and lasted to
the early morning hours,
resulted in the killing of
11 IS militants and five
security members and
the wounding of five soldiers, the source said.
cordoned the area and were on the
lookout for the attackers.Barakat
has referred thousands of Islamists
to trial since the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013. He
has received death threats in the
past.
The Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State group recently called
for attacks on the judiciary, after the
hanging of six militants.
Tunisia makes fresh arrests
in beach attack
Tunis June 29 (PTI): Tunisia’s interior minister says
multiple arrests have been
made in the attack that killed
38 people at a beach resort.
Without giving numbers,
Interior Minister Mohamed
Najem Gharsalli said Monday that everyone arrested
is Tunisian and the investigation remained in its early
stages.
The 24-year-old attacker,
who used a Kalashnikov assault rifle and grenades, was
killed by police after Friday’s
carnage in Sousse. Tunisian
authorities say he was the
lone attacker, but he had accomplices who provided him
with weapons and logistical
support. Many of those killed
were British tourists.
The top security officials
of Britain, France, Germany
and Belgium are paying
homage to the 38 people
killed in Tunisia’s deadliest
British Home Secretary Theresa May centre right,
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve 2nd left, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere 3rd left joined
their Tunisian counterpart Mohamed Najem Gharsalli
centre, on the beach in front of the Imperial Marhaba hotel in the Mediterranean resort of Sousse for a tribute in
Sousse, Tunisa, Monday, June 29, 2015. The top security
officials of Britain, France, Germany and Belgium are paying homage to the people killed in the terrorist attack on
Friday. AP/PTI
attack, a massacre at a beach and Belgian Interior Minisresort claimed by Islamic ex- ter Jan Jambon joined their
tremists. British Home Sec- Tunisian counterpart on the
retary Theresa May, French beach in front of the Imperial
Interior Minister Bernard Marhaba hotel in the MediCazeneuve, German Interior terranean resort of Sousse for
Minister Thomas de Maiziere the tribute Monday.
France hopes Greece resumes
last-minute debt talks
Paris, June 29 (IANS) French President Francois Hollande on Monday
expressed hope that Greece would
resume debt negotiations for lastminute breakthrough in the few hours
before the talks would be definitely
closed.
“There are a few hours before the
negotiation is definitively closed, in
particular for the prolongation of the
Greek aid programme. I wish, if the
Greeks, if their government, so decide, that talks resume,” Hollande was
quoted by Xinhua as saying.
“France is available, is always available for the dialogue to resume today or tomorrow. Today a deal is still
possible, tomorrow that will depend
on the Greeks’ response to the referendum,” he added.After an emer-
gency meeting on Greece, the French
president reiterated Paris’ willingness
to keep Athens as a member of the
single-currency bloc but “it is up to
Greece to decide or take the risk to
leave it”.
On Sunday, Greek Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras announced a surprise
proposal for a referendum on the
terms of bailout deal, the decision
came after the last round of talks with
lenders in Brussels failed as eurozone
finance ministers rejected Greece’s
request to extend its bailout into July.
Greece has to pay back $1.77 billion
on Tuesday, and with a deal with its
international lenders, it risks bankruptcy and a possible exit form the
eurozone. As for possible impact of
the Greek crisis on French economy
‘Tanned. Rested. Ready’
Jindal’s 2016 campaign slogan
Washington, Jun 29 (PTI)
“Tanned. Rested. Ready.”
That is Indian-American
Louisiana Governor Bobby
Jindal’s new 2016 presidential campaign slogan and
the “tanned” part is supposed to be a reference to
his skin tone.“The liberal
media that developed this
week was disgusting: Apparently Bobby isn’t brown
enough for them,” wrote
Timmy Teepell, Jindal’s
campaign manager, in an
email to supporters.“Well,
this will make the left even
more upset. We are now
selling the first limited
edition t-shirt of the cam-
paign, and I want you to
know about it,” Teepell was
quoted as saying by The
Times-Picayune.
Jindal, 44, used a similar
line about being “tanned”
in his official presidential
campaign launched on
June 24.National media has
seized on Jindal’s relationship with the Indian community, even as he himself has tried to distance
himself from his Indian
roots.Jindal, a Republican,
has time and again reiterated his remarks about dehyphenating Indians and
other ethnic groups from
Americans.“I am done
Stop using
Islamic
State name,
Cameron tells
BBC
with all this talk about hyphenated Americans.We
are not Indian-Americans,
African-Americans, Irish
Americans, rich Americans
or poor Americans. We are
all Americans,” he had said
while announcing his 2016
presidential bid.In February, several news outlets
questioned whether a portrait that hangs in Louisiana’s Capitol makes Jindal
appear to be a white man.
Though against categorisation of Indian-American,
Jindal does not shy away
from his parents’ immigration story in political
speeches.
London, June 29 (IANS)
British Prime Minister David
Cameron on Monday called
on the BBC not to use the
phrase “Islamic State” when
referring to the terror group
operating in Iraq and Syria.
The prime minister, who calls
and financial market, Hollande said, has nothing to fear for what might
“French economy is more robust and happen”.
Bin Laden died
natural death,
claims ex-ISI chief
Islamabad, June 29 (IANS) Al Qaeda
Chief Osama bin Laden died a “natural
death” in 2005 and not in the US Navy
Seals raid in the Abbottabad mansion,
claims former Pakistan Inter Services
Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lt. Gen. (retd)
Hameed Gul.“In my opinion Osama
was not there (Abbottabad). He died
a natural death in 2005,” Hameed Gul
told Geo News programme “Jirga” on
Monday.The former ISI chief added
that the truth would come out about the
May 2, 2011 Abbottabad raid.The statement came fours years after the US reported that its Navy Seals killed Osama
bin Laden in a raid on his compound in
the garrison city of Abbottabad in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
the group “ISIL”, said Muslims
would “recoil” at the phrase
being used to justify the “perversion of a great religion”.
Cameron insisted that the
battle against extremists targeting Britons around the
world can be won but would
Strict hand baggage rules in
UAE for AI passengers
Dubai, Jun 29 (PTI) India’s national carrier Air India and its budget airline will restrict the weight of hand luggage carried by
passengers from the UAE from July 1.
The free allowance for hand luggage will
be strictly restricted to 8kg for Air India
and 7kg for its budget airline Air India Express inclusive of duty free items.Also, the
carry-on bags will be weighed at the gates
before passengers board the flights, a senior airline official was quoted as saying by
The Khaleej Times.“If the baggage weighs
more than the free allowance, a fee of 60
Dirhams (USD 16) per excess kilo would
be charged at the gate,” said Prem Sagar,
manager of Air India and Air India Express
People line up at an ATM outside a National bank branch, in central Athens, on
Monday, June 29, 2015. Anxious Greeks lined up at ATMs as they gradually began dispensing cash again on the first day of capital controls imposed in a dramatic twist in
Greece’s five-year financial saga. Banks will remain shut until next Monday, and a
daily limit of 60 euros ($67) has been placed on cash withdrawals from ATMs. AP/PTI
in Dubai and Sharjah.This is introduced at
the peak time of summer travel from the
UAE, Sagar said most other airlines flying
to India have already been charging excess
carry-on baggage at the gates.“The baggage
weighing at the gates policy will begin with
flights from Sharjah on July 1. There could
be a delay of a few more days to start it in
Dubai,” he said.“Passenger hand baggage is
usually assumed as 7 or 8 kgs whereas there
are people who sometimes carry 10-15kgs
extra.That’s not something good for the
aircraft’s safety.“It is basically to dissuade
people from carrying too much of excess
weight and ensure that the weight is properly recorded for the safety of the aircraft.”
require “extraordinary resolve
and patience”.He criticised
BBC presenter John Humphrys for referring to the group
as Islamic State.The extremist
group was variously known
as Islamic State, and DAESH,
based on the Arabic acronym.
4 PIOs jailed for
staging robbery
in Singapore
Singapore, Jun 29 (PTI) Four Indian-origin persons who staged a fake police raid
to rob three Indian nationals of more than
SGD 1.3 million in a major gang robbery
incident here in 2012, were today jailed for
up to 10-and-a-half years.
Music teacher Magesan Ramasamy, 36,
Mohamed Faizal Ajmalhan, 32, who works
in finance, Arunachalam Lakshmanan, 37,
and Chinnaya Antony Samy, 38, will also
be given the maximum 24 strokes of the
cane, The Straits Times reported.
The four convicted were each jailed
between 10 years and 10 years and six
months after a 29-day trial of gang robbery
at a lodging house at Dunlop Street in the
Little India shopping precinct on September 10, 2012.
Magesan and Faizal had also faced three
charges of posing as police officers. They
forced their way into the rooms of three
businessmen and demanded their passports that day.
Pretending to be cops, they restrained
their victims with flexi-cuffs and ordered
them to sit or kneel, before taking about
SGD 1.27 million from them.
‘French terror suspect took selfie with severed
London, June 29 (IANS)
Call it selfie craze or a
“standard procedure”, the
French lorry driver who allegedly beheaded his boss
before ramming his vehicle
into a chemical plant near
Lyon, reportedly took a
selfie with the victim.
The Guardian reported
an official as saying that
the selfie was forwarded
via WhatsApp to a phone
number in Canada. French
investigators have been
working to determine the
recipient’s identity.JeanChristophe de Le Rue, a
spokesman for Canada’s
public safety minister, was
reported as saying that
Canadian authorities were
involved in the case.“While
I cannot comment on operational matters of national
security, we are assisting
the French authorities with
their investigation,” he said.
Yassin Salhi, who allegedly decapitated his boss
Herve Cornara, has reportedly confessed to the murder, but his motives remain
unclear.He told detectives
he had killed Cornara in a
parking area before arriving
at the plant in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, 30 km south
of Lyon, where he attempted to cause an explosion
on June 26.According to
latest media reports, Salhi
told police that he wanted
to kill himself and stage a
media coup by dressing it
up as a terrorist act. Salhi
told the investigators that
he had acted alone.No
terror group immediately
claimed responsibility. The
severed head appeared to
mimic IS’s practice of beheading prisoners and displaying their heads.
RIL to defer gas field development
if price outlook uncertain
New Delhi Jun 29 (PTI): Reliance
Industries may defer development
of R-Series and other satellite gas
fields in the eastern offshore KGD6 block if the gas price outlook
was uncertain, its junior partner
Niko Resources of Canada said.
RIL has made 19 oil and gas discoveries in the KG-DWN-98/3
block in the Bay of Bengal and so
far only three - Dhirubhai-1 and
3 gas and MA oil and gas fields,
have been brought to production.
Multi-billion dollar development
plans for five other finds including
the significant R-Series have been
approved. In its Annual Information Form for 2014-15 fiscal filed
with Canadian regulatory authorities, Niko, which holds 10 percent
interest in KG-D6 block, said the
development of these discoveries was “dependent on the future
economic viability of the required
investments.”
Bringing the finds to production, called development, was
“dependent on the future longterm price outlook for gas sales
from these projects and the significant uncertainty in this outlook could mean that the development of these reserves could
be deferred,” it said. Additionally,
it may result in reductions in the
company’s reported reserves or
future net revenues, it said. RIL is
the operator Krishna Godavari basin KG-D6 block with 60 percent
interest while Niko has 10 percent.
BP plc of UK has the remaining 30
percent stake.
Niko said on expectations of
natural gas prices doubling to
USD 8.4 per million British thermal unit from April 1, 2014, the
focus in the 2013-14 fiscal shifted
to developing and appraising the
assets in the KG-D6 Block. However, after three deferrals, in Oc-
tober 2014, the Government of
India approved a new domestic
gas pricing policy that provided
for a price of USD 5.05 per mmBtu on Gross Calorific Value (GCV)
basis or USD 5.61 per mmBtu on
Net Calorific Value (NCV) for the
period of November 1, 2014 to
March 31, 2015. This compared
to gas price of USD 4.2 on NCV
basis in the prior period. While
the price for November to March
was “significantly lower than anticipated,” the rate for April 1,
2015 to September 30, 2015 was
lower at USD 4.66 (GCV) or USD
5.18 (NCV).
Greece crisis may
trigger outflows from
India: Fin Secy
New Delhi Jun 29 (PTI): The economic
crisis in Greece may trigger capital outflows from India and the government is
consulting the RBI to deal with the situation, Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi
said on Monday. Stating that the Greece
situation has no direct impact on India,
he said there may be some indirect effect via Europe on capital inflows and
outflows here.
“Greece criss does not have any effect directly on India. (But) interest rate
may firm up in Europe. In case of firming up of interest rate in Europe, there
can be outflow of capital from India,”
Mehrishi told reporters here. Terming
the situation as dynamic and evolving,
he said, the crisis may have an indirect
impact on India by way of its outcome
on the European currency euro. “To the
extent it affects the euro, there might be
some indirect impact on India. If yields
on euro bonds go up, then it might impact inflows and outflows from India,”
he said. He said nobody can predict how
the situation evolves. “Obviously we are
in touch with the RBI but they will do
what they have to do,” he said. Asked if
any Indian company has an exposure in
Greece, he said, “I don’t know.” “If yields
on G-Sec go on in the US, then it might
impact inflows and outflows in India.
he economic crisis in Greece may trigger capital outflows from India and the
government is consulting the RBI to deal
with the situation, Finance Secretary
Rajiv Mehrishi said on Monday. “To the
extent it affects the euro, there might be
some indirect impact on India. If yields
on euro bonds go up, then it might impact inflows and outflows from India,”
he said. He said nobody can predict how
the situation evolves. “Obviously we are
in touch with the RBI but they will do
what they have to do,” he said. Stating
that the Greece situation has no direct
impact on India, he said there may be
some indirect effect via Europe on capital inflows and outflows here. We really
don’t know how they (foreign investors)
will relocate their portfolio,” he added.
Greece early today imposed capital controls and closed banks until at least July
6 after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
decided to call a July 5 referendum on a
proposed bailout package.
‘Talks on India-EU free trade
pact to start from August’
New Delhi Jun 29 (PTI): After a gap
of two years, India and the European
Union will resume negotiations in August on the proposed free trade agreement for boosting two-way commerce
and investment. “Both the sides have
agreed that negotiators must meet.
We have conveyed that. Sometimes in
August, the EU chief negotiator will be
available for negotiations. They have
also conveyed that in August they are
available for talks,” Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher told reporters here.
No negotiations were held after
both sides failed to bridge substantial
gaps on crucial issues in May 2013
here. Kher said this is the right time
to move on the proposed agreement
as exports and imports with the EU
are shrinking. “Textiles and leather
sectors are facing the beating (in the
EU markets). So, by reducing tariffs,
you can get greater market access.
The benefits under the Generalised
System of Preferences (GSP) has also
gone,” he said.
India’s textiles exports to that market are around USD 2.5-3 billion annually. Kher, however, said: “We need
to bring in craftsmanship and strategy
in our negotiations rather than generic talks”. The India-EU trade talks,
E-filing: I-T dept to
send 24-hr valid
password to taxpayers
New Delhi Jun 29 (PTI): In order to end the trouble of
sending paper-based acknowledgement of e-filed Income
Tax Returns (ITRs), the CBDT is planning to send a onetime password (OTP) on taxpayers’ mobile phones which
will be valid for 24-hours after getting verified from the
Aadhaar database. The department, a senior official said,
has decided to usher these new protocols very soon as the
new ITRs for the assessment year 2015-16 have recently
been notified, heralding the onset of the tax filing season.
The deadline for filing ITRs is August 31. A senior official
involved in the processes told PTI that the new ITRs will
capture the Aadhaar number of an individual and after
doing a “back end” matching of the Aadhaar number with
the mobile number and other vital personal data of the
individual, an OTP will be generated and sent for validating and final submission of the return. “The department
will do the matching with the Aadhaar database where the
biometrics and particulars of an individual are hosted. If
the Aadhaar number and relevant details like PAN number
and mobile number get kind of matched, then an OTP will
be sent on the mobile which will be valid for 24 hours. So,
once you have uploaded your return (ITR), there will be an
icon showing validate your return and with that OTP you
can do that,” the official explained. The official said the department was currently thinking of having an OTP that will
be “alive or valid” for 24 hours so that a filer has time at
hand to process the return at his or her end. “There could
be an option to generate a second OTP too but that is being
worked out. After putting the OTP, you then don’t need to
send the ITR-V (paper acknowledgement). The problem of
ITR-V will get resolved,” the official said.
Greece in shock as banks shut after
creditor talks break down
Athens Jun 29 (PTI): Greeks woke
up to shuttered banks, closed cash
machines and a climate of rumours
and conspiracy theories on Monday
as a breakdown in talks between
Athens and its creditors plunged the
country deep into crisis. After receiving no extra emergency funding for
Greek lenders from the European
Central Bank, Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras sombrely announced capital controls in a televised address on
Sunday night to prevent banks from
collapsing under the weight of mass
withdrawals. Greece has less than 48
hours to pay back 1.6 billion euros
(USD 1.77 billion) of International
Monetary Fund loans, and a default
would set in train events that could
lead to the country`s exit from the
euro currency bloc.
But after Tsipras angered Greece`s
international lenders by announcing
a snap referendum next Sunday on
the terms of a cash-for-reforms deal,
hopes of a last-minute breakthrough
are fading fast. Greeks reacted with a
mixture of disbelief and fear. “I can`t
believe it,” said Athens resident Evgenia Gekou, 50, on her way to work.
“I keep thinking we will wake up tomorrow and everything will be OK.
I`m trying hard not to worry.”
European officials sent confusing signals about their next move.
A spokesman for the European
Commission told French radio that
Brussels would not make any new
proposals on Monday, appearing to contradict comments by EU
Economics Commissioner Pierre
Moscovici. He said a new offer was
forthcoming and that the two sides
were “only a few centimetres” away
from a deal. European bank shares
fell sharply on Monday. Top banks
in Spain, France and Germany
were down more than 6 percent
as the risk of a spillover to banks in
other peripheral euro zone countries spooked investors. The Greek
government will keep banks shut at
least until after July 5, the date of the
referendum, and withdrawals from
9
Business
automated teller machines -- which
are shut on Monday -- will be limited
to 60 euros a day when they reopen
on Tuesday. The stock exchange
will also stay shut. After months of
wrangling, Greece`s exasperated European partners have put the blame
for the crisis squarely on Tsipras`s
shoulders. The creditors wanted
Greece to cut pensions and raise taxes in ways that Tsipras has long argued would deepen one of the worst
economic crises of modern times
in a country where a quarter of the
workforce is already unemployed.
As Tsipras announced the emergency measures late on Sunday,
there were long queues outside
ATMs and petrol stations as people
raced to take out cash before it was
too late. “I`ve got five euros in my
pocket, I thought I would try my luck
here for some money. The queues
in my neighbourhood were too long
yesterday,” said plumber Yannis Kalaizakis, 58, outside an empty cash
machine in central Athens on Mon-
day. “I don`t know what else to say.
It`s a mess.” Newspapers splashed
pictures of long lines outside cash
machines on their front page. The
Nafetemporiki daily headlined
Monday`s edition “Dramatic hours”
while the Ta Nea daily simply said:
“When will the banks open”.
The
conservative-leaning
Eleftheros Typos newspaper accused Tsipras of announcing the
referendum as a ruse to tip the
country into early elections in
the hopes of winning them. “Mr
Tsipras`s decision to call a referendum and a possible euro exit
constitutes a premeditated crime,”
it said in an editorial. “It is clear
that Mr Tsipras has lost the trust
of citizens. That`s obvious from
the queues at ATMs and petrol stations, and it will become obvious at
next Sunday`s ballot.” As rumours
flew about, dozens of pensioners
queued outside at least two offices
of the National Bank of Greece on
Monday after hearing.
formally known as the Broad- based
Trade and Investment Agreement
(BTIA), remain stuck as the EU is not
satisfied with India’s offers in areas
such as government purchases and
market access for automobiles and
wines and spirits. The talks launched
in June 2007 and it has missed several deadlines. “Textiles and leather
sectors are facing the beating (in the
EU markets). So, by reducing tariffs,
you can get greater market access.
The benefits under the Generalised
System of Preferences (GSP) has also
gone,” he said.
The 28-nation bloc had also asked
to include labour and environment
related aspects besides liberalisation
in multi-brand retail and legal services. India is reluctant to make commitments on these issues. On the other
hand, India is insisting for data secure
nation status and immigration quota
from the EU. The status is crucial as it
will have a bearing on Indian IT companies wanting market access in the
28-nation bloc.
Another official said that India has
extreme sensitivities in sectors such
as automobiles. Indian auto industry has already expressed concerns
that any concessions in the sector
would have far-reaching consequences for it and have an impact
on the Modi- government’s ‘Make in
India’ initiative. The 28-nation bloc
had also asked to include labour and
environment related aspects besides
liberalisation in multi-brand retail
and legal services. India is reluctant
to make commitments on these issues. On the other hand, India is insisting for data secure nation status
and immigration quota from the EU.
Sometimes in August, the EU chief
negotiator will be available for negotiations. They have also conveyed
that in August they are available for
talks,” Commerce Secretary Rajeev
Kher told reporters here.
The status is crucial as it will have
a bearing on Indian IT companies
wanting market access in the 28-nation bloc. Talking about other free
trade pacts, he said the next round of
talks with Australia is expected next
month. “Now we have to discuss the
specifics. In services, Australia gave
us an offer which we found is not
complete and we have to give them
our request. We will do it by tomorrow. By July 31, both the sides would
exchange offers in services sector,”
he said.
Adani suspends Australian project’s
engineering work over delay in approvals
New Delhi Jun 29 (PTI): Adani Enterprises on Monday said it has suspended
engineering work at USD 16.5-billion
Carmichael mine in Australia on account of delay in approvals. In a BSE filing, the firm said that for the past 6-12
months, Adani has maintained a level
of investments, jobs and sub-contractor
engagement for its mine, rail and port
projects in Australia in anticipation of
finalising approvals and decisions.
The project budget was based, understandably, on the anticipated approval
timelines and milestones, it added. “As
a result of changes to a range of approvals over that time, it’s necessary to synchronise our budget, project timelines
and spending to meet those changes.
Accordingly, we have suspended detail
engineering work. However, the re-
maining activities related to the projects
are still continuing,” the filing said. The
Carmichael coal, railway and port project includes building Australia’s largest
thermal coal mine in the north Galilee
Basin in Central Queensland, linked by
a new rail line to a new terminal at Abbot Point Port.
Covering 280 sq km, the Carmichael
mine would use a new 380-km rail line
to transfer up to 60 million tonnes of
coal a year to overseas markets, including India. The combined mine,
rail and port operations will provide
over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs
and supply opportunities for local
businesses, the company’s website
showed. The project is facing legal
challenges from indigenous landholders and conservation groups.
After Maggi, Top
Ramen withdrawn
from Indian market
New Delhi Jun 29 (PTI): After Maggi
controversy, Indo Nissin on Monday
announced withdrawal of its instant
noodles brand ‘Top Ramen’ from
the Indian market on orders from
central food safety regulator FSSAI.
Earlier this month, Nestle had to recall Maggi noodles, while Hindustan
Unilever also withdrew its Knorr instant noodles brand over safety and
regulatory issues. On June 8, FSSAI
had come out with the advisory on
product safety testing of all instant
noodle products in India after lead
beyond permissible limits in Maggi
noodles along with taste enhancer
Monosodium glutamate (MSG).
“At that time we had sought clarification from FSSAI since Top Ramen
product approval is pending with the
regulator. They have requested us to
withdraw the product until they give
the product approval,” Indo Nissin
Foods Pvt Ltd Managing Director
Gautam Sharma said in a statement.
He further said Top Ramen was extensively tested in the last few weeks
after product safety concerns arose
in the category.
We have tested at two FSSAI accredited independent laboratories
and shared the results with FSSAI a
few weeks ago. While many Top Ramen samples have been tested by
various state FDAs across India, only
in two cases ? slightly higher lead
level has been found in the tastemaker,” he added. Sharma said the
company was meeting state FDAs
and sharing test results with them
as well as seeking a re-test. Instant
noodles have attracted attention of
regulators after FSSAI banned Nestle
India’s Maggi noodles.
Earlier this month, the regulator ordered testing of noodles, pastas and macaroni brands such as
Top Ramen, Foodles and Wai Wai
sold and manufactured by seven
companies to check compliance
of norms. These include Nestle India, ITC, Indo Nissin Food Ltd, GSK
Consumer Healthcare, CG Foods
India, Ruchi International and AA
Nutrition Ltd. Nestle had destroyed
Maggi noodles worth Rs 320 crore after the withdrawal. “At that time we
had sought clarification from FSSAI
since Top Ramen product approval
is pending with the regulator. They
have requested us to withdraw the
product until they give the product
approval,” Indo Nissin Foods Pvt Ltd
Managing Director Gautam Sharma
said in a statement. He further said
Top Ramen was extensively tested in
the last few weeks after product safety concerns arose in the category.
HUL also recalled its Chinese
range of ‘Knorr’ instant noodles
from the market pending product
approval from FSSAI. Further, global
cafe chain Starbucks had to stop use
of ingredients not approved by the
regulator in certain products served
at its India outlets.
10
Business
Commodity takes
Oil slides on Greek
default fears
Singapore, Jun 29 (AFP) Oil prices
fell in Asia today tracking the sell-off
in global equity markets on fears of a
Greek debt default, analysts said. US
benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery fell 82 cents to
USD 58.81 while Brent crude for August
eased 70 cents to USD 62.56 in latemorning trade. Asian equity markets
and the euro were facing sell-offs at the
start of the week after cash-strapped
Greece broke off deadlocked talks with
creditors over the weekend, despite a
June 30 due date of a massive repayment to the International Monetary
Fund. Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras called a surprise July 5 referendum on the creditors’ latest bailout
proposal, and yesterday shut banks until July 6 and imposed capital controls
throughout the country to avoid flight
of cash. The EU and IMF responded by
rejecting a request to extend Greece’s
bailout beyond the June 30 deadline,
meaning it will default on a key payment and possibly crash out of the eurozone. “With the Greek government’s
decision to pursue a referendum set for
July 5, risk aversion has returned and
is likely to persist this week,” Singapore’s United Overseas Bank said in a
commentary. Daniel Ang, investment
analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore,
said the weakening euro “could see
crude prices continue to drop, similar
to what we have seen at market open”.
Oil prices fell in Asia today tracking
the sell-off in global equity markets
on fears of a Greek debt default, analysts said. US benchmark West Texas
Intermediate for August delivery fell 82
cents to USD 58.81 while Brent crude
for August eased 70 cents to USD 62.56
in late-morning trade. Dealers are also
waiting to see if Iran and major world
powers can reach a deal on curbing
Tehran’s nuclear programme by the
end of the month that would allow
Western powers to remove sanctions,
paving the way for more Iranian crude
to hit the already oversupplied international market. (AFP)
Gold glitters,
silver recovers
on global cues
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) Gold regained its sheen to trade Rs 240 higher
at Rs 26,950 per ten grams at the bullion market today, tracking a firm global trend amid fresh buying by jewellers.
Silver also recovered by Rs 300 to Rs
36,700 per kg on increased offtake by
industrial units and coin makers. The
recovery in gold prices was mostly in
tandem with a firming trend in global
market as Greece shut banks and imposed capital controls, boosting demand for haven assets amid concern
of the country?s likely exit from the
euro zone, traders said. Besides, fresh
buying by domestic jewellers too influenced gold prices, they said. Silver coins
were well maintained at previous level
of Rs 54,000 for buying and Rs 55,000
for selling of 100 pieces Gold in London, which normally determines price
trend on the domestic front, rallied
1.1 per cent to USD 1,188.23 an ounce
and silver climbed 1.7 per cent to USD
16.07 an ounce. In the national capital,
gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity
surged by Rs 240 each to Rs 26,950 and
Rs 26,800 per ten grams respectively.
Sovereign, however, continued to be
asked at previous level of Rs 23,300 per
piece of eight grams in scattered deals.
Silver ready also advanced by Rs 300 to
Rs 36,700 per kg and weekly-based by
Rs 415 to Rs 36,380 per kg. Silver coins
were well maintained at previous level
of Rs 54,000 for buying and Rs 55,000
for selling of 100 pieces
Select copra
extends fall on
subdued demand
Mumbai, Jun 29 (PTI) Copra office
Alapuzha and copra office Kozhikode
prices extended its fall at the spices
market here today due to subdued demand from stockist and retailers amidst
ample arrivals from producing regions.
While, rest all other spices maintained
a stable trend owing to lack of buying
support. Copra office Alapuzha and copra office Kozhikode fell by Rs 100 per
quintal each to Rs 8,400 and Rs 8,300
from last Saturday’s closing level of Rs
8,500 and Rs 8,400. Following are today’s closing rates (in Rs with previous
rates in brackets): Black pepper (per
kg) 645/730 (645/730), ginger bleached
(per kg) 235 (235), ginger unbleached
(per kg) 255 (255), copra office Alapuzha (per quintal) 8,400 (8,500), copra
office Kozhikode (per quintal) 8,300
(8,400), copra Rajapur Mumbai (per
quintal) 15,500 (15,500), copra edible
Mumbai (per quintal) 10,500 (10,500).
Small sugar declines
on subdued demand
Mumbai, Jun 29 (PTI) Small sugar
prices declined at the Vashi wholesale
market here today due to subdued
demand from stockists and bulk consumer on the back of adequate stock
positions. While, medium sugar variety ruled stable in the absence of any
necessary buying support. Small sugar
(S-30) dipped by Rs 10/65 per quintal to Rs 2,182/2,345 from last Saturday’s closing level of Rs 2,192/2,410.
Medium sugar (M-30) was quoted at
Rs 2,300/2,602 per quintal. Following
are today’s closing rates for sugar (per
quintal) with the previous rates given in
brackets: Small sugar (S-30) quality: Rs
2,182/2,345 (Rs 2,192/2,410). Medium
sugar (M-30) quality: Rs 2,300/2,602
(Rs 2,300/2,602).
Refined palmolein
eases on lower
demand
Mumbai, Jun 29 (PTI) Refined palmolein prices eased further at the Vashi
oils and oilseeds wholesale market here
today due to lower demand from retailers. While, groundnutoil ruled stable in
the absence of any large-scale buying
activity. Among the non-edibles, castorseeds bold and castor oil commercial rose further on sustained offtake
from shippers and soap industries. Linseeds oil slipped on subdued demand
from paints and allied industries. In
the edible segment, refined palmolein
moved down by Rs 2 per 10kg to Rs 503
from last Saturday’s closing level of Rs
505. Groundnutoil closed unchanged
at Rs 970 per 10kg. Castorseeds bold
gained by Rs 25 per 100kg to Rs 4,000
from Rs 3,975 and castoroil commercial
also went up by Rs 5 per 10kg to Rs 830
as against Rs 825 previously. Linseedoil
fell by Rs 5 per 10kg to Rs 785 compared
to last weekend level of Rs 790.
Copper, tin rise on
industrial demand
Mumbai, Jun 29 (PTI) Copper and
tin prices rose at the non-ferrous
metal market here today on stockist buying amid good demand from
industrial users. While, nickel, brass,
zinc and lead prices slipped on lower
offtake from alloy industries. Globally, copper rose in early trade at the
London Metal Exchange after top
user China unleashed fresh easing
measures to kick-start its economy,
but gains were not expected to last
with broader markets bracing for the
possibility that Greece could exit the
euro zone. Tin climbed by Rs 5 per kg
to Rs 1,180 from last Saturday’s closing level of Rs 1,175. Copper utensils
scrap and copper sheet cutting added
by Rs 3 per kg each to Rs 400 and Rs
421 from Rs 397 and Rs 418, respectively. Copper cable scrap, copper armiture and copper wire bar moved up
by Rs 2 per kg each to Rs 441, Rs 426
and Rs 461 from Rs 439, Rs 424 and Rs
459. Copper scrap heavy edged up by
a Re per kg to Rs 435. However, nickel
dropped by Rs 10 per kg to Rs 955 as
against Rs 965 last weekend. Brass
sheet cutting fell by Rs 5 per kg to Rs
317 from Rs 322. Zinc moved down
by Rs 3 per kg to Rs 175 from Rs 178.
Brass utensils scrap eased by Rs 2 per
kg to Rs 305 from Rs 307. Lead softened by a Re per kg to Rs 129.
IPDS to strengthen power
transmission, distribution network
Varanasi Jun 29 (PTI): Power
Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said the Inergated Power
Development Scheme (IPDS) is
aimed at strengthening the power
sub-transmission and distribution network in urban areas in
states and Union Territories. IPDS
was scheduled to be launched by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
today but the programme was
cancelled due to heavy rains. The
Power Ministry will soon finalise a
new date for the launch. Talking
to reporters, Goyal said IPDS will
also ensure 100 percent metering
at feeders, distribution, transformer and consumers and for IT
enablement of distribution sec-
tor. Goyal added the Centre was
extending a total budgetary support of Rs 45,800 crore for implementation of the scheme.
He said that projects worth Rs
3,268 crore, covering 247 towns,
have been sanctioned so far under
IPDS, of which projects worth Rs
1,067 crore for 23 circles covering
91 towns have been sanctioned
for Uttar Pradesh. The minister
said that it included Rs 432 crore
for Kashi area and Rs 140 crore
for remaining Varanasi town. He
further said in these projects the
share of the Centre would be 60
percent, 10 percent of the state,
whereas loan by PSUs of the ministry would be 30 percent. “If the
states comply with certain norms
fixed by the central government
then the Centre’s shares will rise
up to 75 percent,” he said. IPDS
was scheduled to be launched by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
today but the programme was
cancelled due to heavy rains. The
Power Ministry will soon finalise a
new date for the launch. Talking
to reporters, Goyal said IPDS will
also ensure 100 percent metering
at feeders, distribution, transformer and consumers and for IT
enablement of distribution sector. Goyal added the Centre was
extending a total budgetary support of Rs 45,800 crore for implementation of the scheme.
Rupee ends 20 paise lower at 63.84
against USD on Greek crisis
Mumbai, Jun 29 (PTI)
In line with equities, the
rupee recovered from initial losses, but still ended
lower against the US dollar by tumbling 20 paise
at 63.84 due to the looming debt default crisis in
Greece amidst month-end
demand for the greenback
from importers. Gaining
some ground, the rupee
recovered against the euro
at 70.97 from 71.25 previously but fell against the
pound sterling to 100.29
from 100.09 earlier. The
domestic unit opened
lower at 63.80 against the
US dollar at the Interbank
Foreign Exchange (Forex)
and dropped sharply to
63.94 on heavy demand
for the American currency
before ending down by 20
paise, or 0.31 per cent, at
63.84. The rupee has lost
32 paise, or 0.50 per cent,
in five trading days. It
moved in a range of 63.80
and 63.94 per dollar during
the day. The dollar index
was trading lower by 0.60
per cent against its major
global rivals on Monday.
In New York market, the
US dollar ended higher
against the basket currencies, after Greece failed
to strike a deal
with its lenders,
taking it a step
closer to a debt
default and exit
from the Eurozone. Meanwhile, oil prices
in Asia fell on
Monday, tracking the sell-off
in global equity markets on
fears of a Greek
debt
default,
analysts said.
The
US
benchmark
West Texas Intermediate for
August delivery fell 82 cents
to USD 58.81 while Brent
crude for August eased 70
cents to USD 62.56 in latemorning trade.
The benchmark BSE
Sensex recovered from
initial sharp losses but
ended lower by 167 points,
or 0.60 per cent, on allround selling pressure
from operators as stocks
fell across the globe on
worsening economic crisis in Greece and odds of
a default increasing after
the country announced
plans for a referendum on
its bailout conditions.. . In
the forward market, the
premium ended lower on
receivings from exporters.
The benchmark six-month
premium payable in November eased further to
189-191 paise from last
weekend’s level of 191-193
paise and those maturing
in May, 2016 contract fell
to 415-417 paise from 454456 paise. The RBI fixed the
reference rate for the dollar
at 63.9170 and for the euro
at 70.4110. The domestic
currency dropped further
against the Japanese unit
to 51.95 per 100 yen from
51.53 previously.
Goyal said that in spacial case of
Jammu and Kashmir and NorthEastern states, the Centre share
would be 90 percent and that of
the local government would be
five percent, whereas the loan by
the PSUs would be five percent.
Highlighting the government’s
Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) and LED-Based
Smart Street Light programme,
Goyal said for promoting energy efficiency in Varanasi nearly
36,000 street lights would be replaced with efficient and smart
LED lights that would save around
Rs 31 crore annually to municipal
corporation here.
Sebi slaps market ban
on two companies for
illegally raising money
New Delhi Jun 29 (PTI): Sebi on Monday barred Life
Care Infrastructures and Angel Allied as well as some
of their executives from the capital market after finding that they had unauthorisedly raised over Rs 5.5
crore from investors. They have also been banned
from raising funds from the public till further directions. The market regulator found that Life Care Infrastructures India Ltd mobilised Rs 4.5 crore while
Angel Allied India Ltd mopped up little over Rs 1 crore
illegally through issuance of non-convertible redeemable secured debentures (NCRSDs). Life Care along
with its past and present directors -- Pralay Kumar
Saw, Sanjoy Kumar Maiti, Sujit Mitra, Partha Pratim
Ghosh and Ramprasad Sarkar have been restrained
from the capital market. They have been barred from
soliciting money from the public, Sebi said in an interim order. The market regulator found that Life Care
Infrastructures India Ltd mobilised Rs 4.5 crore while
Angel Allied India Ltd mopped up little over Rs 1 crore
illegally through issuance of non-convertible redeemable secured debentures (NCRSDs).The company is
prima facie engaged in fund mobilising activity from
the public, through the offer of NCRSDs and as a result of the aforesaid activity has violated the provisions
of the Companies Act, the order noted. In a separate
interim order, Sebi banned Angel Allied and its executives from the securities market as well as from raising money from the public. The individuals barred are
Sekh Nazibulla, Santosh Kumar Mishra, Devid Haslaf
and Sandip Pal. Angel Allied allotted these securities to
“at least 334 investors... And mobilised Rs 1,03,15,700
from them,” it added. All the entities have been barred
from “accessing the securities market and further prohibited from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in
the securities market, either directly or indirectly, till
further directions”.
Sensex recovers from initial
sharp losses, still dn 167 pts
Mumbai, Jne 29 (PTI) The S&P
BSE benchmark sensex recovered
from initial sharp losses but still
ending lower by 167 points on
all-round selling pressure from
operators as stocks fell across the
globe as the Greek financial crisis
worsened, with odds of a default
increasing after the country announced plans for a referendum
on its bailout conditions.
Greece shut down its banking system, ordering lenders to
stay closed for six days starting today to avoid a run on the
country’s banks and its central
bank moved to impose controls
to prevent money from flooding
out of the country. The steps, a
fateful climax to five years of debt
crisis, puts Greece closer than
it ever has been to an exit from
the euro. Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth a net Rs
203.74 crore during the previous
trading session on last Friday as
per provisional data released by
the stock exchanges. The sensex
resumed lower and dropped further by 602.65 points or 2.17 pct
to 27,209.19, but recovered afterwards to 27,695.32 before ending
at 27,645.15, still showing a loss of
166.69 points or 0.60 per cent.
The CNX 50-share Nifty also
tumbled by 62.70 points or 0.75
per cent to finish at 8,318.40 after
moving in wide range of 8,329.45
and 8,195.65. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department
(IMD) said in its daily monsoon
update issued yesterday the cumulative rainfall during this
year’s monsoon season was 23
pct above the Long Period Average (LPA) until June 27.
In overseas markets, European
stocks were trding sharply lower
as the Greek crisis entered a new
phase following the imposition of
capital controls to prevent a run
on the country’s banks. Key indices in Germany, UK and France
were off 1.68 pct to 3.31 pct.
Asian stocks finshed lower as
investors brace for an increasingly likely Greek exit from the eurozone. Key indices China, Hong
Kong, Japan, Singapore, South
Korea and Taiwan were down
by 1.42 pct 3.34 pct. Indication
of sharp fall in US index futures
also the another factor behind
fall in share values. Mr. Pramit
Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group CEO
said,” As expected today we saw
sell off in the global markets, taking cues from the other markets
Indian equities also opened on a
weak note & lost over two percent
during the day as Greek debt crisis intensified more, mainly after
failing to reach an agreement with
the creditors. Now nation is under a threat of defaulting which
will have a negative impact on the
global economy”. Towards the
end local indices tried to recover
but still closed on a negative note.
In the domestic market, 23 scrips
out of the 30-share sensex pack
ended lower while only 7 finished
higher. Major losers were Hindalco (3.55 pct), SBI (2.08 pct), Sun
Pharma (2.03 pct), Maruti (1.93
pct), Tata Motors (1.76 pct), Infosys (1.58 pct), Bharti Airtel (1.45
pct), ONGC (1.42 pct), BHEL (1.38
pct), Wipro (1.23 pct), VEDL (1.20
pct), Cipla (1.15 pct) and M&M
(1.12 pct). However, HUL rose by
2.10 pct, NTPC 0.80 pct and ITC
0.53 pct. Among the S&P BSE sectoral indices, Realty tumbled by
2.23 pct followed by IT 1.70 pct,
Teck 1.40 pct, CD 1.37 pct, Auto
1.37 pct, Metal 1.33 pct, Power
1.06 pct and HC 1.23 pct. Smallcap and Mid-cap indices also fell
by 1.49 pct and 1.37 pct respectively on heavy selling from retail
investors.
11
Sports
India vs Zimbabwe: Manish Pandey feels his
maiden ODI call-up was long overdue
New Delhi Jun 29 (PTI): Manish
Pandey says his maiden ODI call-up
was long overdue and he now hopes
to make his much awaited India debut
during the short tour of Zimbabwe
next month. Though it is not the first
time he finds his name in the Indian
team. Pandey was picked for the oneoff T20 against the West Indies but the
Caribbean?s side dramatic pull-out
midway out of the tour last year left
him helpless and dejected. “It was
sad indeed. I was hoping to be part
of the team but the West Indies team
pulled out and there was nothing you
could do about it. Considering I am
picked for ODIs and T20s, there is a
good chance I get a game. The goal
is to make every opportunity count,”
Pandey told PTI today. Did he expect
to be in the ODI team even though it
is very much a second string squad in
the absence of senior players?
“I was hoping to be a part of it. It is
a great feeling obviously, something
that was pending for long I feel.
It is one of those times you feel all
the years of hard work has paid off.
I won?t be thinking about that too
much about whether I get a game
or not. If I do, I am just going to be
thinking about how I am going to
play,” said the Karnataka batsman,
who made his First Class-debut
in 2008. The 25-year-old rose to
prominence with his exploits in the
IPL and is best known for being the
first Indian to hit a century in the
cash-rich league. The stylish righthander did not have a prolific IPL
this season but it seems he has been
rewarded for being the highest-run
getter in the 50-over Vijay Hazare
Trophy. Pandey at his age has
already played 70 matches at both
First Class and List A level besides a
100 plus T20s.
“I think all these years, in first
class, the IPL, overall domestic
scene you face so many different
types of bowlers and that prepares
you for the highest level. I feel I
am in good space right now. I have
got a much needed month off after
the IPL. I spent some time at home
and worked more on fitness. Now
the business starts and I just want
to keep doing the basic stuff right,”
he said. Pandey is also happy for his
six Karnataka teammates who were
US athletics
championships: Justin Gatlin
wins 200 m in 19.57sec
Controversial sprinter Justin Gatlin
fired a World Championships warning
shot Sunday, winning the 200m title
at the US athletics championships in a
blistering 19.57sec. “I wanted to come out
and make a statement, and that`s what I
did,” Gatlin said after a career-best that
improved on the season-leading 19.68 he
set on the same Hayward Field track at
the Eugene Diamond League meeting in
May. The 33-year-old, who completed a
four-year doping ban in 2010, is now the
fifth-fastest man of all time in the event,
behind Usain Bolt -- who holds the world
record of 19.19 -- Yohan Blake, Michael
Johnson and Walter Dix.
With his dominance this season -- he
also owns the fastest 100m time of the
year of 9.74sec -- he has set the stage for a
scintillating showdown with Bolt in both
the 100m and 200m at the August 22-30
World Championships in Beijing. “I`d
say the 100, just because it comes first,”
Gatlin said of his best world title hope.
“But I`m going to put all my effort into
both of them. “A lot of people try to peak
for the World Championships. I just want
to maintain,” added Gatlin, who came off
the turn well in front and powered home.
“I know I had a great start, attacked
coming off the turn and ran a great
150,” said Gatlin, who called it “the
most complete technically 200 meter
I ever ran.” His training partner Isiah
Young was a distant second in 19.93
with veteran Wallace Spearmon third
in 20.10. Even as he has dominated
the sprint world this season, Gatlin has
found his past doping transgressions
in the spotlight, as has US team-mate
Tyson Gay -- who booked his Beijing
berth with a 100m victory on Saturday.
Current allegations also cast a cloud
over these championships, after Alberto
Salazar, coach of US distance runner
Galen Rupp, was accused in a BBC/
ProPublica documentary this month of
infractions. Kara Goucher, one of the
athletes who has leveled allegations
against Salazar, fanned the flames on
Sunday, hitting back at the coach for
branding her a liar.
named in India and India A teams
today. He will be in the familiar
company of Robin Uthappa and
Stuart Binny in Zimbabwe while
his other state mates Abhimanyu
Mithun, Shreyas Gopal, K L Rahul
and Karun Nair find themselves
in the A team. “It is nice to see
Karnataka players slowly coming
into national reckoning. We have
been the dominating for the past
couple of seasons,” he summed up.
Rafael Nadal leads
Spanish players’
criticism of federation
Barcelona Jun 29 (PTI):
Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer
along with other high-profile
figures in Spanish tennis have
signed an open letter criticising
their federation over the poor
running of the sport in the latest
development of an ongoing
feud. A total of 44 people put
their name on Sunday to a sevenpoint statement that hit out at
general poor organisation along
with a lack of transparency by
the Spanish federation (RFET).
It emphasised the “chaotic”
and “belligerent” way that the
federation is led by president Jose
Luis Escanuela and asks that the
“necessary authorities” take swift
action to remedy the situation.
The letter comes on the back of
claims in local media that the
nation`s first female Davis Cup
captain Gala Leon offered her
resignation following continued
disapproval of her appointment
last September, but it was not
accepted by the federation.
Nadal was among those who
reacted with disbelief at the
RFET`s naming of Leon, who had
a career-high ranking of 27 as a
player, to replace Carlos Moya. It
has led to accusations of sexism
and Nadal himself admitted over
the weekend that the controversy
is tarnishing the image of Spanish
tennis. “The situation is terrible,”
Nadal told a news conference
ahead of the Wimbledon. “All
these things that are happening
cause damage to tennis, to the
desire sponsors might have
to invest in our sport, to the
excitement that kids might have
in continuing to play,” added the
14-times grand slam champion.
It emphasised the “chaotic”
and “belligerent” way that the
federation is led by president Jose
Luis Escanuela and asks that the
“necessary authorities” take swift
action to remedy the situation.
There has also been a standoff
between
the
government
sports council (CSD), which has
questioned Leon`s appointment,
and
Escanuela.
Spain`s
disciplinary committee for sports
(TAD) last week suspended
Escanuela for one month for
failing to collaborate in a probe
into the federation`s finances.
The CSD says it is attempting to
track down what happened to
at least 700,000 euros ($775,140)
the RFET paid out in transactions
linked to the Spanish Tennis
Foundation and the Spanish
Tennis Observatory.
Wimbledon 2015: Djokovic, Serena,
Sharapova star on first day
Novak
Djokovic,
Serena
Williams and Maria Sharapova
take centre stage as Wimbledon
gets underway on Monday
while Lleyton Hewitt hopes
for a long goodbye on his 17th
and final appearance at the All
England Club. World number
one, top seed and defending
champion Djokovic plays his
first tournament since Stan
Wawrinka ended his latest
bid to win a French Open and
complete a career Grand Slam in
Paris three weeks ago.
The Serb, who was also
Wimbledon champion in 2011,
has never lost in the first round
at the tournament but he faces
a tough opener against world
number 33 Philipp Kohlschreiber
who made the quarter-finals in
2012. Djokovic holds a 6-1 career
advantage over the 31-year-old
German. Kohlschreiber`s only
victory against Djokovic came at
the 2009 French Open and the Serb
has won the last five on the spin,
including a straight sets victory
in the US Open fourth round last
BCCI announces team for
Zimbabwe tour; Rahane
named captain, Kohli,
Dhoni rested
New The national selectors have picked the
Indian team in Delhi on Monday ahead of their
tour to Zimbabwe for three ODIs and two T20I. As
expected senior players MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and
Ravichandran Ashwin were rested. The likes of
regulars Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and Rohit
Sharma have been rested too. Ajinkya Rahane has
been selected to captain India in Zimbabwe. Veteran
spinner Harbhajan Singh has been recalled back to
the limited over format. The likes of Murali Vijay,
Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa and Kedar Jadhav
has made a return to the side. Youngster Sandeep
Sharma too is selected for the first time and he will
look to impress in his debut series. Ravindra Jadeja
has been dropped from the side after a string of poor
performances. Umesh Yadav too has been dropped
and he will be part of the India A squad which was
selected alongside. Cheteshwar Pujara will be
leading the side and the team has several youngsters
alongside some experienced players.
year. But the champion is wary of
the potential pitfalls as he opens
play on Centre Court at 1200GMT.
“When you see Kohlschreiber in
the first round, you don`t look any
further in the draw,” said eighttime major winner Djokovic. A
victory for the Serb could give
him a second round match-up
against 2002 champion Hewitt,
the last man outside of the big
four of Djokovic, Roger Federer,
Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray
to win the Wimbledon title.
Hewitt, 34, will be playing the All
England Club for the final time
before retirement after next year`s
Australian Open.
The former world number
one, who made his All England
Club debut back in 1998, starts
against 33-year-old Finn Jarkko
Nieminen, a quarter-finalist
nine years ago. Women`s top
seed Serena Williams, the five
time champion and bidding
for a calendar Grand Slam, gets
her 16th Wimbledon started
on Court One against Russia`s
Magarita Gasparyan.
Vijender Singh brings down curtains
on India career, turns professional
New Delhi Jun 29 (PTI): Ending all
the speculations, India’s 2008 Olympic
bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh
took a big step going forward on
Monday as he turned professional. The
renowned pugilist will join the stable of
British promoter Francis Warren with
whom he has already signed a six-year
deal. Vijender has signed a multi-year
deal with Queensberry Promotions
and will fight at least six times in the
first year in middleweight category.
represent India at next year’s Rio
Olympics. Vikas Krishan will represent
India in middleweight category.
As per the rules, once a boxer turns
professional, he cannot compete at an
amateur level. The International Boxing
Association (AIBA) allows only those
boxers who are a part of its pro boxing
competition, AIBA Pro Boxing (APB), to
compete in the Olympics.
No evidence against 3 cricketers: ICC sources
Dubai Jun 29 (PTI): The
ICC had found no evidence
against the three international
cricketers who have been
accused of accepting bribes by
former IPL Commissioner Lalit
Modi and had closed the matter
after a thorough investigation.
The game’s governing body
had yesterday hinted that it
had found no evidence against
the three cricketers, when in a
statement it said, “...The ACSU
handled that information in
accordance with its standard
operating procedures, which
included sharing it with the
BCCI’s anti-corruption unit.”
Reliable sources said had
there been any wrongdoing,
the world body ‘s AntiCorruption and Security Unit
would have opened an inquiry.
“If the ACSU had found any
evidence against the three
players, then it would have
charged them for breaching
the ICC’s Anti-Corruption
Code. If this has not happened
in two years and the players
are still playing international
and domestic cricket, this
clearly means that there is
no evidence that warrants a
charge,” the sources told PTI.
“The matter can be reopened
as and when new supporting
evidence is provided but, but
as of now, there is no charge
against the cricketers. It is
now up to the three cricketers
to file damages against Lalit
Modi, who has questioned
their integrity by shooting
an email to the International
Cricket Council, demanding
investigation.” Sources said
the cricketers need to decide
their next course of action
after damage was caused
to their reputations due to
Modi’s allegations. “This is an
extremely serious allegation
and the cricketers need to act
to get their names cleared once
and for ever,” sources said. The
sources further said the ICC
had investigated the matter in
2013 because the email didn’t
refer the allegations to IPL or
international cricket.
“Because the email didn’t
specify the level of cricket, the
ICC took it as international
cricket and investigated the
matter as diligently as it does with
any other probe,” sources said.
“The four pillars of the ICC ACSU
are: education, prevention,
investigation and prosecution.
After the education bit, the ICC
ACSU updated the BCCI that it
had investigated its cricketers.
This has has confirmed in by
the ICC its response. “The reality
of the situation is the email had
raised ‘concerns’. Unfortunately,
on the basis of ‘concerns’ or
‘suspicions’, charges cannot
be laid. We are dealing with
cricketers of international repute
and I am sure that ICC will want
to have rock-solid evidence
before taking the extreme route.”
Earlier, the BCCI gave a clean
chit to the three cricketers.
BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur
said “there is nothing in it”
when asked about the ICC
acknowledging a letter from
Modi in June 2013, claiming
that two cricketers from India
and a West Indian were paid in
cash and kind to the tune of Rs
20 crore each. “Lalit Modi had
written a letter to ICC, so they
informed BCCI about the letter.
“This is an extremely serious
allegation and the cricketers
need to act to get their names
cleared once and for ever,”
sources said. The sources further
said the ICC had investigated
the matter in 2013 because the
email didn’t refer the allegations
to IPL or international cricket.
“Because the email didn’t specify
the level of cricket, the ICC
took it as international cricket
and investigated the matter as
diligently as it does with any
other probe,” sources said. “The
four pillars of the ICC ACSU
are: education, prevention,
investigation and prosecution.
After the education bit, the ICC
ACSU updated the BCCI that it
had investigated its cricketers.
This has has confirmed in by
the ICC its response. The three
players are international players
and fall under the international
jurisdiction. There is no
information on these players
from ICC so far, so it is in a way a
clean chit for them to play.
12
Entertainment
Indian Horizon
Genelia all set for a come back
Actress Genelia D'Souza, who has been away from
the big screen post her marriage to actor Riteish
Deshmukh in 2012, says she is now ready to make a
comeback in Bollywood and will focus on her acting
career.
Genelia, who has starred in movies like "Jaane
Tu... Ya Jaane Na" and "Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya",
was present at a promotional event here Tuesday
when she was asked about her comeback to the film
industry. To that, she said: "I don't think I ever left
it, but yes I am on a break, I would love to be back, I
would love to do something that makes me happy,
that makes people happy and I am ready now for
comeback." Genelia and Riteish Deshmukh became proud parents to a son Nov 25, 2014.
Courtesy:SantaBanta.com
Amy Jackson enjoying being
in the spotlight again
Amy Jackson was recently spotted walking the red carpet at a
screening of the Will
Smith-starrer 'Focus' in
London. The youngster
recently took off for a
short break back home in
England.
After seeing her performance in the South film,
'I', Bollywood is looking
at the 'Ekk Deewana Tha'
(2012) actress in a new
light. She has Prabhu
Dheva's upcoming film
'Singh Is Bling' with Akshay Kumar in her kitty.
There is buzz that she
will be seen opposite
Abhishek Bachchan in
'Housefull 3'.
The girl is enjoying being in the spotlight again.
Courtesy:SB.com
Ranbir's Bombay Velvet out of danger now?
Censor Board decides to 'allow' Anurag Kashyap
to retain 'Bombay' in the title of his upcoming period film 'Bombay Velvet' starring Ranbir Kapoor and
Anushka Sharma
Even as the controversy over Censor Board's decision to ban 'Bombay' from film titles, dialogues and
lyrics has not died down, a relief comes in as Bombay Velvet gets to retain its original title.
As per an internal decision taken by the Censor
Board on Monday, Kashyap has been allowed to
retain the title as it is a period film. Says a source,
"Apart from cuss words and other issues, the controversy over usage of 'Bombay' in films and songs was
discussed. A board member pointed out that a film
should be allowed to use the colonial name if it is set
in a period before the The Maharashtra Restoration
of Name 'Mumbai' for 'Bombay Act, 1996, came into
effect."
The source adds that the member also read out
the guidelines for certification which spell that the
Censor Board must ensure that a film is judged in its
entirety from the point of view of its overall impact
and examined in the light of the period depicted in
the movie.
In the past, there have been several instances of
filmmakers having to change the title or replace
'Bombay' in their films. Karan Johar had to insert a
disclaimer in 'Wake Up Sid' for mentioning Bombay
following threats from local political parties to ban
the film. Recently, makers of Bombay Central had
to make changes to the title. Joy Mukherji's 'Love in
Bombay', which released 42 years after it was made,
was renamed 'Love in Mumbai'. However, Ashi
Dua's 'Bombay Talkies' (2013), a tribute to 100 years
of Hindi cinema, didn't face any problem.
Verdict in Salman case deferred
A court here Wednesday deferred its verdict in a case relating to illegal possession and
use of arms by Bollywood actor
Salman Khan and posted the
matter for March 3. The Court
of Chief Judicial Magistrate
Anupama Bijlani in Jodhpur
deferred its verdict and started
the hearing of four old applications which were moved by the
prosecution in 2006.
Salman was not present in
the court. In fact he is not even
in Jodhpur presently.
The court was scheduled to
deliver its final verdict in the
case Feb 25, but in a subsequent development after the
last hearing, these applications
came to the notice of the court.
The court heard all the four
applications for summoning
the witnesses and taking some
documents on record at length
and deferred its decision on
these applications till March 3.
"We were ordered to present
our arguments and the court
would deliver its judgment
thereafter," public prosecutor
N.K. Sankhla and Salman's advocate Hastimal Sarswat jointly said.
Salman and a few other Bollywood stars were accused of
poaching blackbucks on the
midnight of Oct 1-2, 1998 during the shooting of Hindi movie 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'.
Two blackbucks, a protected
animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, were killed on the
outskirts of Kankani village
near Jodhpur.
Salman is also alleged to
have been carrying arms with
expired license. A police complaint was filed against him for
being involved in hunting protected blackbucks.
Courtesy:Bollylife.com
Aamir Khan demands Rs 2 crore for
an hour-long ad shoot?
Yes, that’s the moolah the
Dhoom: 3 baddie might be paid.
Are other Bollywood biggies listening?
Such is the might of Aamir Khan
that the actor can command the
price he wants and walk away with
it too, without any fuss or negotiation. We all know how Aamir
chooses his projects very carefully
– be it film or commercials, and
succeeds in all his endeavours.
That’s the reason why when the
actor asked for a whopping price
of Rs 2 crore for an hour-long
shoot of a commercial for a household product, the brand makers
agreed to the Perfectionist Khan’s
unbelievable demand.
It is learnt that his wifey Kiran
Rao might also feature alongside
him. For those of you who don’t
know, ad shoots usually take two
to three days. But the ad in question will be shot just within an
hour and Aamir has demanded Rs
2 crore for it.
Well, if the report is indeed true
then Aamir has joined other Bollywood couples like Shah Rukh and
Gauri Khan, Abhishek and Aish-
warya Rai Bachchan, and Saif Ali
and Kareena Kapoor Khan, who
have been seen together in ads.
All said and done, this deal is
certainly a path-breaking one as
far as the money is concerned. It
wouldn’t come as a surprise at all
if the other two Khans (Salman
Khan and Shah Rukh Khan) too up
their fees or even surpass Aamir’s
benchmark.
Courtesy:Bollylife.com
Revealed: Plot of Alia Bhatt, Sushant
Rajput starrer Raabta!
Finding Fanny director, Homi
Adjania is all set to start shooting
for his upcoming film 'Raabta' by
July - August, this year.
The director has yet again opted
for a new and fresh pair, just like
his previous film. Homi has casted Alia Bhatt and Sushant Rajput,
to play the lead characters in the
film. Also, Dinesh Vijan would be
co-directing the film with Homi
Adajania.
Dinesh informed the media
stating that the film is a love story
from two different eras. The protagonist in the film is being played
by Alia and Sushant. It is a film
based on reincarnation.
Dinesh stated, that he had been
having the script for more than a
year now and when he shared the
love story with Homi Adajania, he
instantly fell in love with with the
story and as a result the duo is all
set to direct the film.
Well we hope the film worked
out for the duo and also it would
be a delight to watch the two magnificent stars share the screen.
Printed, published & Owned by Dr.Rahimuddin Kemal, Printed at Kemal Publication's, H.No-8-2-618/3, Road No. 11, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. 500034, TS. Editor Mr.Fahim
Kemal. Published from Dil-a-Veez, H.No.8-2-618/3, Road No. 11, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad-500034.TS. India. Phone Nos: 040 66839818: Fax No: 040 23373717.
Email: [email protected] [email protected]

e-paper (Hyderabad, Saturday, September 6, 2014)

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