India News

New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Friday expressed the hope that Pakistan would take steps to secure its nuclear assets.

Answering a question with reference to a bomb attack near the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra, which is about 75 kilometers from Islamabad, and reportedly houses some of the country''s nuclear assets, Rao said that New Delhi was aware of the attack and hoped authorities in Islamabad would ensure the safeguarding of those assets.

The bomb attack claimed the lives of eight people, but officials moved quickly to deny suggestions that it was linked to the country''s nuclear program.

The bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body at a checkpoint outside the complex.

Fakhr Sultan, a district police officer, told reporters at Kamra that security was so tight that it prevented the bomber from entering or getting close enough to the vicinity.

A Pakistan Air Force official was quick to dispel suggestions on Friday that the Kamra facility was linked to the weapons program.

The Pakistan Government has already said that the country''s nuclear infrastructure is safe and faced no threat from Taliban militants.

Source ANI

Jalpaiguri: An Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG 27 aircraft crashed near New Jalpaiguri about 16 kilometers West of the Hashimara Air Force Base on Friday.

According to a Defence Ministry press release, the pilot of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Gautam, ejected safely before the aircraft crashed.

This is the ninth IAF aircraft and the second MiG 27 crash this year. Earlier in May a MiG 27 crashed in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

The fighter jet was on a routine sortie when it crashed.

There was no reported damage to property or life.

The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry to investigate the cause of the accident.

Since January this year, the IAF lost three MiG-21s at Jodhpur, Chabua in Assam and Baliana in Punjab.

One IAF pilot was also killed when a SU-30MKI, was crashed in Jaisalmer in April.

Source ANI

Hyderabad: New South Wales’s success in the ongoing mega-rich Champions League is being given to skipper Simon Katich, who is believed to be the brain behind the Blues’ revolutionary tactics.

One of the main tactics used by Katich was to unsettle opposition bowlers by using the combination of right hand and left hand batsmen at crease. He made it sure that once one of the openers is dismissed, there is a left-hand, right-hand combination at the crease for most of the remaining overs.

Though it’s not a new concept, but Katich took his batsman into confidence as a result of which they were trained to bat according to the situation rather than waiting for their set position in the line-up.

Only five NSW players are guaranteed their batting positions in the order. Openers David Warner and Phillip Hughes are not negotiable, while bowlers Hauritz, Stuart Clark and Doug Bollinger anchor the innings. The remaining six are expected to slide up and down the order depending not only on the match situation, but on who has just been dismissed, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The only pair of right-handers to have batted together was Nathan Hauritz and Brett Lee, who occupied the crease for two balls against Victoria in the semi-finals.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Delhi Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Chairman, Suresh Kalmadi, on Friday said the Queen''s Baton Relay 2010 will be launched on October 29 when Queen Elizabeth II hands over the Baton to President Pratibha Patil in Buckingham Palace in London.

The Queen''s Baton Relay is one of the great traditions of the Commonwealth Games, dating back to the 1958 in Cardiff.

Commonwealth Games Federation President, Michael Fennell will remove the Baton from its plinth and invite Queen Elizabeth II to place her message to the athletes inside the Baton and then hand it over to the President of India.

Patil will then hand over the Baton to Union Sports Minister M S Gill who will then pass it on to Kalmadi only to be handed over to the first Baton bearer Abhinav Bindra, India''s first individual Olympic gold medallist.

“The Queen''s message to the athletes has been engraved onto a miniature 18-carat gold leaf that is representative of the ancient Indian palm leaf patras. The embossing has been done by micro-calligraphy that uses modern laser technology. And the Baton itself that is a fusion of handcrafted elements, precision engineered body and ornamented with intricate hand layered soil patterns," Kalmadi told reporters.

Kalmadi also said that the Baton would arrive in India on June 25, 2010 from Pakistan through the Wagah border.

“The international sector will traverse 170, 000 kilometres by land, air and sea and it will arrive in India on 25 of June from Pakistan at the Wagah border and it will start a 100-day national tour. The national stretch is about 20, 000 kilometres, which is twice as long as the domestic sectors of the Baton relays of Manchester or Melbourne," added Kalmadi.

The Organising Committee will hand over the baton to Sir Andrew Foster, chairman of Commonwealth Games Council, England, in a formal ceremony at New Palace Yard on October 30, which will then begin its journey around the nations and territories of the CWG.

Besides Bindra, the other Batonbearers are-- Olympic Games 2008 medallists Vijender Kumar, Sushil Kumar, 1958 Commonwealth games gold medallist winner Milkha Singh and Olympian Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, ace tennis star Sania Mirza and many other eminent Indian sportsperson.

Source ANI

ASEAN Summit Spokesperson Vimon Kidchob on Friday said that participation by countries like India is very significant for all ten ASEAN member countries, as India has a very strong-hold in various fields like education, herbal medicines, IT, science and technology.

She said that in such a scenario the role of India cannot be ignored and that ASEAN expects to enhance trade with New Delhi.

"Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is coming with an idea to work on five key areas like energy, education, finance, and national disaster management with ASEAN countries," she said.

"Tomorrow might be a very important day in the ASEAN Summit, as a meeting between India and the Chinese Prime Minister is possible and various hot issues like Arunacahl Pradesh and the recent incursion in Ladakh is likely to be discussed," Kidchob said.

Issuing a departure statement ahead of his visit to attend the Seventh India-ASEAN and the Fourth East Asia Summit in Bangkok, Dr. Singh had said: "India''''s enhanced engagement with the ASEAN is at the heart of our ''''Look East'''' Policy. The conclusion of the India-ASEAN Trade-in-Goods Agreement in August 2009 is a major first step in our objective of creating an India-ASEAN Regional Trade and Investment Area. India-ASEAN trade has grown at a healthy rate and stood at about US Dollars 48 billion in 2008. The India-ASEAN Summit is an occasion to review the progress in our relations with ASEAN countries. I will inform ASEAN leaders about the several initiatives that India has taken to qualitatively enhance our partnership in diverse areas of our cooperation."

In pursuance of the theme of the ASEAN Summit of "Enhancing Connectivity, Empowering Peoples", I will discuss with the ASEAN leaders new initiatives to accelerate the process of our engagement in areas such as greater economic integration, people-to-people contacts, agriculture, human resource development, education, science and technology and information and communications technology.

I will also attend the Fourth East Asia Summit on October 25. The East Asia Summit will review cooperation in five key areas - energy, education, finance, avian influenza and national disaster mitigation. The Summit will provide an opportunity to discuss regional and international issues of common interest, and future direction for community building and cooperation.  Asia''''s response to the global economic slowdown, food security, energy security and climate change will be important issues of discussion.

Source ANI

Hyderabad: With the mega-rich Champions League on the verge of conclusion, Australian champions New South Wales (NSW) are perplexed with the “mind-boggling” money which they will earn out of it.

NSW, who defeated Victoria in the semi-finals, have already been guaranteed a pay cheque of 1.3 million dollars for merely reaching the decider. But, more is up for grabs if they are able to defeat Trinidad and Tobago in the final.

The anticipation is such that NSW boss David Gilbert has termed the final “a million-dollar cricket match.”

“The money is mind-boggling. So far, so good, but there''s still a lot of resolve in the team to go all the way. The money is incredibly lucrative, and no one is denying that. For the players, especially some of the lesser lights, it''s the chance to have a real windfall,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Gilbert, as saying.

Victory in the final is worth 2.5 million dollars, and flow-on effects of being the champions include future sponsorship deals with cashed-up companies and a powerful new brand awareness in the ultra-competitive Australian market.

Source ANI

Srinagar: Violent protests erupted in the Mysooma area of Srinagar soon after the Friday prayers on the call of separatist.

Many people, including some security personnel, were injured in Mysooma, which witnessed pitched street battles over the issue of land occupations by the armed forces in Kashmir valley alleged by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the Chairman of the hardline faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).

Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) used tear gas and batons to disperse mob in order to control the situation.

The clashes triggered tension in the city and led to the closure of shops and businesses establishments in the busy Lal Chowk.

Transport was also disrupted for a while, but was later restored.

The separatists have called for protests against the land occupation by the army.

Source ANI

Mumbai: At least two persons including the local train driver were killed and eleven others injured when a water pipeline along with part of a bridge fell on a moving train between Mulund and Thane station disrupting train services on the Central Line in Mumbai.

According to reports, the motorman is said to be still stuck. Rescue teams are trying to cut through the metal of his cabin to reach him.

All train services between Thane and Kurla have been halted following the mishap.

According to sources, the water pipeline was on an under-construction bridge.

Source ANI

Srinagar: An alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant was killed in an encounter with the security forces here on Friday.

The gun battle took place at Badambagh area of Sopore town in the Kashmir Valley.

Acting on a tip-off, the security forces surrounded a house where three militants were believed to be holed up.

On Thursday, the operation was halted as the night approached. However, during the search operation on Friday a dead body of a militant was found.

Speaking to ANI, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Baramulla, Vipal Kumar said: "Yesterday in the evening we got information about presence of militants in the area which is called Badambagh Sopore. We launched an operation along with the paramilitary forces and the firefight continued for about half an hour in the evening about 6 ''o'' clock. Then we suspended the operation because of the night.”

“In the morning we started search. During search we have recovered a dead body of the militant along with some arms and ammunition, which included one AK-47 and some other things. We are still continuing with the search because we had the information that there are three militants in this place so we are still continuing with the operation,” he added.

The police officials are trying to ascertain whether the dead body is of Abdullah Uni, a Lashkar commander of the region.

"We had the information that Abdullah Uni along with two other militants, they have come to this place. So we had launched operation basically to nab them only. But we cannot still confirm whether this dead body of the militant belongs to Abdullah Yuni or somebody else," SSP Kumar said.

Abdullah is suspected to have led recent suicide attacks on security forces in various parts of the Valley.

Source ANI

Srinagar: Scores of students burnt their textbooks here after they were expelled from schools for failing to pay fees.

Parents have not been paid salaries for six months by the state transport department.

Children holding books in their arms and black flags started their rally from Transport Headquarters shouting slogans against the State Government for not paying salaries to their parents.

Children said they could not cope any further with the mental stress and burning their books seemed the only way out to express their anger.

"We were not getting admission in schools then what''s the use of these books. That''s why we are burning these books. We are having exams in schools but we have been expelled from there. We are compelled to walk the wrong path," said Usra Jan, daughter of a striking employee of the transport department.

The children demanded the State Government to release the salaries of striking employees of the Road Transport Corporation in Srinagar.

Tens of thousands of the transport employees in the past have staged many protests demanding the release of their salary pending for last six months and a pay hike as per recommendation of the Sixth Pay Commission.

The protesters alleged that Kashmir Government was not taking any note of their demands.

The demands include enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60, regularisation of contractual, ad-hoc and casual workers as per merit, amendment in the Wage Act including increase in wages of the daily wagers and casual labourers from current 2,100 rupees monthly to 5,000 rupees.

Source ANI

New Delhi: National Meat and Poultry Processing Board is organising the first National Level Conference Exhibition-cum-Training from November 5th to 7th here.

The conference, “Meat and Poultry processing Industry in India- Potential and Challenges,” will be inaugurated by Minister of Food Processing Industries, Subodh Kant Sahai.

The conference/exhibition-cum-training will have participants from Meat/Poultry sector, entrepreneurs and meat/poultry workers, state government officials and all other stakeholders.

Exhibition of 50 participants of the meat/poultry sector consisting of small micro, medium and large sector industry is scheduled to be displayed.

Films on meat/poultry sector, lectures from experts in this sector regarding slaughtering of animals, dressing, personal hygiene, vending, dispatch, capacity building, technology, quality issues, processing, packaging, R&D, cold chain and preservation of products will also be discussed.

Source ANI

Chandigarh: Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Phool Chand Maullana met state Governor Jagannath Pahadia here on Friday and staked a claim to form the next government in the state.

On Thursday, the Congress got 40 seats in the 90-member assembly, falling short by six MLAs to cross the half - way mark.

During his meeting with Governor Pahadia, Maullana submitted letters of all seven independent MLAs who had pledged unconditional support to the Congress party to form the government.

Speaking to the media outside Raj Bhavan, Maullana said the party high command would take a decision on who would be the next Chief Minister by this evening.

The Congress High Command has still not made it clear whether incumbent Chief Minister Bhoopinder Singh Hooda will be the party''''s choice to lead the state.

The names of Union Housing Minister Kumari Selja, State Forests and Tourism Minister Kiran Chaudhary and Power Minister Randeep Surjewala are also doing the rounds for the post.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi met her political Secretary Ahmed Patel and Haryana in charge Prithviraj Chavan to discuss the state leadership issue this morning.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje handed over her resignation as Opposition Leader in the State Assembly to senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K Advani here on Friday.

Raje’s decision came a day ahead of BJP Parliamentary Board meeting.

In August, the BJP high command had asked Raje to step down as Leader of Opposition in the wake of the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly elections.

The party decided to remove Raje as part of its larger exercise to change office-bearers in states where the party had fared poorly in the elections, but Raje had reportedly asked why no central leader had been held accountable.

According to sources, the party might keep Raje’s resignation pending till the end of the bye - election to  the Rajasthan Assembly, which is scheduled to be held on November 7.

Sources added that Raje had demanded the removal of those at the helm of party affairs in elections to Maharashtra and Haryana.

On Tuesday, Raje failed to keep her appointment with the party’s pointperson to solve the Rajasthan problem, Sushma Swaraj hence pushing the party into quandary.

On October 15, the BJP Parliamentary Board, discussed the Raje issue for over two-and-a-half hours, but was forced to defer a final decision due to a lack of consensus.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Reacting to the result of the Assembly polls that were held in three states, M.K. Pandhe, Politburo member of the Communist Party of India - Marxists (CPI-M), on Friday said that money played a pivotal role in elections this time.
The Marxist party won only one seat in Maharashtra.

"Maharashtra result has not gone in our favour. But money played a very important role this time. I went to Sholapur and Ichalkaranji. There was no meeting and no public propaganda, but money was playing a big role in the elections. Before the elections, I could see the way the Congress tried to win the elections. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena also helped the Congress. In Haryana of course, the Congress has not fared well. Arunachal, that was also expected earlier, " Pandhe said ahead of the CPM''s central committee meeting.

Talking about the agenda of the party''s three-day central committee meeting, Pandhe said that political developments as well international issues would be discussed.

"This meeting will view the political development in the country and international situation. It will also discuss the rectification document drafted by the politburo. After discussing the document, it will be released. We will be able to implement the document all over the country to correct all the non-communist norms, which are prevailing in the country, that is the main purpose of the discussion," said Pandhe.

Marxists previously won three seats in the state when it was part of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress alliance.

Marxists had tried to use farmer suicides and agrarian crisis as poll planks, saying that ten-year NCP-Congress rule was incompetent.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari conferred the "National Safety Awards (Mines)" here today.

The function was organised by the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Addressing on the occasion, Ansari said that while the Indian mining industry has achieved phenomenal progress in production and productivity, accidents in the mining sector are also, sadly, a fact of life.

"While the risk of hazard cannot be eliminated from mining activity, the consistent efforts since Independence has been to ensure the safety, welfare and the health of workers of mines by minimizing the hazards through all available technological means," he said.

He said that the death rate and serious injury rate per thousand persons have increased during this decade.

"This needs to be addressed with alacrity, notwithstanding the progress made on safety issues in the decades after nationalization of coal mines and also considering the fact that our record is better than that of many other coal-producing countries," he added.

The Vice President expressed his concern that the total number of inspections carried out by the DGMS has gone down by a third in the last fifteen years - from 9942 inspections in 1991 to 7041 inspections in 2006.

The paucity of human resources is an obvious hindrance to inspection work, he said.

The DGMS website notes that "keeping in mind the limited resources available by way of inspecting officers and associated infrastructure, it is humanly impossible for them to ensure compliance by management at all times and at all work places."

He called upon them to correct this situation at the earliest and empower the regulator for mines safety to recruit the requisite talent.

"This would ensure that lack of personnel does not hinder inspections and thereby cause more human fatalities and casualties," he added.

The Vice President later praised the efforts of the DGMS in organizing safety campaigns and observing safety weeks, holding first aid and rescue competitions and undertaking awareness and information dissemination.

Source ANI

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday received a threat letter, bearing the name of banned terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tailba.

His security has been beefed up in the wake of the death threat.

Written in Hindi, the letter bears no address, but the sender’s name was stated as LeT, said IG A K Soni adding that a team has been assigned to probe the matter.

“Prima facie it seems to be a fake letter dispatched on the behalf of LeT, still we are investigating it,” he said.

The letter was posted at the official address of the Jhansi station superintendent (SS), who subsequently forwarded it to MP PHQ.

Source ANI

Mumbai: At least one person was killed and twelve others injured when a water pipeline along with part of a bridge fell on a moving train between Mulund and Thane station disrupting train services on the Central Line in Mumbai.

According to reports, the motorman is said to be still stuck. Rescue teams are trying to cut through the metal of his cabin to reach him.

All train services between Thane and Kurla have been halted due to the mishap.

According to sources, the water pipeline was on an under-construction bridge.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Friday said that he is not a contender for the Chief Minister’s post in Maharashtra.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi here, Deshmukh said he would leave the decision to the party high command.

Deshmukh, who headed the State Government twice earlier, is claiming the support of 50 MLAs. It was also noted that it was Deshmukh who played a major role in the distribution of tickets.

Political circle, however, feel that it would not be easy for the Congress leadership to consider Deshmukh as he has only recently won the Lok Sabha elections and been inducted into the Union Cabinet.

The Congress - Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance won 146 seats of the 288-seats that were up for grabs in the assembly elections.

Deshmukh’s statement might bring a smile in incumbent Chief Minister Ashok Chavan’s camp. In his brief stint of ten months, Chavan has acquired a reputation of loyalty to the party high command and is also appreciated for handling the post 26/11 scenario in the state.

On Thursday, Chavan had said in Mumbai that his ten-month tenure was not long enough to judge him. He said he was gratified by the public support and it was up to the high command to decide where he could carry on with the job.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh on Friday said that the Steel Ministry has decided to launch a nation-wide survey on rural steel consumption and demand to correctly assess consumption of steel in rural India.

Inaugurating the Conference on ''Diversifying and Enhancing Steel Consumption'' here today, Singh said: "This survey will cover all the states and union territories covering nearly 300 districts and 1500 villages in the country."

"The survey conducted by the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) will reveal a true picture of steel consumption pattern and the potential demand, covering all socio-economic and geographical entities of the country," he added.

He said, based on this survey, we will orient our strategy for an accelerated steel consumption growth in rural India, which will also be in concurrence with the government''s programme for a vibrant and developing ''Gramin Bharat''.

The Minister said consumption of steel in rural areas remains quite low despite a modest rise in last two to three years.

He said, one of the major reasons of low rural consumption is the lack of easy availability of steel in remote blocks and villages.

Emphasising the need to strengthen distribution network in rural areas he said, if steel items of mass consumption were easily available in the villages, the picture could have been different.

"Over the past few years, the PSU steel companies have taken lead in opening nearly 1500 distribution centers in the district and block levels. Steel Processing Units are also being set up in various states to manufacture the products locally to cater to the specific needs of that region," he said.

He expressed the hope that private sector steel units will soon take action in establishing rural distribution networks and see that their products of mass consumption are easily available in the remotest parts of the country, at affordable prices.

He also urged the steel industry to be proactive in steel application designs.

"Better quality and lower cost of application will certainly be acceptable by the users by way of value offers. This will be one of the most positive ways of improving steel consumption. The Research and Resign (R&D) in steel sector should put higher emphasis on steel intensive product innovations and design applications," he said.

The Minister also expressed his happiness that the FICCI has been bold enough to choose a topic on the diverse subject concerning steel consumption.

He hoped the Conference would elaborate on the various diverse issues and arrive at a common consensus.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The High Court on Friday allowed Vikas Yadav, who is serving life imprisonment in the Nitish Katara murder case, to attend his sister''s wedding under judicial custody.

However, the court refused to grant him interim bail.

Directing the police to accompany Vikas in plain clothes during the function, the court allowed Vikas to attend his sister (Bharti Yadav) wedding on November 1.

Vikas pleaded for interim bail for three months to take part in the marriage ceremony.

On May 30, the Patiala House Court had awarded life sentence to Vikas, the son of Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav.

Vikas and Vishal had allegedly abducted Katara, the son of an IAS officer, from a marriage party in Ghaziabad on the intervening night of February 16-17, 2002.

The victim''s body was later recovered from a village in Uttar Pradesh''s Bulandshahr District.

According to the prosecution, Katara, a business executive, was killed by the two accused, as they did not approve of their sister Bharti Yadav''s growing proximity with him.

Vikas has also been convicted in Jessica Lal murder case and sentenced to four years of imprisonment by the Delhi High Court for destruction of evidence.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Congress Party on Friday claimed to have completed the number deficit by garnering ''unconditional support'' of seven Independent Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in Haryana.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda''s residence was chock-a-block with Congress leaders and workers who were greeting each other with the prospect of ruling the state for a second consecutive term.

The Congress got mere 40 seats in a House of 90 seats, 29 seats less than previous Assembly. However, by garnering the "magic number", Hooda can hope to retain his chief ministerial post for the second term.

"The Congress will form the government. We have completed the number deficit. We will have a legislature party meeting. The Party President has sought some time. The Independents have given their support to the Congress. There are seven independent MLAs," said Hooda.

About seven Independent candidates who have won assembly elections, held on October 13, are giving their full and unconditional support to the Congress, which will present its claim to form the government.

"We are supporting the Congress for development as I have won the election on this plank. People in my constituency have tested other parties. I want development to take place in my constituency and fulfill promises. Therefore, I have given my support to the Congress believing in its policies. All the independent candidates have lent their full unconditional support to the Congress," said Gopal Kanda, an independent candidate.

Meanwhile, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met AICC in-charge for Haryana Affairs Prithviraj Chavan and Ahmed Patel at 10 Janpath.

With this, Congress is ready to rule all three states, including Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Congress swept Arunachal Pradesh polls for the second straight term by securing 42 out of 60 seats. The ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance won a third consecutive term in Maharashtra elections by winning 144 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra state assembly.

Source ANI

New Delhi: United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk will travel this weekend to New Delhi in advance of the sixth ministerial-level meeting of the United States-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) on October 26.

Ambassador Kirk co-chairs the Trade Policy Forum with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma.

Established in July 2005, the Forum is an arrangement between the Governments of the United States and India to discuss trade and investment issues.

While in New Delhi for the Trade Policy Forum, Ambassador Kirk will also hold meetings with Indian business leaders and with Indian and United States officials on the ground.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said here on Friday that the Centre can advice state governments to initiate a dialogue with Maoists only after the ultras abjure violence.

Interacting with the media on the sidelines of the Indo Tibet Border Police’s (ITBP) Raising Day parade, Chidambaram said: "CPI (Maoist) must abjure violence. They have to abjure violence and then we can work out the process for talks and then we will advice the state governments to talk to them.”

"We can help the state governments to talk to them. But first they have to abjure violence,” he added.

Commenting on the funding network of terror organizations he said: "You can''''t have a plan to restrict terror funding. We have tracked three to four cases where we suspect funds have been used to finance the terrorists. They are under investigation. I can''''t disclose anything more.”

Earlier, in a letter written to the former Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray, Chidambaram said violence that is being carried out by the red ultras is the only hurdle before holding the dialogue.

"If the CPI (Maoist) will make a statement to that effect and call a halt to violence, government would be willing to start a process through which the state governments concerned and the central government can hold talks with them on any issue that concerns them and the people they claim to represent," Chidambaram had stated in the letter.

In his letter, the Home Minister also raised concern over the statements made by Maoist leaders Ganapathy and Kishanji justifying the violence and armed struggle.

Source ANI

Mumbai: A water pipeline along with part of a bridge fell on a moving train between Mulund and Thane station disrupting train services on the Central Line in Mumbai.

However, no casualties have been reported so far.

Five people have been injured in the mishap.

According to reports, the motorman is said to be still stuck.

More details are awaited.

Source ANI

Oscar winner musician A. R. Rahman’s “Jai ho” has again won laurels at prestigious World Soundtrack Academy awards in Ghent, Belgium.

The song from “Slumdog Millionaire” won in “best original song written for film” category at the ninth World Soundtrack Awards announced at Ghent, and the ceremony, in addition to Rahman, was reportedly attended by world film music personalities like Alexandre Desplat, Marvin Hamlisch, Reinhold Heil, Johhny Klimek, Alti Ovarsson, Jérôme Lemmonier, Andrew Lockington, etc.

Acclaimed Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed has applauded Rahman for creating a bridge between the music of east and west and for strengthening the worldwide market and stature of Indian music.

Zed, who is the chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Confederation, in  a statement in Nevada (USA), urged Rahman to help nourish the next generation with the richness of Indian music, elements of whose theory were first found in ancient Hindu scripture Sama-Veda.

Music for “Jai ho” was provided by Rahman; lyrics by Gulzar and Tanvi Shah; published by KM Musiq Ltd.; and performed by Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaksmi Iyver, and Vijay Prakash.

Rahman, who has reportedly recorded sales of over 300 million, was called “Mozart of Madras'''' by Time magazine. Rahman sees music “as a way to connect to spirituality and embrace it” and for “creating harmony in troubled times”.

The World Soundtrack Awards are distributed annually for outstanding achievement in scoring music for motion pictures and other achievements in five categories. Academy is aimed at organizing and overseeing the educational, cultural and professional aspects of the art of film music, including the preservation of the history of the soundtrack and its worldwide promotion.

Source ANI

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that talks were on, both formal and informal, to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

Talking to reporters here on Thursday, Abdullah said: "I will be satisfied only when this matter is resolved. Talks have been held on this issue both formal as well as informal. I would want this matter to be resolved once and for all."

Earlier he said that result-oriented dialogue is the only way for bringing peace and tranquility in the State.

"The lessons have been learnt from the previous failed rounds of talks and thus this time the talks would lead to a logical conclusion," he added.

Abdullah also said that India-Pakistan talks, stalled after last year''s Mumbai attack, should be resumed.

Earlier, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram had said that the Central Government was open to peace talks on Kashmir.

Source ANI

Chennai: Communist Party of India (CPI) national secretary, D Raja, has said he hoped that the border issue with China would be resolved.

Talking to reporters here on Thursday, he said: "Both the countries have agreed to discuss the border dispute and the talks are in progress, that''s why the Prime Minister himself has said both countries can find amicable solution to the dispute whatever exists, so we have to work for the outcome of the ongoing talks, ongoing dialogue and we should wish both countries find amicable solution and both countries maintain good relations."

Responding to the party''s stand on the plight of Sri Lankan Tamil civilians, Raja said that New Delhi should go beyond offering aid to the island nation for the rebuilding process and ask Colombo to pave the way for the rehabilitation of the displaced people in the war-torn northern region.

"Government of India, besides giving financial support, should exercise its moral authority and responsibility to tell Rajapaksa government to release Sri Lankan Tamils who are in prison immediately and also tell Rajapaksa government to come forward for a political solution to the Sri Lankan Tamils which includes devolution of powers to Sri Lankan Tamils and they must be given freedom to live in Sri Lanka on the basis of equality to live," he added.

He said that his party would raise the Sri Lankan Tamils issue in the coming Parliament session.

Around 300,000 Sri Lankan Tamils were displaced in the final months of the offensive to wipe out the Tamil Tigers rebels, which ended on May 18.

The Sri Lankan Government had announced that it would resettle at least 80 per cent of the displaced people by the end of the year.

The United Nations and Indian and the Western Governments have urged Sri Lanka to let Tamil refugees return to their homes quickly.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Telecom Minister A. Raja said here on Friday refuted allegations of wrongdoing and added that the licenses and spectrum had been allocated in conformity with the government’s telecom policy.

He also denied his role in a telecom spectrum scam.

"Licenses were issued in accordance with the law. I have followed what my predecessors have done since 1993. I had no external pressure to deviate from the law,” he told media persons here.

Raja’s reaction came a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had searched the offices of the Department of Telecom in connection with alleged irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum to some new companies.

According to CBI sources a team of its sleuths conducted a search at Sanchar Bhawan here after registering a case in this connection last evening.

Sources added that all records pertaining to the allocation of spectrum to new players in January 2008 would be taken to see if there were irregularities in the process.

In 2008, eight new companies were given licenses along with bundled 4.4 MHz spectrum to start mobile services.

Earlier, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) criticized the Telecom Ministry for doling out spectrum to a very cheap compared to its actual market value.

CVC had recommended a CBI probe into the procedures followed for selecting companies for giving 2G spectrum.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Emphasizing that he saw India’s participation in the India-ASEAN and the East Asia Summits as a vital element of the country’s vision of an Asian economic community based on an open and inclusive regional architecture, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, left on a three-day visit to Thai capital Bangkok this morning.

Issuing a departure statement ahead of his visit to attend the Seventh India-ASEAN and the Fourth East Asia Summit in Bangkok, Dr. Singh said: “India’s enhanced engagement with the ASEAN is at the heart of our ‘Look East’ Policy. The conclusion of the India-ASEAN Trade-in-Goods Agreement in August 2009 is a major first step in our objective of creating an India-ASEAN Regional Trade and Investment Area. India-ASEAN trade has grown at a healthy rate and stood at about US Dollars 48 billion in 2008. The India-ASEAN Summit is an occasion to review the progress in our relations with ASEAN countries. I will inform ASEAN leaders about the several initiatives that India has taken to qualitatively enhance our partnership in diverse areas of our cooperation.”

In pursuance of the theme of the ASEAN Summit of “Enhancing Connectivity, Empowering Peoples”, I will discuss with the ASEAN leaders new initiatives to accelerate the process of our engagement in areas such as greater economic integration, people-to-people contacts, agriculture, human resource development, education, science and technology and information and communications technology.

I will also attend the Fourth East Asia Summit on October 25. The East Asia Summit will review cooperation in five key areas - energy, education, finance, avian influenza and national disaster mitigation. The Summit will provide an opportunity to discuss regional and international issues of common interest, and future direction for community building and cooperation.  Asia’s response to the global economic slowdown, food security, energy security and climate change will be important issues of discussion.

I am hopeful that the ASEAN and other countries of the East Asia Summit process will endorse the proposal for the establishment of the Nalanda University in Bihar as an international institution of excellence in education with a continental focus,” he further said.

The departure statement also said that he would have bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Cambodia, the Chinese Premier, the President of Indonesia, the Prime Minister of Japan, the Prime Minister of Singapore, the Prime Minister of Thailand and the Prime Minister of Vietnam.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari will present the National Safety Awards (Mines) for the year 2007 here today.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment, instituted the National Safety Awards (Mines) in the year 1982-83 to recognize and encourage the exemplary performance for prevention of accidents in mines.

These awards were given away for the first time in the year 1984 for the contest years 1982 and 1983 and thereafter, regularly every year.

The award scheme is operated by the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS), Dhanbad.

The DGMS regulates the safety and health issues of the persons employed in mines as provided under the Mines Act, 1952 through a system of periodic inspection and inquiry.

Recognizing the need for involvement of the workpersons in safety and health matters, the Government has been promoting the concepts of “self-regulation” and “participative management” with a view to influence human behaviour at work so that a real breakthrough in accident prevention could result.

For the purpose of the contest for National Safety Awards (Mines), all mines have been divided into seven different groups depending upon the type of mineral and nature of workings.

The indicators of safety performance for determining eligibility of these awards include longest accident free period in terms of manshifts worked during three consecutive years ending with the contest year and lowest injury frequency rate during three consecutive years ending with the contest year.

A tripartite Awards Committee comprising of eight representatives of trade unions, with the Director General of Mines Safety as its Chairman submits its recommendation on the list of award winners for the contest year to the Ministry.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday announced five-phase election schedule for the Jharkhand Assembly.

The poling will be held between November 27 to December 18.

At present the tribal dominated state is under president rule, after its assembly was suspended following the defeat of Chief Minister Sibu Soren in a bye-election.

Announcing the schedule here Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla said: “The Commission has prepared the schedule for holding general elections to the Jharkhand Assembly after taking into consideration all relevant aspects, like climatic conditions, academic schedules, festivals, prevailing law and order situation in the State.

“The Home Ministry has intimated that the President’s Rule in the State cannot be extended further and requested to take appropriate action for conducting early elections in the State,” he added.

With the announcement of elections the model code of conduct will come into force in the state with immediate effect.

Jharkhand Assembly has 81 seats with nine reserved for SCs and 28 seats are reserved for STs.

The notification for the election will be issued on November 3, 7, 13, 17, and 24 for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth phase respectively.

The nominations can be filed till November 10, 14, 20, 24 and December 1 for the first, second, third, fourth and Fifth phase respectively.

The scrutiny of nomination will be held on November 11, 16, 21, 25 and December 2 and the nominations can be withdrawn on November 13, 18, 23, 27 and December 4.

The polling will be held on November 27, December 2, 8, 12, 18, in the first, second, third, fourth and Fifth phase respectively.

In the first phase 30 constituencies will vote, in the second phase 15 constituencies will go to poll, in third phase seven seats will vote, and 14 and 15 constituencies will vote in the fourth and the fifth phase.

Counting will be held on December 23.

As Jharkhand is one of the Naxal Affected states the election Commission has decidecd to deploy Central Police Forces (CPF) and State Armed Police (SAP) drawn from other States.

Chawla said: “The CPF and SAP will be used for safeguarding polling stations and for providing security to electors and polling personnel. Besides, these forces will be used for securing the strong rooms where the EVMs are stored and for securing the counting centers.”

Source ANI

New Delhi: Describing climate change as one of the most serious security challenges the world is going to face, the President of Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, today called for urgent United Nations reforms and making India and Brazil as permanent members of the Security Council.

Delivering an address on ‘Environment and Conflict Resolution’ at Observer Research Foundation in Delhi, Mr. Nasheed said climate change is a “more serious threat to the international order than Islamic radicalism, piracy or sharing of resources.”

The Maldives President said when the world wants India and other developing countries “to do this and that to fight climate change, they should be made permanent members of the UN Security Council”.

Asking India to do everything possible to save frontline state like Maldives, the President said “we are asking nothing short of saving the world. I would ask India to do it, instead of asking anyone else to do it.”

The President argued that climate change is a real threat. “If we believe in science, and two plus two is four, the climate change is happening and it is a great threat to the world”.

Regretting that negotiations are not proceeding the way it should have, the Maldives President said “we don’t want Copenhagen to come out with an empty piece of paper. We want a solid piece of paper, with the guarantee for our security and the security of the world.”

He said if one thinks that the issue of “climate change is effecting only Maldives today, remember it is going to happen to you tomorrow. If you think this is only a Maldives issue, you cannot be more wrong than this,” the President warned.

He said climate change will alter the nature of the planet, reducing its resources and leading to more and more conflicts. This will lead to huge refugee problems, he warned.

The President said he agreed fully with the Indian stand on climate change, but he appealed to India to make use of renewable energy to provide energy to over 300 million people without electricity.

“Why you want to go to yesterday’s diesel when you can go for tomorrow’s renewable energy and new technology?,” he asked the conference chaired by Mr. Shyam Saran, Prime Minister’s Envoy on Climate Change.

“The world is on the threshold of new technology and you will be in the forefront if you use them,” he said, advocating smaller, local units to provide cheaper energy instead of huge plants set up by multinationals. “I am sure India can succeed through many ways,” he added.

Mr. Shyam Saran assured the President that India is doing everything possible to curb carbon emissions, drawing his attention to the plan of the government to use more and more renewable source of energy.

Mr. Shyam Saran said now negotiations are being carried out on what he described as “adversarial mode and they ended up on least common denominator.

Mr. Sunjoy Joshi, Distinguished Fellow, ORF, said while it would be simplistic to blame the environmental changes and climate for the ills of the world including radicalism, terror, piracy, insurgencies and dictatorships, climate change if not addressed holistically will surely aid in the increasing the frequency and extremities of these hateful agendas.

“Climate Change has helped us all understand that security and prosperity cannot be nation centric and must be at the level of the individual and hence we must now revisit security in terms of human security that would include not only the physical elements but secure his social and development aspirations and needs,” Mr. Joshi said in his welcome address.

Mr. Joshi said “any agreement that the world reaches at Copenhagen or thereafter must necessarily strive towards converging levels of Human Development and Human Security and cannot serve to maintain status quo”.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Friday expressed concern over the suicide bomb attack near the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra, which reportedly houses some of the country''s nuclear assets.

Rao said that New Delhi was aware of the attack and hoped the authorities in Islamabad would ensure the safeguarding of those assets to prevent any untoward incident in the future.

“What I want to say on the issue is that we hope that the Pakistan Government will continue to take steps to effectively secure their nuclear assets,” Rao said.

The bomb attack claimed the lives of eight people, but officials moved quickly to deny suggestions that it was linked to the country''s nuclear program.

A Pakistan Air Force official was quick to dispel suggestions on Friday that the Kamra facility was linked to the weapons program.

The Pakistan Government has already said that the country''s nuclear infrastructure is safe and faced no threat from Taliban militants.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Friday said that that issues of conflict between India and China will be discussed during the bilateral meet between the leaders of both the countries on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Thailand.

“Well the bilateral relationship that we have with China will obviously be in focus during the forthcoming meeting between our Prime Minister and Chinese Premiere Wen Jiabao in Thailand. And this is a relationship that is, that has developed in many many areas in recent years,” Rao said.

“It''s also a relationship that is a complex one, you are aware of the outstanding issues that remain to be resolved between India and China and obviously in meetings of this nature especially the meetings between the leadership at the highest level there is an opportunity to address all these issues,” she added.

Rising tensions were evident recently when China tried to block an Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan to Arunachal Pradesh and objected to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the state.

Commenting on the scheduled visit of Tibetan spiritual guru Dalai Lama in Arunachal Pradesh next month, Rao said: “I have said this before and the Government has said this before that His holiness, the Dalai Lama, is respected religious and spiritual figure.”

“The Tibetan community in India is not expected to undertake any political activity, that is our consistent position. And we also said that Dalai Lama is free to travel anywhere in India,” she added.

Source ANI

New Delhi: After giving colour television to the nation during the Asians Games in 1982, the Doordarshan is gearing up for the high definition telecast of the Commonwealth Games 2010.

Doordarshan Director General (DG) Aruna Sharma told ANI about its preparedness for coverage of the Commonwealth Games.

She said that the Doordarshan is well equipped to handle all kinds of coverage and is well prepared with high definition format, which will spur a new kind of revolution in television industry.  

Sharma exudes confidence that all the preparations for the Commonwealth Games are on full swing and it will be done in time to showcase the preparedness for the world class television coverage of the event.

The DG said: “For the first time the Commonwealth Games will be covered in high definition format. The CW Games will also be broadcasted for the first time globally.”   

The Centre has sanctioned a budget of Rs 366 crore for coverage of the Games and Doordarshan is hopeful to earn over Rs.110 crore from the Games coverage, Sharma said.

The Doordarshan is also holding World Broadcaster meet on Commonwealth Games in the capital, which scheduled from October 26-28.

During the meet there will be presentations from the host broadcaster about the preparations for productions and coverage of the games along with rate cards for the broadcasting the mega event.

“It is being held because broadcast right holders want to know about the host broadcaster’s preparations, and to look for broadcast partner for the telecasting the 2010 Commonwealth Games,” Sharma said.

There will be 37 delegates from eight countries who will participate in the meet. They will also be visiting games sites to see the preparations of the games from telecast point of view.

Source ANI

Agra: Indo-US air force bilateral exercise, Cope India 2009, today came to a successful completion, with both the air forces working together, enhancing and understanding the employment philosophies of each other in joint venture operations.

The exercise ended with both the exercise directiors Group Captain Mathew Mammen of the Indian Air Force and Colonel Raymond Le Marche of the USAF expressing satisfaction in the way the exercises was conducted.

To amplify the importance of the exercise Air Vice Marshal M Bahadur, Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Transport & Helicopter) of the IAF and Major General Darryll Wong of the USAF exchanged mementos to commemorate the successful completion of EX Cope India 2009.

The IAF and the USAF learnt about each other’s joint planning and execution of missions.

The five-day joint exercise (from October 19 to 23) being held at Agra, which is one of the largest air base in Southeast Asia, was aimed at training personnel for joint planning and execution of missions in simulated hostile scenarios.

The Indian contingent was represented by five AN-32s, one IL-76 and one Chetak helicopter in the exercise, while the US Air Force (USAF) utilized personnel from Pacific Air Force and the Special Operation Command.

The Pacific Air Force comprises of three XC-130H from the 374th Airlift Wing, one XC-17 from the 15th Airlift Wing and one XC- 130 J from the 146th Airlift Wing.

In addition to that the IAF also fielded its Rapid Action Medical Team and the Special Forces Garuds in the joint exercise.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi to discuss the state leadership issue.

On Thursday, the Congress got 40 seats in the 90-member assembly, falling short by six MLAs to cross the half - way mark.

During his meeting with the Congress President, Hooda informed her that the State Congress party has already staked its claim to form the Government.

“Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee President, Phoolchand Singh Maulana, has already met the Governor. He has staked claim for forming the Government and Congress is going to form the Government,” Hooda said.

“Seven independent MLA''s are supporting Congress unconditionally. And even constitutionally,” he added.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Kumari Shelja, dismissed reports and said that she was not contesting for the chief ministerial post and the final decision will be taken by Sonia Gandhi.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) insisted that the Union Government should take appropriate steps to ensure accountability in the controversial spectrum allotment issue in the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raid on offices of the Department of Telecom (DoT).

Addressing the media here on Friday Rajya Sabha Member Sitaram Yechury, said : The CBI raid on the DoT confirms the suspicion all of us had and the demand CPM has been making for a prolonged time (is) that there should be a thorough enquiry into the manner in which 2G spectrum sale was conducted by the government.”

“On that basis we think this actually vindicates that there is something that needs to be probed and there is somebody who needs to be accountable and this we have to be transparently dealt by the government," he added.

On Thursday, the CBI searched the Telecom Ministry''s office at Sanchar Bhavan in the national capital to ascertain the alleged irregularities involving officials and private companies over allocation of spectrum to new players.

Yechury added that the Centre should make sure that the similar loss of revenue should be not be recur during the 3G spectrum deal.

"Those who are responsible for a massive loss of revenue for the government…. And therefore should be brought to books. If possible, these matters have to be corrected to recover some revenue and to ensure as far as the 3G is concerned such shouldn''t be repeated," he said.

In 2008, eight new companies were given licenses along with bundled 4.4 MHz spectrum to start mobile telephone services.

Earlier, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) had taken a serious note and criticised the Telecom Ministry for doling out spectrum at a very cheap rate as compared to the actual market value.

The CVC had recommended a CBI probe into the procedures followed for selecting companies for giving 2G spectrum.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed said on Friday that fast melting of glaciers in future could lead to serious conflicts arising due to large-scale migration of people in search of dry land and resources.

Speaking at a seminar on ‘Environment and Conflict Resolution’, in New Delhi, Nasheed said melting of glaciers would lead to lack of dry land, forcing people to jump borders and run around looking for land and resources for settling down, giving rise to conflicts which would affect the developing countries more than the rich nations.

“There will be a serious issue of refugees and people will be crossing borders, running around from place to place, unable to settle down on dry land. We are talking about lack of dry land and people will move to wherever there is land and there is resources and livelihood available.

We are talking about billion or so people, especially around India and in South Asia and Asia that will have to be moving from place to place. Now if you will agree with me that it won''t be the rich countries that will have a bigger problem with the refugee issues but more so in developing countries," he said.

Supporting India in its bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Nasheed said if India was deemed fit to take steps for climate change, then it should get a representation in the UNSC as well, as climate change was set to emerge as bigger threat than Islamic radicalism or piracy.

“"India needs to be in the Security Council. There should be reform in the Security Council. If everyone is asking the Indians to do all sorts of things because of climate change. That of course is the serious security issue.

And therefore I believe that India should be represented and Brazil... developing countries should be permanently represented in the Security Council because this is going to be more serious threat to international order than Islamic radicalism or piracy or resource sharing,” Nasheed added.

Appreciating the efforts of Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary of Congress party, he said, there was need to strengthen local governance in order to deal with the conflicts in a better way.

Nasheed has been expressing serious concern over climate change and global warming for some time and to draw attention to the risk his country faces from the rising sea levels and climate change. He held a cabinet meeting at the bottom of the Indian Ocean on October 17 to highlight the issue.

Nasheed and his 12 cabinet ministers donned scuba gear and dove 3.5 metres (11 feet, 6 inches) under the surface of a turquoise lagoon to hold what is billed as the world''s first underwater cabinet meeting.

Rising sea levels of up to 58 cm, as predicted by the U.N. Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, threaten to submerge most of the Maldives'' low-lying islands by 2100.

Environment ministers from across the world aim to sign in December a pact to extend or replace the Kyoto Protocol, but advance talks are mired in complex drafts and suspicion between industrialized and developing nations.

The Kyoto Protocol, the first phase of which ends in 2012, obliges 37 rich nations to cut emissions by an average of five percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.

Source ANI

Haridaspur BOP (West Bengal): The first ever women contingent of the Border Security Force (BSF) has been deployed along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal.

These women BSF constables are not only trained and deployed along the Indo-Bangladesh, but Indo-Pak borders as well.

The first batch comprises of 108 women from Punjab and another 46 from West Bengal.

The South-Bengal Frontier, which overlooks 50.52 kilometres within its area of responsibility (AOR) along Indo-Bangladesh border, has problems like cross-border smuggling of drugs, arms and ammunition and cattle, alongside alleged trafficking in women

BSF was in dire need of women personnel as it was impossible to detain women for physical checks which otherwise would have been deemed as violation of human rights.

Considering these aspects, the BSF is now committed to recruit more women into their ranks for the tasks of tracking and checking women and children going across the India-Bangladesh border.

"Recruitment of women in BSF has begun. We will observe their performance for next two-three years. Women officers in BSF are required since earlier we were not able to search women and children, who were involved in smuggling across the border," said C V Murlidharan, Inspector General, Border Security Force, South-Bengal Frontier, Haridaspur BoP.

The initial recruits are of the constable rank. Their performance will be the factor to decide whether BSF must rope in more women personnel for the border surveillance and inspection duties.

BSF had long felt the need for women personnel and now that an armed women''s wing has been raised and deployed, it is hoped that use of women for possible cross-border illegal activities would be curtailed significantly.

Source ANI