India News

New Delhi: Union Finance Minster Pranab Mukherjee said here on Friday that the UPA Government is committed to ensuring inclusive and equitable growth of the country’s economy.

Addressing the 88th annual function of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Mukherjee said: “The present Government has a renewed mandate for reinforcing inclusive growth, for which the architecture was laid out by the present Government in its last term. It is a mandate for equitable development, where all legitimate aspirations of the people of India can be meaningfully realized.”

“ However, it is important that we take every such step that will allow our economy to develop spatially and synergistically across different sectors of the economy to ensure the overall sustainability of the growth process and a quality of life that the ‘Aam Admi’ aspires for,” Mukherjee added.

He said in a globalizing world, the challenges and opportunities of development, in general, and that of sustaining high growth over an extended period of time, in particular, have become more complex.

Mukherjee added that the economic slowdown and recession in major developed economies adversely impacted growth in all parts of the world.

“It revealed critical gaps in international policy making and regulation, in risk management and international development cooperation. It also raised a number of questions on the process of international decision making and accountability that have a direct bearing on the global economic environment for the developing countries,” he said.

In his address Mukherjee stressed on the need of having strong domestic economic foundations to benefit from the ongoing process of globalization and called for setting up of an integrated and a coherent policy approach to protect and promote national interests.

“We have to deepen and broaden the domestic market so that we can ride the shocks and uncertainties of the global economy just as well as the periods of expansion and boom. This requires that we take a balanced broad based approach to our development process- an approach that is well captured by the idea of garland of grids,” Mukherjee said.

Mukherjee opined that with the help of huge young human resources and the demographic advantage country should work to make the 21st Century a truly Indian Century.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will celebrate its Foundation Day on October 12.

A cultural variety programme will be organised to mark the occasion.
 
The event will take place on the NHRC Lawn, Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi.

It will be preceded by a welcome address by A.K. Jain, Secretary General, NHRC and an address by Justice G.P. Mathur, the Acting Chairperson of the NHRC.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday announced that the Government has identified seven critical areas on the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) for further detailed examination.

At an interactive session with representatives of trade and industry from all over the country, here, Mukherjee said: "The areas are: The concept of Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) based on gross assets; Capital Gains Taxation in the case of non-residents; The Income Tax Act and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA); General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR); Issues relating to effective management control and taxation of foreign companies in India; Taxation of charitable organizations; and Shift from EEE to EET taxation system."

On the apprehensions expressed regarding the time schedule for implementation of the new DTC, he assured that next steps would be taken only after a comprehensive review of the draft DTC by taking on board the suggestions received.

"Every effort would be made to meet the aspirations and expectations of our taxpayers and our vibrant corporate sector," he added.

Mukherjee said that it has been the endeavour of the government to incorporate the best practices prevailing across the globe and to use innovative methods for attaining equity-vertical and horizontal, ensure growth with sustainability, create stable fiscal eco-system and have well regulated free markets.

"The new Direct Tax system would also take into account established and time tested practices which have withstood judicial scrutiny," he said.

The Minister further said, "We want to present the stakeholders with a tax regime which is simple and broad based leading to lowering of tax rates, better tax compliance and reduced litigation."

He also said that it has been two months since the proposed draft direct tax code was released for public debate and he was moved by the amount of interest and intellectual debate it has generated amongst various sections of taxpayers, tax professionals and general public.

"We are receiving thoughtful feedbacks on our website and through other means-trade and industry associations, professional bodies and others," he added.

Mukherjee said that he has kept his promise by putting the draft code in public domain within 45 days and he would like to expedite to give it a final shape.

While thanking the industry and trade associations for enthusiastically participating in today''s deliberations, he said that he looks forward to their suggestions in making the new DTC an effective instrument for meeting the economic challenges and development priorities of the country.

"The outcome of the discussions would be used for modifying the proposals contained in the draft DTC," the Minister added.

Source ANI

The death toll in the Peshawar bomb blast has gone up to 41.

North West Frontier Province’s Health Minister Zahir Ali Shah told media persons after visiting the injured people in the Lady Reading hospital here that over 40 persons have died in the brutal attack and over 100 grievously injured.

Provincial Information Minister, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said officials are investigating whether the blast was a suicide attack or the bomb was planted inside a vehicle parked near by.

“It was not immediately clear if it was a remote-controlled device or a suicide attack.We are investigating whether it was a suicide blast or the device was planted in the vehicle,”   The News quoted Hussain,as saying.

The blast, which occurred in Karachi Bazaar, part of Khyber market near the NWFP assembly building, was so powerful that it destroyed several vehicles parked nearby.

Meanwhile, both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani have condemned the blast.

Offering his deepest condolences to the families of people who were killed in the attack, Zardari,in his message,  said  the government is pledged to root out militancy from the country.

“The perpetrators of such heinous crime would not be spared. The government was committed to root out terrorism from the country,” Zardari said.

In a separate message, Gilani termed extremists as the country’s biggest enemies and said that every effort would be made to eradicate them.

He also directed the concerned authorities to probe the attack and find out the perpetrators.

Source ANI

Guwahati: The Union Home Ministry’s Joint Secretary Navin Verma was presiding over a high level meeting here on Friday to review the security situation prevailing in all eight north eastern states.

Director Generals of Police, Inspector Generals of Police and other top administrative officials of all the north-eastern states are participating in the meeting.

According to sources, the setting up of a joint intelligence sharing mechanism in these states is under consideration.

The meeting is also to discuss the new strategies to deal with the insurgency activities in these states.

Issues related to the modernization of the state police forces, the rehabilitation of surrendered militants, the filling up of vacancies and the sanction of additional posts in the police forces are also likely to figure in the meeting.

Source ANI

Chennai: The editor of the Tamil daily Dina Malar, B Lenin, who was arrested for publishing a statement issued by television actress Bhuvaneshwari in which she had made some allegations against several top Tamil film industry stars, was granted bail on Friday.

Malar had claimed that Bhuvaneshwari had been arrested recently on charges of prostitution and had named some Kollywood stars as her clients in her confession statement.

Lenin was charged under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Women Harassment (Prevention) Act  (TNWHA) based on a complaint filed by Radha Ravi, the general secretary of the South Indian Film Artistes Association.

The Tamil Nadu film industry has shown unprecedented unity over the issue and voiced their discontent over the publication of the report.

They claimed that the publication had maligned actors and demanded action against the newspaper.

Though the newspaper also carried a regret note for its October 5 report it was published on the bases of the actress'' confession, the film industry is peeved over the wild allegations.

Source ANI

Rajouri/Poonch: President Pratibha Patil on Friday visited the forward areas of the Line of Control (LoC) in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to officials, President Patil was accompanied by state Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to review the security situation along the border.

Later, she moved to a forward post and interacted with soldiers.

The President is also scheduled to have "bara khana" with soldiers in Rajouri later in the day.

During her visit, she will meet Rukhsana, who had killed a top Pakistani militant belonging to Lashker-e-Toiba and injured another at Kalsian village in Rajouri district on the night of September 27.

Source ANI

New Delhi: U K Bansal, Special Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, has said the police would hunt down the Maoists who had killed the 17 to 20 policemen in Maharashtra on Thursday.

"The police will try to round up, follow whatever trails they have. See if they are able to establish contact with the Naxals. They will take them on," Bansal said.

On Thursday, Naxals killed between 17 and 20 policemen in Maharashtra''s Gadchiroli district.

The attack in Gadchiroli came a couple of days after they had beheaded a Special Branch police inspector Francis Enduwar in Jharkhand.

The decapitated body of Enduwar, who was kidnapped five days ago, was found on the Jamshedpur-Ranchi Highway on October 6.

It was then reported that a note had been found which warned the government that they could expect more of the same treatment if their demands were not acceded to.  

The Maoists are demanding the release of their two leaders Kobad Ghandy and Chatrodhar Mahato, who were arrested by law enforcement authorities in Delhi and West Bengal respectively last month.

Source ANI

Mumbai: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has pressed two Mi17 copters for the joint operations being carried out by the Maharashtra and the Chattisgarh police to nab naxals responsible for Thursday’s massacre.

With just four days left for the Maharashtra state polls, massive combing operations continued in Gadchiroli District situated in the southeastern corner of Maharashtra, bordering Chhatisgarh to the east, and Andhra Pradesh to the south and southwest.

On Thursday afternoon, nearly 200 Naxals ambushed a police outpost near Lahir village of Bhamragadh tehsil in Gadchiroli District brutally killing between 17 to 20 policemen, including a sub inspector.

All the dead policemen belonged to the C-60 anti-Naxal force raised by Maharashtra.

However, these Mi17 choppers have been called upon not for combat use, but to enhance the search and rescue operations. However, sources added that the choppers have the option to retaliate if fired at them.

The Gadchiroli district administration opined that choppers would be of great assistance to deal with ongoing violence in the region.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Government has decided to give Rs.50 lakh compensation to the next of kin of slain police personnel.

State Home Minister Jayant Patil and Director General of Police S. S. Virk along with other officials are slated to visit Gadchiroli on Friday to pay homage to the martyrs as well as review the security arrangements.

Source ANI

Kochi: The Indian Railways is set to make a record of building the longest railway bridge in the shortest period at Kochi.

Crossing through an island and backwaters of Vembanad Lake, the 4.62 kilometre bridge will be named Vallarpadam Bridge and will be dedicated to nation in November this year.

At present, the 3.06 kilometre long bridge is named Nehru Setu Bridge on the river Sone in Bihar. It is also a part of the railway link being built for Vallarpadam International Container Trans-shipment Terminal.

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, a PSU under the Indian Railways, is executing the bridge construction work.

G Kesava Chandran, Deputy General Manager, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, said that the railways have not built a bridge of such magnitude earlier. But to reduce the land acquisition in thickly populated area, they had to come up with this plan.

"We never expected this to be the longest bridge. But depending on the alignment and reducing the land acquisition, we came up with this idea. This bridge was proposed to be built from this point to Vallarpadam because in between we will be crossing three islands where one cannot go down and come up again. So, the bridge started from here and accidentally became the longest bridge," said Chandran.

He asserted that the work has been finished in time because of the launching girders machine brought from China.

The total cost of the project, including the railway station and goods yard, is about 300 crore rupees, which is entirely funded by the Central Government.

It took more than one and half years to complete the bridge, which commenced in May 2007 and after the final work of laying rails it will be completed by November 2009.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, Australia''s No. 1 tweaker, has declared that he has plenty of fuel in the tank to help the NSW Blues chase down the three million dollar Champions League title in India.

The Twenty20 tournament kicked off in India last night, but Hauritz - along with seven other internationals, including Brett Lee and Twenty20 specialist David Warner - tonight start the Blues'' campaign against South Africa''s Diamond Eagles.

Sydney-based Hauritz, 27, said:. "There''s nothing better than playing for your state and country."

Hauritz has bowled nearly 290 overs since the tour of South Africa in March. But three Tests, three Twenty20s and 23 one-dayers later, the tweaker is confident he can do well for NSW on the spin-friendly Indian pitches.

"In Twenty20, you''re only in the field for just over an hour, so your body isn''t under too much pressure," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Hauritz, as saying.

"It was fantastic to win the Champions Trophy, but it would also be great to win the Champions League given it is the first tournament," he added.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Defence Minister A K Antony will undertake a three-day visit to Moscow from October 13 to attend the  Ninth meeting of the  India-Russia Inter Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC).

The IRIGC-MTC meets annually, alternately in India and Russia, at the level of the Defence Ministers of the two countries  to review and discuss matters relating to the bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting will be held on October 14 and 15, and will be chaired by Antony from the Indian side and by Defence Minister A E Serdyukov from the Russian side.

The extension of the existing India-Russia Long Term Inter-Governmental Agreement on the programme for Military Technical Cooperation for a further 10 years, from 2011 to 2020, will be the main focus of discussions during the meeting of the commission.

India and Russia had concluded an agreement in December 1988 which envisaged a programme for defence cooperation between the two countries up to the year 2010.

The extension of this programme beyond 2010 has been under consideration and this matter had also been discussed by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh  during his meeting with President Putin in Moscow in 2007.

Both sides have, since, been working towards finalizing the programme for defence cooperation beyond 2011. The anticipated discussions at the commission level would pave the way for conclusion of the Agreement during Dr Singh’s forthcoming visit to Russia in December 2009 for the Summit meeting between him and President Medvedev.

In addition to the consideration of  new areas for potential defence cooperation between the two countries, both sides will also be focussing on ways to step up progress in important on-going projects which are expected to reach significant stages of activity in the coming  years.

The indigenous production of the Russian origin T-90 S tanks at the Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi, under license from the Russian side will be one of the major on-going projects, in which the Russian side is providing technical and product support for the indigenous production of tanks.

The modernisation of the SU 30 MK1 aircraft is also expected to come up for discussion in the Commission’s meeting. The aircraft, contracted in 1996, are due for overhaul shortly and the Russia side have offered an upgrade of the aircraft with incorporation of the latest technologies during the major overhaul.

The continuation of the India Russia Joint Venture BrahMos is also likely to be discussed, in the context of on-going discussion for the development of the next generation hypersonic Cruise Missiles – BrahMos-2 and the on-going proposal to coordinate the BrahMos with the SU 30 MK1.

Among the major new projects which will be high in priorities of the Indian agenda for bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries, will be projects for joint design and development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) and of the Multi-Role Transport Aircraft (MTA).

The co-development and co-production of the FGFA with Sukhoi Design Bureau Russia has been progressing, with several rounds of discussion already completed to finalize the technical requirements.

During discussions in the meeting of the Commission, Shri Antony would highlight New Delhi’s interest in ensuring that the development phase of the FGFA is completed by 2016, as originally anticipated and that induction of the aircraft into the IAF can start by 2017.

Both sides will also review the progress on the MTA, on which the Inter-Governmental Agreement had been signed during the visit of Dr Manmohan Singh’s to Moscow in November 2007.

Both sides have been discussing  the formation of the Joint Venture company which would execute the project involving design, development and production of the Medium Transport Aircraft in the 15-20 tonne class to meet the requirements of the Russian and Indian Armed Forces. Both sides are likely to conclude the Agreement to form the JVC shortly.

The Defence Minister’s delegation to the IRIGC-MTC will include Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production) R K Singh, DG (Acquisition) S K Sharma,  senior officials of DRDO, Ministry and  the Armed Forces.

A Protocol incorporating the various aspects of current and future Indo-Russian bilateral defence cooperation will be signed at the conclusion of the meeting.

Source ANI

Bangalore: Victoria skipper Cameron White has said his team’s unity will overshadow star-studded Indian Premier League teams in the Champions League Twenty20.

“I think it''s a massive advantage for us, and I''m hoping we''re one of the best teams going around. That''s definitely a bonus that we are a team and are together the whole year round. I think that''s one of the biggest pluses going for us,” The Age quoted White, as saying.

The Bushrangers are raring to go with a track record of winning three of the four Big Bash Twenty20 competitions in Australia. And the captain dominated in Australia''s 6-1 recent one-day series victory over England and shared a match-winning stand with Shane Watson in the Champions Trophy final.

“It''s just reassuring to know that you can do it at that [international] level under pressure. It gives you confidence and self-belief that you can compete in any situation at that level,” White said.

White said he was confident Victoria would overcome the loss of Dirk Nannes, who was drafted by the Delhi Daredevils for the six million dollars tournament.

“Peter Siddle''s coming back into our team, who we didn''t have KFC Big Bash, so that will be a big plus for us. Shane Harwood we know, and then we''ve got some young guys like Clint McKay - who''s really stepped up and been pretty close to Australian selection himself over the past 12 months,” he said.

Victorian coach Greg Shipperd, who has stepped down as Delhi''s coach for the duration of the Champions League, predicted the tournament would parallel the IPL''s success.

“For domestic players, to be able to get the opportunity to shine in an international tournament is something that everyone has worked very, very hard for in their own competitions. For Victoria this has been a four-year project and we''re really looking forward to it,” Shipperd said.

Source ANI

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police assisted by the army and the CRPF foiled an attempted fidayeen (suicide) strike by killing Hizbul terrorist Omar Maviya here on Friday.

A huge cache of ammunition including 30 kilograms of RDX, suicide vests with wires and two batteries, two grenades and an AK-47 were recovered, private television reported.

Jammu and Kashmir Police and the CRPF had earlier killed three militants, including two belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba'' in a fierce gunbattle in South Kashmir.

Source ANI

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government has launched a massive manhunt for Naxals along the state’s border with Chattisgarh.

On Thursday, Naxals killed between 17 and 20 policemen in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, which shares borders with Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

According to sources, the Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra Police are conducting a joint combing operation even as the encounter with Maoists continues.

Over 4000 personnel have been pressed into the operation, the sources added.

According to intelligence reports, several Maoists cadres have crossed over to Maharashtra from Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh with the intention of disrupting the assembly elections in the state.

The election is scheduled for October 13.

The State Government is reportedly concerned about the families of the policemen, killed and is working on a compensation package for them.

Source ANI

Ranchi: Exhibiting magnanimity, wife of slain Jharkhand Special Branch police inspector Francis Induwar, on Friday forgave the Maoists who killed her husband.

She has asked the Maoists to take a lesson from her gratitude and put a stop to such brutal activities.   

“Those who made me a widow and orphaned my children should take a lesson from my forgiveness and say not resort to such brutal acts in future,” said Sunita to media at her home.

“This unfortunate incident that happened with me should not happen to anyone else in society. They (Maoists) should join mainstream society and work towards development so that peace prevails,” said Sunita.

On September 30, Maoists had kidnapped Induwar from Jharkhand’s Khunti district. It is believed that they wanted release of their two leaders Kobad Ghandy and Chatrodhar Mahato, arrested by law enforcement authorities in New Delhi and West Bengal respectively earlier in September.

Induwar’s body was found on the Jamshedpur-Ranchi Highway at 9.15 a.m. on October 6. It was then reported that a note had been found that warned the government that they could expect more of the same treatment if their demands were not acceded to.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Indian Armed Forces have been at the forefront of providing rescue and relief to the flood-affected states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Four army columns, including medical teams, and equipped with motorised boats and two IAF helicopters yesterday remained engaged in relief operations.

In Andhra Pradesh, three army columns are deployed in Vijaywada district while another Army Column has been shifted from Kurnool to Guntur district.

Following further improvement in the flood situation, two army columns have meanwhile been recalled from Kurnool and Guntur. The Navy has also stopped rescue and relief operations in Andhra Pradesh.

In Karnataka, one more body was located by a Naval team from Uttar Kannada district yesterday.

With this, bodies of all 19 missing people have been recovered and the Naval team has returned to its Karwar base after district authorities called off the rescue operations.

Two IAF helicopters carried out four sorties yesterday, airlifting 3.55 tons of relief materials and two people.

Since IAF undertook rescue and relief operations, 32 aircraft and choppers have so far carried over 209 tons of rescue and relief materials, besides airlifting around 1,100 people including medical and rescue teams and marooned villagers who were rescued.

To coordinate the relief operations in the flood affected states, the Armed Forces have established two flood relief coordination cells, one at Secunderabad and the other at Bangalore, for close liaisoning with the State Governments, besides coordinating with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in carrying out relief operations.

A meeting was held at the Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters in New Delhi with the Resident Commissioners of the two states wherein modalities for rescue and relief operations were fine-tuned.

The Armed Forces have so far rescued over 3,600 people in the two flood-ravaged states.

Source ANI

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will conduct an aerial survey of the flood-ravaged areas of Andhra Pradesh today.

During his visit, he will hold a review meeting on flood relief work at the Raj Bhavan.

On Saturday, Dr. Singh will visit Karnataka where after the aerial survey, he will take stock of the flood situation with Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa at Raichur.

The floods have wrecked havoc in northern parts of Karnataka, described by officials as the worst in many decades, killing over 280 people besides rendering several thousands homeless.

While in Andhra Pradesh, River Tungabhadra, which flows from Karnataka and joins River Krishna went in spate and has made at least five million people suffer.

Floodwaters have swamped millions of acres of farmland and damaged standing crops of sugarcane, maize, rice and wheat.

The loss of sugarcane has given rise to worries of sharp fall in the output of sugar in Karnataka, the country''s third-biggest producer.

Following the calamities, the Centre has already released the second installment of over Rs. 209 crore from the Calamity Relief Fund to the two states. And Prime Minister had announced Rs. one lakh each of ex-gratia from the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund to the next of kin of those killed in the floods.

The Armed Forces have rescued 3,600 people in the states.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh on Friday said that the upcoming India-Australia series, which begins from October 25, will be a close one as India would be looking forward to display a better performance after their disappointing Champions Trophy campaign.

India will host Australia for a seven game one-day international series.

“It would be exciting time for cricket over here. We have done overseas very well recently India disappointing in the champions trophy but one-day cricket changes quickly. India has got a quality side and it will be a close series. I do not know who is going to win but I got a feeling that the score will be 4-3,” Waugh told reporters in New Delhi.

Waugh who was in India to gather funds for Steve Waugh foundation said sports persons should use their positions for some philanthropic causes.

“Sports people have lot power to do good because they have influence. They can raise money and lot of people look up to sports people so if they can channel that into good area for example charity then they can make a big impact,” Waugh added.

Many cricketers apart from Steve Waugh have been a part of social causes to raise funds for humanitarian efforts.

The Steve Waugh foundation will help change things for children with rare diseases and give hope to their families who have nowhere to turn.

The foundation would also raise awareness towards increase in international cooperation in the service, identification and treatment of rare diseases among children.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Bollywood actress and a badminton player Deepika Padukone on Friday said that the lack of resources has affected development of sports and the immense talent available across the country.

During the course of a promotional event held in the national capital, Padukone said that she has regularly tried to help several sportspersons who were facing problems to continue with their aim.

“I think there is a lot of talent in the country and there is potential. Unfortunately there is a lack of resources and I don''t think they have enough financial support to take it forward. I have tried my little bit to help a couple of sports people and create awareness,” Padukone said.

“Couple of months back I played badminton with Aamir in a way to create awareness about other sports apart from cricket,” Padukone added.

Source ANI

Kolkata: Maoist leader Kishenji, also known as Koteshwar Rao, has reportedly admitted to the beheading of Jharkhand Special Branch police inspector Francis Induwar, but has avoided tendering apology for the act.

On September 30, Maoists had kidnapped Induwar from Jharkhand’s Khunti district and later on October 6 his decapitated body was found on the Jamshedpur-Ranchi Highway.

Over the issue, where Union Home Minister P Chidambaram described the beheading as a cold-blooded murder, Kisheji said that they don’t behead everyone and they will only behead their real enemies. He also said that there is a huge difference between the Maoists and the Taliban, a Times Now report said on Friday evening.

Kishenji further said that the Maoists are ready for conditional talks with the West Bengal Government.

It is believed that the Maoists wanted the release of their two leaders Kobad Ghandy and Chatrodhar Mahato, arrested by law enforcement authorities in New Delhi and West Bengal respectively earlier in September.

It was also reported that a note had been found with Induwar’s body, which warned the Government that they could expect more of the same treatment if their demands were not acceded to.

Source ANI

Nagpur: The four policemen badly injured in an attack by Maoists in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra are responding to medical treatment, said doctors attending them in Nagpur on Friday.

Maoists rebels had killed 17 policemen in Maharashtra on Thursday, a couple of days after they had beheaded a police officer in Jharkhand.

Over 100 Maoists ambushed an elite police team that was conducting regular exercise from Laheri Police Outpost in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra state.

Later, the gun battle between the Maoists and the policemen lasted for more than four hours, resulting in the fatal injuries to 17 cops and injuries to many other personnel.

Seventeen cops including a sub-inspector were killed in the ambush and there were no reports of any causality from Maoists side.

The police team had gone to the spot to take a stock of preparedness for the October 13 assembly elections.

"When we came to the police station, we learnt that the Maoists had laid an ambush one kilometre away from the police station. We went there and an encounter took place. We recovered grenades and other arms from them. Then we carried out a search operation in the forest area and found two Maoists, we opened fire and one was injured. Then we found ourselves surrounded by about 200 Maoists," said Rajendra Sariya, one of the injured policemen receiving treatment at a local hospital in Nagpur.

The doctors said that all the four were recovering.

"Two have been operated and they are recovering and other two are all right, we will be doing MRI on them. All four are expected to recover soon," said Dr. Shishir Shrivastava, medical officer at a civil hospital in Nagpur.

The Maoists, who say they are waging war on behalf of the poor, the landless and the marginal farmers against the state, have taken effective control of large swathes of the countryside, scaring off potential investors while in control of land, rich in minerals.

Hundreds are killed in Maoist violence each year, as security forces clash with rebels and civilians get caught in the crossfire.

The Maoists also extort money from businesses community and they have opposed industrialisation.

Meanwhile, Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra BJP’s State unit chief visited the injured police personnel undergoing treatment.

"It is a situation where we find police unable to counter Maoists attack and the reason is political interference in the working of the police department, wrong people are given postings, which has led to the demoralisation among the forces. That is why they are unable to counter such attacks," said Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra state President of Bharatiya Janata Party.

Earlier this week, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram had said that the Government was willing to talk to the Maoists about issues such as poverty and corruption that are often blamed for stoking the insurgency, but insisted that the rebels must first stop violence and also surrender all their arms and ammunition.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Friday congratulated the U.S President, Barack Obama, on winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Prime Minister Dr. Singh, in a letter written to the U.S President, appreciated his qualities and his perspective for brining the countries of the world close to each other and inclusive approach.

“I am delighted at the news of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 to you. Please accept my heartiest congratulations. The citation for the Prize admirably reflects your personal qualities of leadership and the new perspectives that you have brought to bear on the conduct of relations between different countries and cultures, and on some of the most burning issues of our times,” Prime Minister Singh stated in his letter.
 
“The world today is in need of a healing touch. Your pursuit of an inclusive approach to problem solving, and primacy to dialogue as an instrument of policy are setting new benchmarks for the world community. I am confident that the world will be the better for it,” Dr. Singh stated.

“Peace and non-violence are part of India’s ethos. Your recent statement that the America of today has its roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi therefore has a particularly evocative resonance in India. I look forward to working with you to advance the goals of a more secure, equitable and just world, and extend my best wishes for your success as the President of the United States of America,” the PM stated.

Source ANI

New Delhi: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Friday congratulated the United States President Barack Obama on winning the Nobel Peace Prize for the Year 2009.

President Patil, in a message to the U.S President, said that she hoped the Nobel Peace Prize would inspire others who believe in promoting international peace and justice.
 
“On behalf of the people of India, I write to congratulate you for winning the prestigious 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of your extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between people,” President Patil said in her statement.

“I am sure that this honour would inspire all those who believe in promoting international peace and justice to achieve enduring harmony and fraternity among nations,” President Patil stated.

“The award underscores the principle of mutual respect in international relations – with due respect to the diverse values of the civilizations that constitute the world of today – which is at the core of our own long standing foreign policy. The people of India join me in conveying to you our good wishes for the continued success of your mission for positive change,” President Patil statement further stated.

Source ANI

Nasik: The floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, described by officials as the worst in many decades, have led to an increase in the prices of onions across the country.

The floods have destroyed onion crops in the two States and have affected its availability, due to which traders dealing in onions in Maharashtra’s Nasik district, another major producer of onions and the main supplier to north India, have increased the prices.

“Last week onions were being sold at a rate of Rs.500-600 per quintal, but now it is being sold at a rate of Rs.1400-1500 per quintal. The reason behind this is floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, we have been unable to procure onions from these two states especially from Kurnool district. So, there has been an effect in the prices,” said Parasmal Bohra, a trader dealing in onions.

The soaring prices have dented common man''s pocket, who is being forced to purchase onions even at high rates.

“The onions have become extremely expensive. We are poor people we can''t eat such expensive onions,” said Seeta Devi, a local.

The vegetable sellers attribute shortage of onions to floods and have found a valid reason for hiking the prices, upsetting the people''s budgets badly.

The floods have wrecked havoc in northern parts of Karnataka, described by officials as the worst in many decades, killing over 280 people besides rendering several thousands homeless.

While in Andhra Pradesh, River Tungabhadra, which flows from Karnataka and joins River Krishna went in spate and has made at least five million people suffer.

Floodwaters have swamped hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and damaged standing crops of sugarcane, maize, rice and wheat.

The loss of sugarcane has given rise to worries of sharp fall in the output of sugar in Karnataka, the country''s third-biggest producer.

Source ANI

Wagah: To meet the forthcoming challenges, opportunities and partnership for women in the media, a two-day conference will be held in Lahore.

The conference scheduled to be held between Oct. 10-11 under the aegis of South Asian Women in Media (SAWM).

On Friday, 32 women participants left for Lahore on Friday via Wagah land route to participate in the first regional conference.

Over 200 delegates from all over South Asia will participate in the conference.

“The participants would discuss matters like participation or access to decision-making, women in regional media, women’s portrayal in media, rising extremism, society and gender relations in South Asia etc,” said Monica chopra, spokesperson for SAWM India.

The first session would begin with the keynote speech by Bollywood actress Nandita Das.

Punjab (Pakistan) Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is hosting dinner for the delegates on tonight.

Source ANI

Visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Friday said that the people responsible for Thursday''s bomb blast outside the Indian embassy here which claimed 17 lives and injured over 60, were enemies of peace, democracy, the people of Afghanistan and the people of India.

 “I think the investigation should be completed and as I said whoever is responsible for this attack is against peace, is against democracy, is against the people of Afghanistan, is against the people of India,” Rao told media persons after surveying the damage caused to the embassy by the suicide car bomber.

Rao, however, refused to get into the specifics of the investigations nor did she reveal what New Delhi thought about who was behind it.

There has been speculation in the media that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) may have once gain played a role in facilitating the miscreants behind the attack, as it allegedly did in a similar attack on the same premises in July 7, 2008.

Rao has already said the suicide attack in Kabul was directed at the Indian embassy.

No embassy staff was killed in the attack, but three ITBP personnel deployed for security duties outside the embassy had received minor injuries.

India is taking this issue "very seriously", sources said.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur on Friday urged participants attending the first track II level dialogue between the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) and the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) to make a concerted effort to increase their level of interdependence across a wide range of issues, including challenges like terrorism, and see what was the best way forward to enhancing bilateral and multilater cooperation.

Addressing the inagural session in the capital, Kaur said: "With the geopolitical centre progressively shifting, it is fairly clear that the EU-India relationship has steadily moved from commercial or economic one to that of strategic partnership though trade and investment continue to be the principal components."

Urging both the European Union and India to use coherence, shared values and practices – of democracy, pluralism, human rights, international conflict resolution or peacekeeping to their advantage, Kaur further said: "India and the EU are active players in a multi-polar world constantly shaped by the forces of globalization.  Effective multilateralism requires understanding and respect for mutual concerns, needs or aspirations. It is only through this that any coordination and cooperation can develop. The dialogue between the EU and India would need to see how to enhance that mutual understanding."

She further described terrorism as one of the biggest challenges confronting the global community today.

"It threatens the very core of our civilized societies. India has been a victim of terrorism for over two decades. The EU has also witnessed horrific terrorist incidents in recent years caused by Al Qaeda terrorists. India and the EU would need to address, wherever possible, the menace of terrorism with coordination and cooperation. I am happy to learn that the EU Coordinator for Counter-terrorism is attending this forum and will be sharing his views on the subject," she said.

On Afghanistan, she referred to the two bomb attacks that had taken place on the Indian embassy in Kabul, and reiterated that as far as India is concerned, it believed that the cause of democracy and peace in Afghanistan can be best served through development programmes which the Afghan government and people need most urgently.

India, she said, is committed to assisting Afghanistan with a 1.2 billion dollar grant.

She said that the EU and India can also usefully cooperate on security issues, including in areas such as maritime and energy security.

A reference was made to India’s recent contribution in anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia and the help provided to keep the SLOCS (sea lanes of communication) in the Malacca Straits safe for navigation.

In the field of energy security, she said both India and the EU are major importers of fuel, and therefore, it is imperative for them to secure safe, affordable and sustainable energy supplies.

Climate Change and the WTO impasse were two major challenges before the world today, sahe said.

"On Climate Change, though both the EU and India have common interests and emphasize the central role of the global protocols there are clear differences in their approach. Global action is needed by all parties, according to their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities," she said.

As far as the WTO deadlock on the Doha round was concerned, Kaur called for a multilateral, rule-based universal trading regime, which she said is in the best interest of both, developed as well as developing countries.

In the pursuit of effective multilateralism, she said no objective is more important than strengthening the role of the U.N.

"I wish to stress that greater interaction through civil society networks between the EU and India is essential and should be feasible. The two are democracies and enjoy freedom of expression, judiciary and pursuit of individual faith or religion. They are foremost examples of multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies. Human rights protection receives highest priority in both. Thus, societies based on common values and ideals should find greater resonance and synergy. As the Joint Action Plan very aptly puts it: ‘We see this partnership as a qualitative transformation in the way we engage as equal partners and work together with the world at large," she concluded.

Source ANI

Hyderabad: The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh on Friday announced Rs 1,000 crore as immediate flood related relief to rehabilitate people in Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing a press meet here after conducting an aerial survey of the flood-affected regions of the state, Singh said, “Initially, the Central Government will release Rs. 1,000 crore.”

“ I have asked the State Government to send a detailed report of assessment of loss due to the flood and the Centre will send a team after studying that report and the required money will be given according to the team’s recommendations,” Singh added.

Singh also termed the devastation in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as a national calamity.

When asked for whether his government now give serious thought to the issue of interlinking of rivers, Singh said: “We have that proposal from many years but the there are a lot of issues to be studied before implementing that project. It is not easy to undertake interlink waters as it involves environmental aspects.”

Dr. Singh also expressed confidence that GDP would grow at the rate of 6.3 to 6.5 percent in fiscal 2009-10.

Singh was accompanied by State Chief Minister K. Rosaiah in a helicopter that flew over the flood hit Krishna and Guntur District.

Singh is scheduled to undertake an aerial survey of flood-hit Kurnool and Mahbubnagar districts on Saturday morning before flying to Karnataka to survey flood-hit areas in that state.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Friday congratulated US President Barack Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009, which he will receive on December 10 this year.

Obama was surprisingly given the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 for his extraordinary efforts in strengthening international diplomacy and for taking landmark initiatives to create a nuclear-free world.

Obama had beaten 204 other nominees for the prestigious award, which includes a gold medal, a Nobel diploma and 1.4 million dollars.

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 90 times to 120 Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2009 – 97 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations.

Since International Committee of the Red Cross was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1917, 1944 and 1963, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981, that means 97 individuals and 20 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Friday said the commission will soon set up a separate independent evaluation office (IEO) to assess the extent to which the government''s flagship schemes are benefiting the poor.

"We are working towards the establishment of an IEO for strengthening our evaluation system, for which the details would come out next month", Ahluwalia told reporters.

President Pratibha Patil, too, in her address to the joint sitting of Parliament had underlined the need for improving and redesigning government schemes to effectively help the poor, he said.

The structure of the IEO, to be set up with the Commission, he said, would come up for deliberations at the International Conference on Development Evaluation-- a two-day international seminar beginning on 12th October.

"We will gain from experiences internationally during the two-day long conference", he said, adding that the conference is being held in cooperation with the World Bank and the Department for International Development.

"We would pool the international experiences with our own experiences and get some state level experiences, which would help us find out what kind of evaluation system we should have", he said.
 
When asked if the IEO would assess all social sector schemes, he said, "There are 150 such schemes including 15 flagship schemes. The IEO would pick up eight or 10 or 12 schemes for assessment. The details are being worked out".

On how this evaluation would be different from the mid-term-appraisal, he said, "The mid-term appraisal is the appraisal of whole plan strategy whereas the IEO is looking at specific schemes and how they have worked and what can we learn from that."

However, the IEO assessment, he said, would obviously be part of future mid-term appraisal.

Source ANI

Kolkata: With Diwali, the festival of lights, round the corner, Chinese manufactured decorative lights have flooded markets in Kolkata.

Scores of people, who usually visit local markets to buy earthen lamps for decorative purposes on this festive occasion, are drawn to the imported Chinese lights.

Most of them find these lights inexpensive apart from being available in wide variety of designs.

"Chinese lights are less costly compared to the locally available Indian lights. We purchase it just before Diwali or just 15 days before Diwali," said K.C. Das, a shopper.

Shopkeepers feel there is a good response from customers who, they say, are captivated at seeing a wide variety.

"There is a good sale of Chinese lights during Diwali. The sale is so good that we run short of goods. Customers throng markets in search of new and different Chinese lights," said Salam, a shop owner.

Diwali or Deepavali is one of the most important of Hindu festivals. It’s a five-day festival, celebrated across India on Kartik Amavasya or, the new moon day, in Kartik month as per Hindu almanac.

Legend has it that Lord Rama entered Ayodhya on this day after 14 years in self-exile. People of Ayodhya lit lamps to welcome Lord Rama’s return, and hence Diwali is observed.

Deepavali is also celebrated as Naraka Chaturdashi, the day when Lord Krishna killed Narakasura, the demon of darkness.

The celebrations commence with a purifying oil bath and the lighting of lamps, symbolic of the spiritual light pervading this earth and the destruction of darkness and ignorance.

Source ANI

Bangalore: Eminent sports journalist Natarajan Balasubramaniam, more popularly known in the sports fraternity as Rajan Bala, died this morning in a Bangalore hospital. He was 63.

One of the finest and a much revered cricket writer in this country, Rajan was the former Sports Editor of Deccan Herald and served in a similar position in the Statesman and several other publications across the country.

He had suffered a stroke and been put on dialysis for some time. He suffered a heart attack and was rushed to hospital less than a fortnight ago, where he slipped into coma. He never regained consciousness and passed away on Friday morning.

Rajan was a cricket writer for over four decades and also authored half a dozen books on cricket,  including the biographies of B S Chandrasekhar and Sachin Tendulkar.

In the last few years he had worked as a columnist.

His latest book on cricket "Time Well Spent" was to have been originally launched in Bangalore tomorrow. His last published book was "The Covers Are Off - A Socio-Historical Study of Indian Cricket : 1932-2003".

He was also the Indian correspondent of the Wisden Cricketer and Wisden Almanac for many years.

Rajan was an icon for the younger generation of writers of the willow game in the 1970s who followed his despatches from various parts of the cricket world with great interest.

Though he wrote primarily on cricket, Rajan had an indepth knowledge of Indian football, having grown up in Kolkata, and tennis.

Rajan was also a good club level cricketer who used to bat higher up the order and bowl off spin.

Former Indian off spinner Erapalli Prasanna said: "In the passing away of Rajan Bala, I lost a very close associate, a person with whom I could discuss cricket in length. It''s a personal loss to me. I felt that among all the cricket journalists, he was the best because he had a tremendous knowledge of the game."

Source ANI

Abohar (Punjab): Radio Pakistan in its latest edition of Punjabi Durbar programme has stated that Dr. Manmohan Singh works under pressure from Brahmin (Hindu) leaders, which it states, recently caused him to undergo heart surgery too and skip this year’s Republic Day function!

The broadcasters of the Radio Pakistan seem to have run out of ideas, as they have now chosen to talk about nothing but the Indian Republic Day, which was observed on January 26.

The local leaders in Punjab are not just surprised, they are quite used to hearing such false rumours being propagated by Radio Pakistan.

Pakistan’s new propaganda that the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh works under pressure of Cabinet ministers is completely wrong. Dr. Singh has been working honestly without any personnel interest. He didn’t choose politics himself but considering his intelligence and experience, the former Prime Minister Narsimha Rao, appointed him as the Finance Minister in 1991, say local leaders.

“Dr. Singh has proved his competence and intelligence by safeguarding the country’s economy from getting negatively affected despite the recession affecting rest of the world. Since Partition Pakistan is only carrying out propaganda against India, from our first Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru onwards all Prime Ministers have believed in having friendly relationship with neighbours. The objective has been that all countries should progress together,” said Mahinder Rinwa, Congress Leader in Punjab.

“During my visit to Pakistan, I found in my interaction with people of different States that the common man wants peace and friendly relations with India. They nurture nostalgic feelings and want to meet people of India, have good relations with them and want trade relation to improve. But it looks that the political leadership of Pakistan doesn’t want it,” Rinwa added.  

Moreover, it looks quite stupid of anyone to think of a person, known for his sheer hard work, sincerity and intelligence and who has held high-profile posts in the Reserve Bank of India and International Monetary Fund (IMF), could be pressurised by his own colleagues.

He has always supported secularism.

Dr. Singh has always taken extra pain to work for the country’s welfare and serve its people. It is sad that Radio Pakistan makes critical remarks against such a dedicated person.

Source ANI

Mumbai: Jolted by the killing of 20 policemen by Maoists in Maharashtra''s Gadchiroli district, the state Home Minister, Jayant Patil, on Friday said the Government will continue to fight the menace.

“Our battle against Naxals will continue. The attack has made our resolve to tackle the Naxal menace even more strong,” Patil said.

With just four days left for assembly elections on the state, massive combing operations continue in Gadchiroli District, which is situated in the southeastern corner of Maharashtra, and borders Chhatisgarh in the east, and Andhra Pradesh in the south and southwest.

Patil further said that adequate reserve security personnel have been deployed in Naxal-infested areas of Vidarbha.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has pressed two Mi17 copters for the joint operations being carried out by the Maharashtra and the Chhattisgarh police to nab naxals responsible for Thursday''s massacre.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday restrained the Uttar Pradesh Government from carrying out further construction activity of a memorial park in NOIDA.

The BSP Government was in the process of installing statues of Dalit icons, including that of Chief Minister Mayawati in a park on the banks of River Yamuna in NOIDA.

The apex court, however, has allowed the authorities to continue with other works related to multicrore projects.

The Special Forest Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices S H Kapadia and Justice Aftab Alam posted the matter for further hearing on October 26.

The three judge bench refuted to entertain the Uttar Pradesh Government’s plea to allow continuance of the work on grounds that 75 per cent of the work has been completed.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the State Government, requested for an adjournment of the hearing on the ground that he was appearing for the first time in the matter.

He also sought time to respond to the CEC report.

Earlier, the Supreme Court-appointed committee had recommended abandoning construction work at Noida''s Bhim Rao Ambedkar Park for violating environment norms.

The committee’s report noted that the government did not seek environment clearance before starting the work.

The committee in it’s report opined that the construction activity would have an adverse effect on the surrounding ecosystem as it is located within ten kilometres of a bird sanctuary in Okhla village.

The report also expressed concern over the pulling down of over 6,000 trees to execute the Rs.685 crore project.

Source ANI

Srinagar: Residents of Jammu’s Rammunshibagh area on Friday thrashed an assistant commissioner of police, who was held responsible for the death of Rohit Khajuria last week.

Assistant Commissioner of Jammu, Rohit Khajuria, was thrashed when he went along with the Deputy Commissioner to meet Rajnish’s family, who have been protesting against his death.

Rajnish was picked up by the police on September 30 on charges of kidnapping a Muslim girl. He was kept at Rammunshibagh Police Station and was allegedly tortured and killed.

Police claimed that Rajnish''s had committed suicide.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Director General of Inspection and Safety, Air Marshal T.S. Randhwa said on Friday that the accident rate of MiG-21 aircraft has reduced in the current year as compared to the previous year.

Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of an International Flight Safety seminar here, Air Marshal Randhwa said: “Today, touch wood, our accident rate is better than last year. So, I think we are on an improvement curve at this point and time. I think we should see a better end toward the accident rate in this financial year."

Referring to Mig-21 crashes this year Air Marshal Randhwa said: “I must clarify to all of you is that while those accidents happened in a short time frame.”

In this year, the IAF witnessed three MiG –21 crashes.

On June 18, a MiG FL had crashed in Chabua in Assam and another MiG-21 had crashed on May 27 near Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The pilots of both these flights had bailed out to safely. But on September 10 a young pilot was killed when the third MiG flight was crashed near Muktasar in Punjab.

Air Marshal Randhwa described the MiG 21 aircrafts as reliable.

The media termed the MiG-21 fighter aircraft, as ''Flying Coffins'' because of the frequent crashes.

The Russian made MiG-21 aircraft has been used by the IAF since 1963.

Later under license, these aircraft were manufactured in India, out of which 125 MIG-21''s were upgraded after a deal worth 300 million dollars was signed with the Russians in 1996.

The IAF plans to replace the MIG-21 with the indigenously built aircraft Tejas, which is being designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) in Bangalore.

Tejas is likely to be inducted into the IAF from 2010 onwards.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Although the Taliban has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s suicide car blast outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed 17 people, Pakistan intelligence agency ISI’s involvement in the attack cannot be ruled out.

In July of 2008, militants rammed the same embassy with a car bomb that killed 60 people.

Later, both US and India claimed that they had uncovered evidence that the agency was in contact with the attackers.

Experts point out that the pattern of blasts suggests Pakistan’s involvement once again.

“I would suggest this is the same thing. Pakistan simply doesn''t want any Indian presence in the region," the Christian Science Monitor quoted Ajai Sahni, director of the Institute of Conflict Management in New Delhi, as saying.

Asked how that could impact India-Pakistan relations, Dr. Sahni replied, "What relations? This is just a cyclical game. A new attack doesn''t change anything."

However, some other analysts differ in opinion.

"Given the divide between Taliban and Pakistan in recent years, particularly since Pakistan troops are fighting Taliban forces in Pakistan, I would rather see it as the Taliban''s own initiative," says Suba Chandran, assistant director of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies.

However, he seconds Sahni that if Pakistani elements were involved it would barely register diplomatically, since the relationship cannot get much worse.

Pakistani intelligence has historically used Taliban-like groups to advance its interests in Afghanistan and to put pressure on India.

But the Afghan-Taliban has its own antagonism against India, as India had supported the Northern Alliance when the Taliban controlled Kabul.

And since 2001, India has contributed more than a billion dollars in aid to Afghanistan''s reconstruction. Indian contractors are building infrastructure, while Indian experts are helping train Afghanistan''s military officers.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Australian and Indian Governments have stepped up their joint efforts to address issues affecting the 100,000 Indian students in Australia.

The Joint Working Group (JWG) on Student Mobility met for the first time on 6 October, agreeing on a number of concrete measures to enhance the interests and welfare of Indian students.

The Indian and Australian Governments are determined to effectively tackle issues relating to ensuring quality among education agents and education providers. They are committed to promoting best practices in the regulation and quality assurance of student movement between the two countries.

''Poor quality and unscrupulous education providers and education agents are simply unacceptable'', said Dr Lachlan Strahan, Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner and co-chair of the first meeting of the Student Mobility JWG.

He said the JWG that agreed to collaborate in developing robust regulatory mechanisms for the activities of education providers and enrolment agents in India and Australia. The Group also decided to conclude a Memorandum of Understanding on the better management of student mobility between the two countries, including the exchange of information on undesirable or illegal activities by agents.

Source ANI

Mumbai/ New Delhi: Expressing his grief over the killing of 20 policemen by Maoists in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Friday said the attacks would not deter the spirit to wipe out the rebels.

"We will speed up the fight against the Maoists. There is a need to root out the problem for which we will have to take several steps. We have sent police teams and increased the forces there. We are also getting assistance from the Central Government. We cannot stay at home if people are killed. There is need to act swiftly against the Maoists," said Chavan.

The attack has shocked the entire country and has only strengthened the government''s resolve in rooting out this menace.

"We are confident, but don''t expect that the situation would turn normal overnight. But soon, we will bring a turnabout in the situation. It is a condemnable incident. They thrive on such activities only. They are enemies to the security of the country and they need to be dealt with," said A.S. Gill, Director General (DG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

The government is leaving no stone unturned to tackle the Maoists. It is even contemplating roping in defence forces to fight the rebels, a move opposed by the Communists.

"We don''t think that the Army should be involved in this because it will set a very bad precedent. It is not like using the Army in Afghanistan. The collateral damage that it will be cause will be great, if the Army or Air Force is used," said A.B. Bardhan, General Secretary, Communist Party of India (CPI).

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has pressed two Mi17 copters for the joint operations being carried out by the Maharashtra and the Chhattisgarh police to nab naxals responsible for Thursday’s massacre.

With just four days left for the Maharashtra state polls, massive combing operations continued in Gadchiroli District situated in the southeastern corner of Maharashtra, bordering Chhatisgarh to the east, and Andhra Pradesh to the south and southwest.

On Thursday afternoon, nearly 200 Naxals ambushed a police outpost near Lahir village of Bhamragadh tehsil in Gadchiroli District brutally killing between 17 to 20 policemen, including a sub inspector.

All the dead policemen belonged to the C-60 anti-Naxal force raised by Maharashtra.

However, these Mi17 choppers have been called upon not for combat use, but to enhance the search and rescue operations. However, sources added that the choppers have the option to retaliate if fired at them.

The Gadchiroli district administration opined that choppers would be of great assistance to deal with ongoing violence in the region.

Source ANI

Amritsar: Sikh devotees took dip in the holy pond of Golden Temple, here on the occasion of 475th birth anniversary of Guru Ram Dass, the fourth great Guru of Sikhs.

Scores of devotees offered prayers at the Golden Temple shrine.

The occasion is considered very auspicious among Sikhs and many people also bathe their children in the holy pond.

"All the Gurus have blessed Punjab citizens. And we pray that people of Punjab celebrate all big and small occasions like this one with joy and gaiety. We pray that our Punjab flourishes with happiness always," said Baba Amrik Singh, a community worker, Gurudwara Baba Budda Sahib.

A colourful Nagar Kirtan was taken out in the historic city on Thursday to mark the beginning of the celebrations.

Guru Ramdass Sahib also known as Jetha ji was born in 1534 at Chuna Mandi, which is presently in Punjab state of Pakistan.

He wrote 638 hymns in 30 ragas and these include 246 Padei 138 Shlokas, 31 Ashtpadis and 8 Vars, which happen to be a part of Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs.

Source ANI