India News

Dehradun: Uttarakhand's Director-General of Police (DGP) R P Nishank today said security agencies are on guard and would wage an all out war to root out terrorism from the State.

Interacting with top police officials today with the aim of assessing the security scenario in the state, Nishank said, "We are fully alert and I also want to add that if anyone dares to try anything on the State of Uttarakhand, we vow to launch a war to root out terrorism from the world."

He said the authorities have already identified key institutions and would provide security to them.

Source ANI

Abohar: Having become known the world over as the epicentre and haven of terrorism, Pakistan is now projecting through the Punjabi Darbar programme that India has not been cooperating in maintaining peace and tranquillity in the region since 1947.

The latest allegation has surprised the people living along the border in Indian side. Professor Ajay Khosla, a historian, said: “If you try to harm somebody, in turn, you are bound to become a victim.  And it is quite evident from today’s scenario that Pakistan is facing the problem of terrorism as it has tried to spread terrorism in Punjab, Assam and Kashmir. Pakistan promoted Taliban for its self-interest and now Taliban itself is posing a threat. ”

“We are neighbours and the relations between two countries can be improved if the people and the governments of both the countries take proper steps.  India has always tried to promote message of peace during talks in Lahore or Karachi  but Pakistan attacked India soon after the talks in Kargil and Kashmir. It is important for Pakistan not to get obsessed with the past, but strive to think positive and work for a better future,” Prof. Khosla added.

It is pity that Pakistan was led by persons like President Pervez Musharraf who publicly acknowledged that the funds received for its war against terror from the U.S was used to build up its armed forces to fight the Indian Army. 

What kind of cooperation does Pakistan expects from India?  Has India not been of help when Pakistan-held Kashmir suffered damage during the earthquake? India took the initiative to resume dialogue for peace on so many occasions and kept the Samjhauta Express running keeping people’s wishes in mind.

The broadcasters of the Radio Pakistan should realise that India has always been wanting to live in peace with Pakistan. The  Taliban and other  extremist elements  are  short-sighted  and have not allowed peace to prevail. 

India has always been working for peace and will continue to do so.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Visiting Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Thursday described the relationship between his country and India as one that was growing fast in the 21st century, and that every effort must be availed to take these ties to a higher and meaningful level, including from the strategic perspective.

Addressing the Second Australia-India Roundtable co-hosted by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and the Lowy Institute and focussing on strategic affairs and the Australia-India relationship, Rudd said: “Ours is a relationship growing fast, but with much room to grow further. We should seize the opportunities that our converging interests create. Now, is the time to broaden and deepen this relationship, to develop the structural linkages across our economies, which will serve us well in the long term.”

He also called for building “our shared strategic interests in Asia and the Indian Ocean”, and to reinvigorate the way both Australia and India work together in multilateral forums.

There was also a need to use the ties of migration, education, cultural exchange and tourism to broaden the engagement between our two societies, he added.

“I want to see us be ambitious in the relationship, to forge a genuine strategic partnership underpinned by strong economic, energy and security frameworks that deliver lasting mutual benefits for our peoples and for the peoples of this great region of the 21st century Asia,” he said.

He said that there was much to be had in the exchange of ideas because “ideas have so much power to shape how we see the world, how we act in the world – and how we shape our world’s future together.”

Recalling his over 30-year-long fascination with Asia, Rudd said: “I became fascinated by the conceptualisations of Asia from the continent itself. I became fascinated by the vision of Asia’s future as captured 30 years earlier by Prime Minister Nehru and the newly emerging modern India.”

Recalling the vision for Asia as spelled out by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Rudd said that back in 1947, the latter had said that Asia had become important again in world affairs, and therefore  ,all countries of Asia have to meet together on an equal basis in a common task and endeavour.”

Rudd said that he fine tuned his understanding of Asia at the feet of the great professor Arthur Basham, saying that the latter’s passion for Indian civilisation was infectious. 

He said India’s contribution to the world is both ancient and modern, ancient through the power of its civilisation and  modern through its great example as the world’s biggest democracy, through the impact of its economy, its science and its technology and through its engagement in the institutions of global and regional governance and the great challenges of our time.

“Our bilateral and broader regional engagement extends back to the first days of independence. Australia has, therefore, long recognised that India’s strategic importance to us extends well beyond the Indian Ocean.   My central message to you today is that the Australian Government sees the strengthening of the Australia-India relationship as a natural extension of Nehru’s original vision,” he concluded.

Source ANI

Srinagar: The Police today baton charged the employees of Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC), who were protesting for the release of their pending wages and fulfilment of their other demands.

The employees of SRTC took to the streets and staged a demonstration against the State government in front of the Civil Secretariat, demanding immediate disbursal of their long pending salaries.

The protestors shouted slogans and alleged that the Government was not taking any note of their demands.

"Our demand is regular salary and implementation of the Sixth pay commission. There are some other demands also that should be met. But our main demand is regular salary. Government just gives statements to media and everything remains on papers. They don''t hold talks with us directly," said Sabeer Ahmed, a SRTC employee.

Several people were injured in the baton charged by the Police.

Corporation employees are on an indefinite strike over the past two months.

Source ANI

Kalahandi (Orissa): Farmers in Kalahandi District have gone on an indefinite hunger strike today, demanding compensation for crop damage.

Scores of farmers assembled at the Block office and met officials to highlight their demands.

Paddy crops over thousands of hectares have been damaged by cash worm varieties of pests.

The agitating farmers are demanding compensation, crop insurance benefits, and interest waiver on crop loans, among a host of other demands.

"These pests infest and destroy farms rapidly. We demand that the government should Farmers on hunger strike in India''s eastern Kalahandi.supply insecticide and pesticide for free. Also, we demand compensation for the farmers, crop insurance benefits to those farmers who had insured their crop, interest waiver on crop loans and fresh loans (for ensuing spring harvest)," said Sudhansu Sekhar Panda, a farmer.

We will provide all the possible help to the affected farmers, said an official.

I just discussed their problems and whatever possible with us, we will do, definitely we will stand by the farmers," said Jagannath Mohanty, Sub-collector, Dharamgarh.

The farmers have warned that they will take extreme steps like suicide if their demands are not met.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal of Information and Broadcasting Ministry to issue policy guidelines for Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS) operators.

 

The policy guidelines provides for a framework within which the HITS service providers has to provide services in the country.

 

HITS serves the whole country providing its signals through satellite to many Multi System Operator (MSO) or cable operators who can further send the signals to the customers using their network.

 

The policy does not mandate for either the cable operators or subscribers to necessarily obtain signals from a HITS platform or network, the subscribers and cable operators can continue with the existing system.

 

Hence the cable operators have liberty to switch over to HITS provider network if so desired. Thus it has a basic difference from the areas notified for CAS (Conditional Access System), which is mandatory.

 

HITS would help a subscriber with a wide choice of digital channels, better picture quality and value added services at affordable price. HITS would provide greater channel capacity from the present limited capacity of channels placed in prime or non prime band.

 

The new HITS policy provides for an enabling regulatory environment for operators. The guidelines are exhaustive and provide for complete procedure for obtaining permission and conditions thereto.

 

 According to the new guidelines HITS services are allowed in both ‘C-Band’ and ‘Ku-Band’ and operators can uplink from Indian soil only and will have to install SMS and encryption system.

 

Service providers are not permitted to provide signals directly to the subscribes. However, if HITS operator is also MSO or Cable Operator, he can do so through his distribution network.

 

As per the new policy total direct and indirect foreign investment including FDI is allowed up to 74 percent. Prior FIPB approval will be required if the FDI in beyond 49 percent.

 

The cross media holding restriction of 20 percent of total paid up equity has been prescribed for various segment of broadcasting services. These restrictions have been provided to avoid vertical integration and to promote competition.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Describing the recent racial attacks on Indian students down under as ‘disgusting’, visiting Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Thursday said the attacks has left him deeply disturbed.

“I am deeply disturbed and disgusted by attacks on Indian in Australia,” Rudd said.

Rudd, who arrived here last night on a two-day visit, assured that such incidents would not be repeated in future.

“ Law agencies would ensure that such incidents won’t happen again,” he said.

“ Full force of law enforcement will be used to make guilty pay,” Rudd added.

This is probably the first time that the Australian Premiere has publicly admitted the attacks as ‘racial’, which until now has been denied by the Australian leadership.

Over a dozen Indian students have been attacked and beaten brutally across Australia in the last six months, which New Delhi has condemned vehemently demanding a proper probe in all the incidents.

Barely 48 hours before Rudd’s much touted India tour, two more Indian students were attacked in Melbourne.

According to reports, the attackers allegedly told the students to return home as they did not belong to Australia.

Rudd is the most senior member of the government to tread the path to India after an outcry over the treatment of Indian students in Australia.

Education is Australia’s third biggest export, bringing in over 15 billion dollars each year.  India sends the second largest number of students to Australia after China but there are fears that figure could take a hit after recent events.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday authorized Oil and Natural Gas Company Videsh Limited (OVL) to make an additional investment of USD70 million taking the total cash sink to USD83 million for the project BC-10, Brazil from its own resources without any funding or guarantee support from Government of India.

 

The CGEA which mete here also authorized the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (ECS) for OVL’s projects to approve an additional cash sink of USD17.5 million in case of advancement of capital expenditure or shortfall in cash sink in respect of Block BC-10 in Brazil.

 

The Oil and Gas Block BC-10 is located in the Campos Basin approximately 120 kilometers southwest of Vitoria City off the coast of Brazil. Water depths in BC-10 range from 1400 meters on the west side of the Block to 2100 meters on the east side.

 

The BC-10 license was signed in 1998 with Shell as the operator for license with a 35 percent interest. Other partners of the consortium were Petrobras with 35 percent interest and ExxonMobil with a 30percent interest.

 

The operator Shell, has now informed OVL that as a result of various factors such as freshly imposed taxes, duties, additional well costs and other contingencies etc. the cost of Phase-I is likely to increase by USD 314 million to USD 2282 million.

 

For the present, the phase II costs have been estimated at the same level of USD1196 million. Taking the increased project costs into consideration and non-project cost of US D189 million, the total cost of the project as on date is estimated to be about USD 4987 million for both phase-I and II. OVL’s share at 15 percent in the total costs works out to be USD 748.05 million.

 

The additional investment will give opportunity to OVL to expedite monetization of earlier investments in the project.

 

The additional investment is expected to provide higher reserve accretion of hydrocarbon and more production from the project to OVL, thereby increasing the energy security of the country.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Visiting Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made it clear that he will not buckle on Australia''s refusal to sell uranium to India just hours ahead of a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Rudd told reporters here this morning that India''s refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty meant Australian would not sell it uranium, even though it had helped the Indian Government obtain materials to support its nuclear program through the Nuclear Suppliers Group - an international grouping of nations supplying nuclear technology and resources which seeks to contribute to non-proliferation.

According to The Australian, India has long sought access to Australian uranium ore to meet the energy needs of its rapidly growing economy.

Australia maintains a blanket ban in selling uranium to nations that refuse to sign the NPT Treaty.

This morning Rudd said the United States, Australian and other nations had worked together in recent years through the international Nuclear Suppliers Group to ensure India could access "the supply of inputs to its own nuclear program".

"We also worked in close concert with other nations from around the world, some of whom had profound reservations about that action," Mr Rudd said.

"On the question of bilateral uranium sales, can I say that our policy remains governed by the provisions of the non-proliferation treaty that has been the case in the past.

"The non-proliferation treaty and our policy in relation to it as underpinning our attitude to uranium sales is not targeted at any individual country. It has been longstanding Australian Government policy."

Rudd, who arrived in India last night after an unannounced visit to Australian troops in Afghanistan, will meet Singh this evening.

A key focus of the trip is easing Indian concern about a recent spate of attacks on Indian students studying in Australia, which threatens the future of Australia''s lucrative education export industry.

The issue, fanned by Indian television coverage, had led to the burning of effigies of Rudd in India earlier this year.

Source ANI

New Delhi: India is a dynamic and diversified economy with an acknowledged infrastructure deficit and challenges in meeting the growing food and energy needs of its burgeoning population. Australia is a resource-rich country with a relatively small domestic market but a number of compelling comparative advantages, particularly in energy and resources. India is itself richly endowed with many mineral and energy resources.  And so there is significant potential for reciprocal investment in our resource sectors,” he added.

Rudd also said that he was of the firm belief that a comprehensive, commercially meaningful FTA between Australia and India could deliver substantial new market access for exporters and investors, and open up job opportunities in both countries.

He said that the designation of the G-20 as the premier forum for global economic cooperation was an historic occasion for India and Australia.

G-20 leaders recognised that a strong, stable and balanced global economy relies on:

1.  Strengthened financial regulation;

2.  Representative, legitimate and well-resourced international financial institutions;

3.  An open trading system;

4.  Strong labour markets; and

5.  Support for those most in need. 

He said that he was pleased that Australia and India are working together to address these five key challenges.

“Governments have a responsibility in unlocking this economic potential, and this is one of the key challenges I will be discussing with Prime Minister Singh.

But that’s only part of the story. Business leaders have an important role in recognising commercial opportunities and pursuing them – whether they are in Mumbai or Melbourne. I’m delighted that our Trade and Commerce Ministers have agreed to establish a CEO forum to bring together the business elites of our two countries to discuss opportunities and impediments to greater economic cooperation. I look forward to reading their recommendations in 2010 on what governments can do,” he concluded.

Source ANI

New Delhi: According to the OECD, Australia is projected to have a lower deficit in 2010 than any of the Major Advanced Economies.

We also have the lowest debt of all the Major Advanced Economies, with government net debt projected to peak at 10 per cent of GDP in 2013.

Australia is globally acknowledged for our resilient banking system and strong prudential and regulatory regimes:

·       Of the world''s nine remaining AA plus rated banks, four are Australian; and

·       The percentage of nonperforming bank-to-bank loans in Australia is among the lowest in the world.

The strength of our banking system reflects a strong set of regulatory arrangements and a smart industry model.

Most significantly, Australia prides itself as a good place to do business.

In its 2009 survey, IMD rated Australia as one of the four most resilient economies globally, and the strongest in our region.

The World Bank ranked Australia as one of the most business-friendly economies in the world, offering a business environment that is both stable and flexible.

And our corporate governance environment has also been ranked first by – based on measures like:

·       The transparency of our business and regulatory culture;

·       The power and rights our shareholders enjoy; and

·       The interaction between Government and business.

As far as India was concerned, Rudd said the strategic weight and structure of its economy have seen it withstand the impacts of the global economic crisis better than most.

“India has managed an impressive six per cent growth at a time when few other economies have managed any growth at all.  India has truly emerged as a central pillar of regional and global economic strength and significance,” he said.

“India is already Australia’s fastest growing major two-way trading partner – trade in goods was worth nearly 18 billion dollars in 2008-09. One important part of our relationship is of course the large number of Indian students who come to Australia - nearly one-fifth of the half a million students who come to our country. These students represent the future of Indian and Australian business – and those who study together, stick together. And the Australian Government is committed to doing all that is physically responsible to ensure all international students in Australia have a safe and rewarding experience during their time as welcome guests in our nation. Indian students are welcome guests in our country and we have an obligation to extend the hand of friendship and support to all our Indian visitors,” he said.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Placing emphasis on the central role that business plays in elevating bilateral partnerships between two countries, visiting Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Thursday told captains of Indian industry at the Taj Mahal Hotel here that both Australia and India share common commercial interests.

Business partnerships, he said demonstrate the power of entrepreneurialism, and added that when commercial vision is joined with complementary capacity, the possibilities are endless.

“The same is true of the Australian-Indian economic relationship as a whole. In the past 18 months, businessmen and women around the world have together faced the worst financial collapse in three quarters of a century.  We all know the figures – the global economy is forecast to contract by 1.1 per cent in 2009 – the first contraction since IMF records began,” he said.

Describing the current global recession as the deepest in three-quarters of a century, Rudd said that the one startling fact that had become apparent:, was that “our economies are more interconnected and interdependent now than ever before.”

“Our coordinated response to the global economic crisis – driven by the G20 in which Australia and India are active– has highlighted the benefits of cooperation.  It reminds us that global solutions to crises are through collective determination and action rather than insular policies. It has provided the strongest signal yet that the global economy has entered a new - though fragile - phase of recovery,” he added.

Admitting that there was tentative talk of recovery, he said total recovery was still a long way off, and would be both slow and complex.

“Global economic activity, driven by the strong performance of Asian economies such as India and China, still remains below pre-crisis levels. Private consumption and investment are needed to sustain this recovery. This requires a smooth transition from government-supported demand to private-led demand. We also need to unwind the global imbalances that led us into this crisis. My message to the global community is simple:  we’re all in this together, and we’re all in this for the long haul,” Rudd said.

Revealing what Australia has to offer, Rudd listed the following:

·       Strong fundamentals;

·       A stable, prosperous economy; and

·       An ongoing economic policy reform agenda.

 Like India, the Australian economy has weathered the global recession better than most:

·       our economy grew in the June quarter at 0.6 per cent, making it the fastest-growing advanced economy in the past year and the only advanced economy to have reported positive through-the-year growth to June 2009; and

·       while every Major Advanced Economy has fallen into recession, Australia so far has not.

·       But still, as the slight rise in our unemployment rate to 5.8 per cent today underlines, Australia is by no means out of the woods, yet – as we still face such a fundamentally uncertain global economic outlook.

 Australia is a significant economy.

 We are the 14th largest economy in the world.

By market exchange rates, Australia is the fourth largest economy in Asia - after Japan, China and India, and the fourteenth largest in the world.

We have the second lowest unemployment rate when compared with the Major Advanced Economies.

 Our public finances are sound, with Standard and Poor’s reaffirming our AAA sovereign rating.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Australia’s First Lady and wife of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Therese Rein, on Thursday became the first head of government’s spouse to lay a wreath at the India Gate memorial to the “Unknown Soldier”.

The memorial, which is also known as the “Amar Jawan Jyoti”, is dedicated to the men and women soldiers who laid down their lives during the First World War (1914-1918). The names of 13,500 armed forces personnel are inscribed on the memorial.

Both Rudd and Rein jointly laid wreath at the memorial, as that is the tradition back at home in Australia.

From the Australian point of view, the memorial is significant in that it contains the name of one Australian officer – Sister Latetia – who died of enteric disease on November 11, 1916.

Born in the Australian state of Victoria, Sister Latetia was a member of the Australian Nursing Service and was attached to General Hospital Number Two during the war.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry on Thursday comprehensively revamped the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) with a view to providing gainful employment to the urban unemployed and underemployed.

 

The new scheme will commence with financial year 2009-2010.

 

The SJSRY which was launched in 1997 has five major components of Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP), Urban Women Self-help Programme (UWSP) Skill Training for Employment Promotion amongst Urban Poor (STEP-UP), Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP), Urban Community Development Network (UCDN).

 

In the new scheme, for the beneficiary under the USEP the education limit criteria of “not educated beyond 9th standard” has been removed and now no minimum or maximum educational qualification level has been prescribed for the purpose of eligibility of assistance.

 

According to the new scheme, the project cost ceiling for the self-employment (individual category), has been enhanced to Rs. 2.00 lakhs from the existing Rs. 50,000/- and the subsidy has also been enhanced to 25 percent of the project cost (subject to a maximum of Rs. 50,000/-), from the existing 15 percent of the project cost (subject to a maximum of Rs. 7500/-).

 

For the group enterprises set up by urban poor women, the subsidy has been made as 35 percent of the project cost or Rs. 3, 00,000/- or Rs. 60,000/- per member of the group, whichever is less.

 

The new scheme has reduced the minimum number required to form a women group from 10 to 5. The revolving fund entitlement per member has also been enhanced from the existing Rs. 1,000/- to Rs. 2,000/-.

 

The Skill Training of the urban poor component has been restructured and quality skill training will be provided to the urban poor linking it with certification, imparted preferably on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, with the involvement of reputed institutions like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), National Institute of Technology (NIT ) Poly-techniques, ITIs, other reputed agencies etc.

 

The new scheme enhanced the average expenditure ceiling per trainee from Rs. 2,600/- to Rs. 10,000/-.

 

Meanwhile the central allocation under SJSRY has also been enhanced to Rs 515 Crores in 2009-10.

Source ANI

Devra (Uttar Pradesh): A US trained software engineer is educating poor children at a Dalit school here by giving computer lessons to them.

Karan Shishir, a US university graduate, teaches computer fundamentals to children at a Dalit village, Devra, 65 kilometers from Lucknow.

He wants to give every kid the same opportunity he got when he was young.

"I met this poor girl in Bombay, who started interacting with me in English. While interacting with her, I asked her where she stayed and what she did, so she told me that she stayed under the bridge and some Catholic nuns used to teach her. Then suddenly I realised that the only difference between us is opportunity, which I received from my parents and they didn''''t. I have come here with the same motive. I want to give these children the same opportunity to learn what I have learnt," said Karan Shishir.

S B Mishra, the founder of this Dalit school wants every child of the village to be a literate. But realising that computer education is important, he joined hands with Shishir.

"Today it is not enough for a person to be simply literate. We have entered a competitive world, and therefore, our sole motive is to make these poor children capable and stable enough to survive in this competitive environment. We are providing computer education and other vocational training to them so that they can compete with children from the cities," said Mishra.

A mini computer is already in operation within the school premises.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The National Investigative Agency (NIA) on Thursday has registered a case against suspected terrorist Pakistan born US citizen Headley and his aide Canadian born Tahawwur Hussain Rana in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

 

Addressing the media here, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said government agencies are probing both Headley and Rana’s terror links in India.

 

He also revealed that Headley not only visited India several times between 2006 and 2009, but he also came once after the 26/11 attacks.

 

"It is true that David Headley visited several times before 26/11 and once after 26/11, and we are investigating.” Chidambaram said.

 

He also said that inquiries were being conducted in the cities the Headley visited.

 

“There is a fresh terror alert after sources said on Wednesday that Headley had visited five cities in India and that there was the threat of multiple and simultaneous attacks in these cities,” Chidambaram added.

 

Headley was arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI) on October 3 and details shared with Indian intelligence officials show that his plot in India included the National Defence College in New Delhi, two elite boarding schools Woodstock and The Doon in Uttarakhand and the Taj Mahal among others.

 

FBI Director Robert Swan Mueller, who is scheduled to visit India from November 18, is expected to share more details of LeT''s foiled Indian plot with Chidambaram.

Source ANI

Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh): Trained dogs today took part in an inter-frontier dog squad competition organized by the SSB (Armed Border Force).

The three-day contest will end today.

The dogs exhibited their canine abilities during the competition and their performance will be assessed on the basis of marching, searching for their handler, scent discrimination, detection of explosives and narcotics.

"The instructors present here are all qualified. Except for one day, the dogs are put to practice the whole week. We train them in new locations where we keep them with humans, which makes the training much more easier," said Anil Pawar, a dog trainer.

Selected on pure bred basis, dogs like the Doberman and the German Shepherd have been brought from Patna, Lucknow and Guwahati for the event.

O P Sahu, Public Relation Officer, SSB, Paramilitary Border Force, said trained dogs were most useful in the present scenario where there are a lot of security related risks.

Source ANI

New Delhi: For the first time in India, a tourist cruise has started from Kolkata to Varanasi with 50 foreign tourists. The 14 day trip, took them to several places of historical and tourist interest.

An Inland Waterways Authority of India initiative, the Pandaw cruise vessel has a capacity to carry 50 passengers and crew at a time.

The vessel has all modern amenities like accommodation, a dining hall and relaxation area.

Tourism Secretary Sujeet Banerjee said that a cruise on the Ganga was a dream project for him.

"The cruise on Ganga was a dream project for me and we started working on it five years back to get the ship ready with the necessary approvals right from the inception. We had many challenges, but there was one thing that was constant, and that was full support and cooperation from the Inland Waterways Authority of India," said Banerjee.

Maria, a tourist, thanked the Inland Waterways Authority of India for this wonderful opportunity.

" It was a personal achievement, but without the help of Inland Waterways Authority of India, it would have been totally impossible, " Maria said.

Pandaw Cruises India has signed a memorandum with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). Since the cruise passes through three different states, the company has also signed MoUs with the state governments to provide security onboard.

Source ANI

New Delhi, Noida (Uttar Pradesh): Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit flagged off the first metro service from the Yamuna Bank metro station in Delhi to Noida in Uttar Pradesh (UP) on Thursday.

The flagging off ceremony took place in the presence of Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy, Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely and DMRC managing director E. Sreedharan.

This is another feather in the DMRC''s cap.

 The Yamuna Bank- Noida route will be unlocked for passengers from tomorrow.

The DMRC aspires to add 53,000 new passengers each day on this route.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati will open the first train from the Sector 32 metro station in Noida later this afternoon.

The Yamuna bank to Noida Sector 32 metro line is 13.1 kilometers long and has eleven stations.

This metro line will be open from 6 am tomorrow.

On Wednesday, the DMRC hiked its minimum fare from six rupees to eight rupees, while the maximum to 30 rupees, instead of 22 rupees.

The new fares will also come into effect from tomorrow.
 
According to the DMRC, the average increase in fare for all slabs is around 36 per cent. The DMRC also clarified that the 10 per cent discount on smart card will continue.
 
This is the third time that the DMRC has revised fares after starting the metro service in 2002.
 
The first one was in March 2004, while the second revision took place in December 2005.

Source ANI

Gaya (Bihar): The Special Task Force (STF) of Bihar Police today got hold of 5000 kilograms of explosives in Gaya District.

"About 5000 kilograms of explosives were seized by the STF from two places in Gaya District in wee hours today morning," said Superintendent of Police S M Khopade.

The STF forced their entry into a closed shop at Kaulakhshni area and seized 29 gunny bags containing explosives.

The STF also recovered 70 sacks of explosives after a successful raid at a house, which falls under the Delha police station.

Each of the sacks had 40 to 45 kg of explosives, added Khopade.

Adding that the explosives were highly inflammable, Khopade said forensic experts have been called in from Patna for further examination.

On Tuesday, Bihar Police found 30,000 live cartridges of point 315 bore, two AK-47 rifles, four Insas rifles and huge quantity of explosives.

The STF had on November 8 held liquid explosives, 14 carbine-manufacturing equipments, two pistols, 7221 live cartridges and 50 detonators.

Besides these, they also recovered a box containing naxal literature, CD and cassettes from a place in Patna.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Union Tourism Ministry on Thursday instituted a new award for ‘Best Civic Management of a Tourist Destination in India.''

 

The objective of this award is to proactively involve the municipal authorities and getting their commitment towards eco-friendly, sustainable, clean hygienic and attractive surroundings in our cities, towns and villages.

 

The ministry is also anticipating that the award would help in enhancing visitors’ experience in India.

 

According to the ministry the award will be conferred on best performing civic bodies in cities/Towns/Villages including Municipal authorities.

 

Two winners will be decided from the nominations to be received from the Tourism Department of the State Governments.

 

Two local bodies will be declared winners and their elected representative (Mayor/Pradhan/Adhyaksh) and Chief Executive Officer will be sent on a trip to Singapore or Malaysia to see the best practices being followed internationally so as to enable them to replicate the same in their own organization and local body.

 

The ministry annually recognizes the achievers in the various segments of tourism industry honoring them with the National Tourism Award under different categories. These prestigious awards are the highest awards by the Government of India in the tourism industry.

Source ANI

New Delhi, Noida (Uttar Pradesh): The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will today add another feather to its cap with the start of its metro service till Noida in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The Yamuna Bank- Noida Sector 32 line connecting Delhi with Noida will be inaugurated today.

This new route will be unlocked for passengers from tomorrow.

The DMRC aspires to add 53,000 new passengers each day on this route.

Both State Chief Ministers have arranged separate functions for the launch of the Noida line.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will flag off the first train from the Yamuna Bank metro station in Delhi, while her Uttar Pradesh counterpart Mayawati will open the first train from the Sector 32 metro station in Noida.

The Yamuna bank to Noida Sector 32 metro line is 13.1 kilometers long and has eleven stations.

This metro line will be open to the public from 6 am from tomorrow.

On Wednesday, the DMRC hiked its minimum fare from six rupees to eight rupees, while the maximum to 30 rupees, instead of 22 rupees.

The new fares will also come into effect from tomorrow.
 
According to the DMRC, the average increase in fare for all slabs is around 36 per cent. The DMRC also clarified that the 10 per cent discount on smart card will continue.
 
This is the third time that the DMRC has revised fares after starting the metro service in 2002.
 
The first one was in March 2004, while the second revision took place in December 2005.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd announced on Thursday that his government would invest 50 million dollars over five years for the Australia-India strategic research fund.

Addressing reporters here on the sidelines of his meeting with RK Pachauri, chief of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Rudd said the Fund, a joint initiative of the Australian and Indian governments, is already supporting fifty projects across the spectrum of scientific disciplines including astronomy, climate change and evolution, malaria vaccines, the impact of global warming on agriculture, water management, computing and biotechnology.  

"The additional 50 million over five years for the Australia-India strategic research fund will commence from financial year 2009-10," he added.

"I have already seen where such collaboration can lead to ground breaking research, investigating how---can be used to clean up oil contamination in water.  In fact the fund which will be Australia''s largest bilateral research fund is already supporting 50 projects across the spectrum of scientific disciplines," said Rudd

He also announced a further one million dollars for an innovative Australia-India solar cooling research project. 

The project between CSIRO and the Energy and Resources Institute aims to develop a zero emissions solar cooling system for use in remote rural communities in un-electrified areas. 

"We will contribute to a further million dollars to extend the TERI and the CSIRO collaboration working to provide a emissions free solar cooling electricity and pure drinking water for rural areas," said Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister.

Through the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, Australia''s largest bilateral research fund, the Australian Government has already invested 20 million dollars since 2006 to enable Australian scientists to engage in leading edge collaborative research with Indian scientists. 

The increased investment in the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund will, in particular, seek to support more applied research and engagement of industry partners in order to produce outcomes that help address some of the pressing challenges that both countries face.

Source ANI

Rayagada (Orissa): About fifty armed Maoists entered a village and killed four people in Orissa''s Rayagada district on Wednesday.

Maoists entered a house in Pandratola village, about 350 kilometers from state-capital Bhubaneswar late at night and killed three people. Two other people were injured and were admitted in hospital, out of which one died.

Reports say the Maoists killed these people on suspension that they were police informers and exploiters of tribals.

"Around 50 Maoists came here last night and knocked our door. I ran away as I smelled danger. They dragged my brother outside and killed him there," said Satyay Kondagiri, brother of a slain victim.

Maoists had also pasted posters at several areas in the villages stating their opposition to appointment of village youth as the Special Police Officer in the state police to take on Maoists.

Reports said that the killings were a retaliation to the recent police action against Maoists in the state.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram said 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 the rebels must first stop violence.

Source ANI

Guwahati: Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah has condemned the existence of linguistic chauvinism in the country.

Addressing a two-day conference on energy resources here on Wednesday, Abdullah said the country should rise above linguistic prejudices.

"For small matters we fight each other. Can you use Hindi or not Hindi, Can I use Assamese of no Assamese? Can I speak Kashmiri or not Kashmiri? This is India. India is for all of us. Whether you speak Kashmiri or not, you are part of India," said Abdullah.
Abdullah''s impassioned plea came in the backdrop of ugly scenes marring the assembly session in Maharashtra on Monday.

Abu Azmi, a legislator of the newly elected Maharashtra Assembly was assaulted on Monday for taking oath in Hindi, and not in the regional language Marathi, by the legislators of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

Source ANI

New Delhi: Australian Prime Minister (PM) Kevin Rudd will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this evening and will discuss issues of bilateral and international importance.

Rudd, who arrived here last night on a two-day visit, is expected to hold talks on maritime security.

Both leaders will sign agreements on maritime security and counter- terrorism measures.

Both leaders could also declare the start of negotiations for a free trade agreement.

Energy starved India, which is pressing hard to ensure sufficient nuclear
fuel supply for its drying nuclear reactors, is likely to persuade Rudd to sell uranium to it.
 
Australia is one of the largest uranium producers of the world and its Olympic Dam mine (in south Australia) alone has the capacity to produce 35 per cent of the world''s uranium. Its reserves could last for 100-150 years.
 
India derives consolation from the fact that Australia had supported India in getting clean waiver at the Nuclear Suppliers'' Group (NSG) and also at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last year.
 
However, in spite of exemptions and lifting of sanctions on India for doing nuclear trade, Canberra is sticking to " No Uranium Sale to India" on the ground that India is non-signatory to the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
 
Australia is not only one of the largest reservoirs of uranium; it also possesses huge reserves of clean coal and natural gas, which India is eyeing on.
 
Off late, Australia and India have signed first long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal with India, with India''''s Petronet LNG signing a 20-year agreement to take gas from the massive Gorgon project.

Source ANI

New Delhi: A Communist Party of China (CPC) delegation led by Liu Qibao met External Affairs Minister SM Krishna here on Wednesday.

Liu Qibao, a member of the powerful CPC Central Committee, discussed a range of bilateral issues, including trade and investment and cooperation in disaster mitigation.

Qibao, also the chief of CPC''s Sichuan Provincial Committee, is heading a six-member delegation.

The meeting took place at a time of sharp exchange of words between the two sides over the Dalai Lama''s visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is meeting leaders of all political parties to ensure a smooth conduct of the winter session of Parliament, which begins from November 19.

The Opposition is expected to raise a number of issues during this session, including the telecom sector scam and the price rise.

The problems of sugarcane growers and India''s growing tensions with China are also likely to be taken up.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) is also expected to stall proceedings by protesting against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) lawmakers for their recent assault of SP MLA Abu Azmi.

Source ANI

Mumbai: Australian skipper Ricky Ponting rates Shane Watson as cricket''s gun all-rounder.

Ponting predicted that Watson, being sound in body and having peace of mind, would be enshrined as the game''s next crack all-rounder.

"The extended run he has had injury-free means he is starting to show everybody what a few us believed he was going to be able to achieve at international level," the Daily Telegraph quoted Ponting, as saying.

"His performances over the past few months have been pretty outstanding. There is a big difference in the team having someone who can give you quality batting at the top of the order and quality overs," he added.

A triple set of Test and one-day series against the West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand will be the 28-year-old''s playground.

"As far as offering balance to a side you need someone like a Kallis or Flintoff," said Ponting, thankful for Watson''s 10 wickets at 22 and 256 runs at 42 in the one-day series victory against India.

Until you have that really good world-class all-rounder in your team, balance becomes really difficult. Shane gives us great balance," he said.

Meanwhile, Australia''s all-round jewel in 44 Tests from 1953-63, Alan Davison, has pleaded with critics to "give Shane Watson time" to evolve.

"Shane Watson is a good example of someone who just needed some time to find his cricket feet," Ponting said.

"Take Sachin out of the game the other night at Hyderabad and Shane was probably man of the match. He had 49 at Guwahati and two wickets," noted Ponting.

"He is certainly playing very well and not just with his batting. He chipping in at crucial times with the ball as well,” he said.

Source ANI

New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil will inaugurate the Foundation Day lecture on Governance and Public Service here today.

The lecture has been organised by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
This lecture series aims at providing a forum for raising issues of contemporary relevance to governance and public administration.

Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Prithviraj Chavan will preside over the function.

The founding fathers of the Indian Republic envisaged an important role for the UPSC as the bedrock in the vital machinery of governance. The responsibility for recruiting the finest talent for manning the civil services and protecting their just interests so that they may act impartially and fearlessly are some of the tasks given to the Commission under the Constitution.

UPSC is also responsible for advising the Government on related matters of service that actually cover personnel policy and human resource management.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee along with both Ministers of State for Railways, E. Ahamed and K. H. Muniyappa, the entire Railway Board and the Railway employees unions chiefs in a single written joint appeal to railwaymen have called upon them to strengthen the railway system through sincere efforts and hard wok.

 

The joint appeal requested railwaymen to see to it that the Indian Railways does not lag behind any other organization in efficiency.

 

The appeal letter which is being sent to all members of the railway family, points out that the mammoth railway machinery has been working efficiently only due to the sheer dedication and hard work of railwaymen.

 

Reposing full faith in the confidence, capacity and capability of railwaymen, the joint appeal calls upon them to continue their hard work and dedication for realizing the motto ‘Service with Smile’ in the best interest of the public and the nation.

Referring to safety aspects in train operations, the joint appeal has emphasized the need for the railway men to be fully vigilant.

 

The railway top brass categorically mentioned that resorting to short cut methods in the discharge of duties was unacceptable.

 

Referring to the recent pay hikes in salaries and allowances, the joint appeal underscored that it now throws greater responsibility on railwaymen to pay back to the general public in the form of improved efficiency and a high quality service that is safe, secure and punctual.

 

The joint appeal exhorts all employees to ensure observance of all procedures and rules so as to enable Indian Railways to achieve its goal of efficiently transporting passengers and goods across the country.

 

The joint appeal also reminded railway employees of their duty to caution their fellow railwaymen who may be adopting unsafe and undesirable practices, which may lead to bad consequences.

 

Referring to the achievements of the Railways in the first six months of the current financial year, the joint appeal has pointed out that Railways have registered a growth of 6.45 per cent in freight transportation and 4.50 per cent growth in passenger transportation as compared to last year.

 

The Railways’ earnings have also shown growth of 6.7 per cent from over Rs. 37732 crore last year to over Rs. 40259 crore in the current financial year. Safety record of Railways has also improved with 68 consequential accidents (April – September, 2009) as compared to 91 accidents last year.

Source ANI

New Delhi: India on Thursday conveyed its concern over the racial attacks on Indian students and other members of the community in Australia and stressed upon the need to strengthen the regulatory measures for their safety and security.

 

“More than 80,000 students are pursuing studies in Australia. I conveyed my concerns to Prime Minister Rudd about the safety, security and well being of our students and the Indian community in Australia. The Prime Minister assured me that Australia is fully committed to ensure their safety and will take all steps necessary in this regard, including the strengthening of regulatory measures. We have decided to instituted an annual ministerial level dialogue on education between the two countries,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the national capital during the joint press conference.  

 

Australian Prime Minister assured his counter part Dr. Manmohan Singh that his country would do everything possible under the power of the territorial governments to ensure safety and security of Indian and other foreign students.

 

“In my own view, the responsibility we have in Australia is to ensure that our foreign students from India and foreign students from everywhere in the world are safe and secure and pursuing proper courses of studies. We, in Australia, have been reflecting on this, and in recent months, I know, the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, engaged in substantive discussions on this matter when she visited Delhi, a short time ago,” said Kevin Rudd during the joint statement.  

 

“We have combined work under way on this and, as you know, in Australia I worked with the State and the territory governments of Australia……We believe that in Australia we want to ensure that Indian students together, with all foreign students who study in Australia, should be safe, should be secure, and the governments at all levels in Australia are doing everything within their physical powers to ensure their safety and security in the future,” Rudd added.

Source ANI

Panaji: The Coast Guard on Thursday continued its search operations to locate eight trawlers and 39 fishermen who had gone missing after the Arabian Sea turned rough under the influence of Cyclone Phyan.

The trawlers and the crew had gone missing on Wednesday.

Menino Fonsaca, Chairman of the Trawlers Association, said that apart from the authorities, the fishermen had also sent their personal trawlers to help in the search.

“We had given information to Coast Guard about this at 10 a.m. and also the Fishery Department. Their search operation is also going on and we have sent our 10 trawlers via Jaigarh coast, Ratnagiri coast and their search operation is also going on,” Fonsaca said.

Earlier on Wednesday, an alert had been sounded in Mumbai and Gujarat because of the cyclonic that was expected to hit the coast.

Cyclone Phyan bypassed Mumbai, where residents in low-lying areas were evacuated and coast guard vessels were dispatched to bring back fishing trawlers caught in the rough seas.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Defence Minister A. K. Antony on Thursday asked the Navy and the Coast Guard to plug any deficiencies found in the working of Coastal Security network.

Addressing a high-level meeting on Coastal Security in the national capital, Antony said that strengthening Coastal Security was a top priority of the Government.

He also underlined on an integrated approach put in place post-Mumbai terror attacks and called upon the top officials of the two forces to meet the procurement schedules of patrol vessels, interceptor boats, surveillance aircraft and radars to enhance coastal security.

The Defence Minister said that the Government has delegated financial powers to the Commander-in-Chiefs to hire boats for Coastal patrolling till the time the new deliveries take place.

He also asked the Coast Guard to expedite the recruitment of 3,000 personnel recently approved by the Government.

Source ANI

New Delhi: In a significant decision, the Election Commission of India has decided to allow eunuchs/transsexuals to indicate their gender as ‘other’ where they do not want to be described as male or female.

Besides the electoral roll, the decision also applies to all other forms used by the Commission wherein the provisions of indication of gender of the elector is made, including IT based formats and website.

Necessary instructions have been issued to all Electoral Registration Officers through the Chief Electoral Officers of all States and Union Territories to give effect to the above decision of the Commission.

Enumerators and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) shall be instructed to indicate the gender of eunuchs/ transsexuals as ‘O’ if they so desire, while undertaking any house-to-house enumeration/verification of any application. 

Earlier, the eunuchs were registered either as male or as female, on the basis of the statement made by the person concerned. This practice was being followed so far for indicating the sex of the eunuchs in the electoral roll.

The decision was taken as the Election Commission was receiving representations from various individuals and interest groups, including some students of the Law Faculty of KIIT, Orissa, when the Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla was addressing the students, to include the eunuchs in the electoral rolls with an independent identity.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, will arrive in India on a four-day official visit which is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

 

He is visiting India on the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

 

The discussions between Prime Minister Harper and his Indian counterpart Dr. Manmohan Singh will include a review of the bilateral agenda, and an exchange of views on regional and global issues of common interest, an MEA release said on Thursday. 

 

Mrs. Laureen Harper, Foreign Minister, Mr. Lawrence Cannon, Minister of International Trade, Mr. Stockwell Day, and a Parliamentary delegation will accompany Prime Minister Harper during this official Indian visit (Nov.15 to 18).

 

During the visit, the President of India, Pratibha Patil, and the Vice President Hamid Ansari will receive Prime Minister Harper.

 

The Canadian PM will hold discussions with Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and meet with the External Affairs Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha during his visit.

 

Prime Minister Harper’s discussions with the Prime Minister will include a review of the bilateral agenda, and an exchange of views on regional and global issues of common interest. India and Canada share a commonality of values including an abiding commitment to democracy, pluralism and rule of law.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Government in a travel advisory to all Indian citizens, intending to visit the People’s Republic of China, has asked them to check before making travel arrangements whether the visa being issued to them would be affixed to the passport or in the nature of a stapled paper visa to avoid inconvenience.

 

Such paper visas would be invalid for traveling out of the country.

 

“It has come to the attention of Government of India that the Embassy of the People''''s Republic of China in New Delhi and the Chinese Consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata are issuing visas on a separate piece of paper "stapled" to the passport (rather than "pasted" as is the usual practice), to certain categories of Indian nationals on the basis of their domicile, ethnicity and/or place of issue of the passport,” said a travel advisory issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday.

 

“Such paper visas stapled to the passport are not considered valid for travel out of the country,” the MEA advisory stated. 

 

“All Indian citizens intending to travel to the People''''s Republic of China are advised that before making any travel arrangements they should first ascertain from the Chinese Embassy or Consulate, as the case may be, whether the visa being issued to them will be affixed to the passport or will be in the nature of a stapled paper visa, so that they are not inconvenienced or put to any financial loss later on this count,” the MEA’s advisory further stated.

Source ANI

Chennai: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday urged Health Ministers of southern States to set up a Public Health Cadre (PHC) having necessary capacity to effectively deal with all infectious diseases.

Address a meeting convened in Chennai to review the progress in implementation of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) programmes in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and the Union territories of Puducherry, Andaman Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

“Investments being made in Health Sector are focused in backward areas or among people who have no access to health care due to difficult geographical terrain or social prejudice such as SC, ST, OBC and minorities. So, it is necessary to ensure more equitable distribution of resources, so that poor and marginalized people are provided greater attention in the matter of accessing health services,” Azad said.

The minister also urged the State Governments to keep in mind this while taking up the up-gradation and strengthening of health infrastructure, so that focus is given where it is most needed.

Referring to increased demand for specialists’ services, Azad called up on the State Health Ministers to consider different options like posting of Post Graduate students to work in district hospitals, sub-district hospitals and community health centres for a period of six months.

He also emphasized on the need for inter-sectoral convergence between Heath sector and schemes such as safe drinking water, sanitation, environment, education and institutions like local self-Government. 

Azad added that the Centre is committed to provide affordable and quality health care to the entire population, specially the poor and deprived.

Source ANI

Midnapore (West Bengal): The People''s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), a pro-Maoist organization, has called for a 72-hour indefinite shutdown in the Jhargram region of West Bengal’s Midnapore district.
 
The shutdown was started at 6 am on Thursday to protest against the police baton-charge on its supporters on Wednesday.

The police had allegedly baton-charged Tribals including women in Jhargram region, who were demanding the release of their leaders, Chhatradhar Mahato, who was spearheading agitation in Lalgarh district. 

As the shutdown began, the PCAPA activists set afire a pick-up van of the police near Jhargram town. They also attached posters nearby the incident site announcing the shutdown call.

Nirmal Mahato, a local resident, said the agitation had started at 5 a.m, when they set on fire a jeep coming from Orissa.

“The incident occurred in the wee hours of morning. Boys were working in the field. Suddenly we heard a loud sound. The passengers from the jeep informed the local boys in the field that the jeep has been set on fire. It was coming from Orissa and was heading towards Jhargram,” Nirmal Mahato said.

The shutdown affected normal life in Jhargram area as all educational institutions and shops remained closed.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday demanded imposition of President''s rule in West Bengal under article 356 of the constitution.

Addressing the All Party meeting in the national capital, Mamata said: “More than 300 people have been killed and it is not fair in a democratic set-up, which is why we want Article 356 against the atrocities.”

“The atrocities against Muslims, Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes and women are so high. They are killing people everyday. The Government must act according to the constitutional provisions. If the State cannot do anything, the State Government cannot keep mum,” Mamata said.

Meanwhile, leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Basudeb Acharia underplayed the demand.

“In 2006, the Left Front Government got the mandate to rule, to run the Government for six years. The elections are due in 2011, she (Mamata) is asking for the President''s rule today. She has been asking for the imposition of Article 356 on the West Bengal Government for several years,” Acharia said.

Source ANI

New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil on Thursday expressed concern over increasing corruption in all walks of life and described it as a cancer affecting society.

 

Delivering the inaugural lecture series organized by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) here, Patil said the nation is losing resources due to the social evil of corruption. She also stressed on bringing  more transparency in the system.

 

"The system has to be made corruption free. Like a cancer, corruption is that sore which drains the strength of a nation. Corruption has deprived the nation of better infrastructure and better facilities," Patil said.

 

She said when only a fraction of money is spent for the purpose for which it is allocated, the impact is far less than the intended or envisaged.

 

“For example, corruption in the public distribution system means that food meant for the poorer sections of society is not reaching them and as a result the national objective of removing poverty and hunger suffers,” Patil said.

 

"The people feel let down, the nation loses resources and we lag behind others. It is one malaise which brooks no delay," she added.

 

The President also expressed concern over the opaqueness and unaccountability among the public servants and stressed on the need of transparency in functioning.

 

“Withholding information from the public creates a distance between the civil servant and the people; it results in a gap between those responsible for governing and those for whose benefits the system operates,” she said.

Source ANI