India News

Jaipur: A private company has lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against the officials of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) depot in Jaipur for their alleged negligence in the outbreak of the devastating fire, which broke out on October 29 and is still not completely extinguished.

Genus Overseas Private Limited, which is about 200 metres away from the IOC complex in Sitapura industrial area, lodged the complaint against the IOC officials on Monday for the destruction and human damage caused by the fire.

“The company that was affected the most with the fire explosion is Genus. So, complaint was filed on behalf of Genus following the death of their three employees and other damage caused. On the basis of the complaints by Genus, we have lodged the case,” said Biju Joseph, Superintendent Of Police of East Jaipur.

The major fire, which broke out on October 29 has claimed 11 lives, and damaged many adjacent factories, including a factory manufacturing electronic meters.

So far, nearly five lakh residents in the radius of five-kilometer area around the fire spot have moved to safer locations after it was declared "danger zone".

Among those who were evacuated were all the patients, doctors and staff of a government hospital and engineering and medical students of 10 hostels. Two villages near the depot were also evacuated and power was cut off across the region as a precaution.
 
The IOC depot has a capacity of about nine million litres of fuel.

Source ANI

Kathua (Jammu and Kashmir): At least 12 people were killed and seven others injured in a road accident on Jammu-Pathankote National Highway at Bagial in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

According to reports, the mishap took place around 1.45 a.m. when a tempo had a head on collision with a passenger bus, which was on its way from Jammu to Delhi.

The injured, including five women and two children were rushed to nearby district hospital in Kathua.

Five people were discharged after first aid, while two were referred to Jammu for treatment.

The police suspect that the accident was due to over speeding.

“It seems as if both the vehicles were running at very high speed,” said Surinder Rao, Station House Officer (SHO), Kathua.

Source ANI

Srinagar: The Union Home Ministry’s decision to ban pre-paid mobile service in Jammu and Kashmir from November 1, has resulted in complete chaos as thousands of people who were associated with the industry have been rendered jobless in the State.

Earlier, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had decided not to issue fresh pre-paid mobile connections in Jammu and Kashmir on account of security concerns. And as per the policy the existing pre-paid SIM cards were banned in the State on November 1.

Gulzar Ahmed, a recharge coupon seller said, “Nearly 300 to 350 employees used to work in my company. Yesterday, the management said that only three people were required to report on duty today. Agency is saying how will they pay from their pocket if there is no work.”

While, Mudasir, another recharge coupon dealer, said that around 20 to 30 thousand people associated with this profession would be affected by the Home Ministry''s decision.

“Look we don''t have to see the employment of one man. Around 20 to 30 thousand people were associated with this profession. Some people got married and their whole families are affected,” Mudasir said.

He wants the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to raise the issue with the Home Ministry.

Mobile services were started in the Kashmir valley a few years ago. It is estimated that there will be business loss of around Rs 3 billion in the State as out of the 45 million connections, 3.9 million connections are pre-paid.

The Ministry had even asked the Department of Telecommunications to take appropriate action in the matter for implementation of the decision.

The step came in the wake of the reports that proper verification was not being done while providing such pre-paid mobile connections by the service providers/vendors.

In some cases, a single person had been issued with multiple number of connections. Fake documents/identity numbers were also reportedly being used by the vendors particularly, in the case of pre-paid connections. This situation had given rise to serious security concerns.

Source ANI

Chandigarh: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Tuesday urged medical graduates to serve to the poor section of the society, as the government works hard to achieve its goal of spending 2-3 percent of GDP on health care.

“You must always keep the well being of the common man in mind and contribute to it i.e. the talisman Mahatma Gandhi wanted to give to each poor person in our free country. You must find ways of returning to the society and your country a part of what they have given to you,” Dr. Singh said in his address at the Convocation of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.

Dr Manmohan Singh admitted that India is lagging far behind other South East Asian countries as far as spending on the health sector is concerned.

“In the public sector today we are spending one percent of GDP on health care. It has been our goal to raise it to 2 to 3 per cent. Both, the Central and the State Governments, have to work hard to achieve this goal. It also does not compare well with what a number of other countries, particularly in South East Asia, have achieved,” he said.

Dr. Singh pointed out that India is facing acute shortage of human resources at various levels in the health sector.

“A review of the National Rural Health Mission points out to the acute shortage of human resources at various levels in the health sector – specialists, doctors, nurses and paramedics. This is one of the biggest impediments to strengthening of the public health delivery system and scaling up access to health care,” he said.

In a bid to address this shortage, more medical colleges and nursing schools are being established in the less developed states, he said.

“A new scheme for strengthening and upgrading medical colleges of the State Governments is also being launched so as to increase the number of post-graduate medical seats all over the country,” he said.

Source ANI

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Tuesday rubbished Pakistan''s allegations that India is fomenting trouble in Balochistan, saying that New Delhi is not interfering with the Islamic country’s internal developments.

Krishna told reporters in New Delhi that India has nothing to do with the developments in Balochistan or Pakistan.

He added that there is total confusion in Pakistan and there is no effective government functioning there.

Krishna''s comments come amid Pakistan''s claims that its security forces had seized Indian-made arms and equipment from the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, where the Pakistani Army has launched an offensive against the Taliban.

Meanwhile, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor said that India was not interested in creating trouble in Pakistan, and it was time for Pakistan to stop pushing infiltrators cross the border in to Kashmir.

“The problem of terrorism is a problem faced by the entire region. India is not interested in creating trouble in Pakistani soil, unlike their constant attempts to push infiltrators into India. Pakistan has also repeatedly been hit by attacks. We''re all reeling under this menace,” he said.

Earlier, Pakistan Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and ISPR spokesman Major General Athar Abbas had claimed that their troops had recovered Indian arms, ammunition, literature and medical equipment from Sherwangi, a key militant base that was captured a few days ago.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik had also recently alleged that India was supplying arms to Taliban militants.

Source ANI

Mohali: Injury-plagued Australian team suffered another blow on Tuesday, as fast bowler Peter Siddle was ruled out of the rest of India-Australia ODI series.

Siddle was diagnosed with a side strain following the fourth ODI at Mohali on Monday, which Australia won by 24 runs to tie the seven game series. 

“Cricket Australia today confirmed fast bowler Peter Siddle will return from Australia''s Tour of India after experiencing some left side stiffness during last night''s victory over India in the fourth ODI at Mohali,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.

Though the injury is minor, the CA has decided to give him rest, as they did not want to augment the injury further. 

Siddle is the fourth Australian player to return, after injuries to fast bowler Brett Lee, all-rounder James Hopes and wicketkeeper Time Paine forced them to head home.

The fifth game of the series will be held in Hyderabad on November 5.

Source ANI

Srinagar: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday banned the Services team for pulling out of their Ranji Trophy game against Jammu and Kashmir at the Sher-E-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar, citing security reasons.

“The Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) cricket team was scheduled to play a Ranji Trophy game against Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) at Srinagar from November 3 to November 6 2009. However, the SSCB forfeited the match, having expressed its inability to send its cricket team to Srinagar,” BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

“The SSCB has therefore been disqualified from participating in the 2009-10 edition of the Ranji Trophy, in accordance with the rules of the BCCI pertaining to Domestic Tournaments,” the statement added.

The statement also said that a decision on any further action against the SSCB will be taken by the BCCI''s Working Committee.

Jammu and Kashmir, which has been affected by militant activities in the region for the past two decades, has not hosted a Ranji match since 2004.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association chief Farooq Abdullah, said that the Services team''s decision projects a bad image of India and he would take up the matter with the Prime Minister.

“Services have negated what the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister and the Home Minister have said, that Kashmir is normal. We have also had ambassadors coming here. This shows that some vested interests don''t want Kashmir to normalize,” Abdullah said.

“I will take this up with the Union Government. We were all waiting for the Services. We were here to welcome them. It looks very bad that of all teams, Services decided not to come. It shows a very bad image of India,” he added.

Due to refusal of Services to play the match, the empires of the match has given the match to the Jammu and Kashmir team.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a paternity suit against N D Tiwari, in which a youth had alleged that the Andhra Pradesh Governor is his biological father. 

Justice S N Dhingra concluded that the suit filed by Rohit Shekhar is not maintainable allowed the plea of 84-year-old Tiwari who had sought dismissal of the petition.

In his petition, Shekhar had said that he was born out of an intimate relationship between his mother Ujjwala Sharma and Tiwari. N. D. Tiwari had denied the claim.

In November, the court had directed Tiwari to file his reply.

During the proceedings, Tiwari’s advocate Rajiv Nayyar had contended that Rohit''s plea was barred under the time limitation and hence it was not maintainable.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor on Tuesday warned of attacks similar to the 26/11 Mumbai carnage and said country needed to be on guard to counter such acts of terror.

Talking to reporters here, General Kapoor said: "It is necessary that we take all the steps to ensure that another incident similar to Mumbai attacks do not take place again, but we cannot entirely rule out the possibility of such an attack."

Kapoor also said, a peaceful and stable Pakistan was necessary to India''''s security.
Refuting Pakistani allegations of India''''s involvement in aiding terror in Balochistan, Kapoor said, "I would just like to say that we want that Pakistan should be peaceful and stable so that its spill over effects are not felt in India.

"We are not interested in creating any trouble in their territory like they are doing in our region, Jammu and Kashmir, neither have we given any support to any group. And as far as their allegation is concerned, I cannot say much about it, they should give a proof that we are involved, but the fact is that there is no involvement from our side," he added.

Pakistan has been consistently alleging that Indian spy agencies have been fomenting trouble in restive Balochistan province. The issue also figured in the India- Pakistan joint declaration issued by Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan at Sharm-al-Sheikh earlier this year.

Source ANI

Pataudi (Haryana): The New Delhi-Ajmer Shatabdi train crushed five persons to death at Pataudi in Haryana this morning when they were crossing the railway tracks. The death triggered protests by the locals who surrounded the train.

The mishap took place at 7:30 a.m, when the five persons were crossing the tracks as soon as a goods train passed the area.  They did not notice the approaching Shatabdi train.

“Due to the impact, the engine of the train failed and the locomotive came to a halt,” said Northern Railways CPRO, Anant Swaroop.

Soon after the incident, the locals protesting against the incident surrounded the train, said the CPRO, adding that there were no reports of violence.

The identity of the victims is yet to be ascertained. An engine has been sent from Delhi to facilitate the onward movement of the train.

Source ANI

Saharanpur (UP): Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that india cannot view Islam as an alien faith.

Speaking at the 30th general session of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind here, Chidambaram said: "We cannot view Islam as an alien faith because this is the land of your of your birth. All Indians share a cause to fight communalism."

"It is a matter of our pride that Islam exists in India along with other major religions," he added.

About 10,000 clerics, besides five lakh followers of Jamiat, are attending the three-day conference, which commenced on November 1.

The conference is being seen as an attempt by the UPA government to reach out to Islamic scholars.

Source ANI

Amritsar (Punjab): Activists of the radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa today blocked trains and buses in Amritsar to enforce the Punjab bandh called by them to protest the alleged inaction against the 1984 riots accused.

The activists blocked the tracks, delaying the movement of many trains including the Shatabdi Express, Sachkhand Express, Paschmi Express, Super Fast, Dadar Kathiar Express and the Tata Mouri Express.

A number of trains have either been cancelled for the day or terminated short of their destination due to the blockade, according to a senior officer of the Ambala Division of the Railway.

A number of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir bound trains were being terminated at Ambala and the other stations in Haryana.

Activists of Dal Khalsa also did not allow any Punjab Roadways bus to move out from the Amritsar main bus stand. Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at the Amritsar Railway station and the bus stand.

The affected trains included New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express, Amritsar-New Delhi Inter City Express, Amritsar-Hardwar Jan Shatabdi Express, Dadar-Amritsar Express and Howrah-Amritsar Express; besides a number of passenger trains.

Road traffic was also disrupted at many places in the state, including the Chandipur-Ropar National Highway. Initial reports said that the markets were closed at some places.
On October 23, Dal Khalsa supported by the Khalsa Action Committee, had given a shut down call for today to register its protest against the killings of thousands of Sikhs in 1984.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will address the Conference of the Chief Ministers, State Ministers (Tribal Development & Social Welfare Department) and State Ministers (Forests) here on Wednesday.

The conference is being organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to review the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and major Tribal Development programmes.

Several States having sizeable tribal population will make their presentations in the Conference on the status of the implementation of the Forest Rights Act during the current year.

They will also dwell upon the strategies being adopted by them for distributing titles by December, 2009, the target set before all by the President of India in her speech to joint Houses of Parliament in June, 2009.

The States have also been asked to make presentations on planned interventions using Central and States Funds under Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), convergence with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and other schemes and programmes being run by the Union line Ministries like Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Environment & Forest and Water Resources.

Source ANI

Kathua (J-K): At least twelve persons have been killed and seven others injured in a road accident on Jammu-Pathankote National Highway today.

According to sources, the mishap occurred when a tempo traveller had a head on collision with a passenger bus, which was going from Jammu to Delhi.

All of them were residents of Jammu and were returning from Himachal Pradesh.

Source ANI

Chennai: Tamil Nadu government has said that it will review the living condition of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in the state.

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi held a high-level meeting here on Monday to discuss the issue.

The development comes in the wake of some reports in the media that Sri Lankan refugees were living without essential facilities in the camps.

Karunanidhi has formed 26 teams to review the situation and asked them to submit a report before November 10.

"Chief Minister has ordered all the ministers to find out the present state of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in different camps of Tamil Nadu. The review will be conducted by all the ministers and the all district collectors in the state before November 10 to ascertain the actual conditions of these Sri Lankan Tamils," said K K S S R Ramchandran, backward classes minister of Tamil Nadu.

There are about 19,340 Sri Lanka Tamil refugee families living in several camps in the state.

The state government with the help of central government is serving around 73,241 of them.

Source ANI

Ranchi: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda today ducked IT interrogation by getting himself admitted to Ranchi Apollo Hospital in pretext of acute stomach pain.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Income Tax, Jharkhand Circle, Anjani Kumar has said

Koda was not cooperating with them in investigations of the Hawala scam.

"Till we complete the investigation, we can''t tell you anything. Not very much. If I get the support and proper cooperation, I think this will come to an end very soon. But, if I don''t get cooperation, the things will continue as per law," said Anjani Kumar.

The IT officials had conducted raids at 70 places connected with Madhu Koda and several other persons.

The raids revealed transactions worth approximately 10 million dollars.

On October 9, the Enforcement Directorate had charged Koda and his former Cabinet colleagues under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly amassing assets worth several hundred crores.

Koda, an independent member of Lok Sabha and a UPA supporter, has been charged with having business interests of diverse kinds - cement, steel, auto, power, agro and tourism.

Estimated at 300-400 crore rupees, his investments are alleged to be spread from Singapore to Thailand and Dubai to Liberia.

Source ANI

Gaya (Bihar): Bihar Police arrested eleven Maoist rebels in Gaya district on Monday.

Acting on a tip off the police raided Rangpur village falling under the Atri police station in Gaya district and nabbed the rebels.

"When we cordoned off the house, there was a room with stone tiles on the second floor, where all these Maoist rebels were standing. They could not flee as we had cordoned off the house from all four sides," S N Dubey, in-charge, Atri police station told reporters.
The police also seized arms, ammunitions, two bikes and some documents from the rebels.

Police said one of the arrested rebels was an accused in the 2005 jailbreak case of Jehanabad.

Maoists have stepped up violence across eastern and central India and internal security experts say it indicates a growing dominance of the insurgents in the country.
Last month, suspected Maoists held the Rajdhani express train, which was freed by security forces after a five-hour hostage drama.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described Maoists as the biggest internal security challenge since independence, which began four decades ago championing the cause of poor peasants in the east, but has now spread to about 20 of India''s 29 states.

Union 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

Tanghdar (J-K): The Army has foils an infiltration bid in Tanghdar sector of north Kashmir today.

One militant has reportedly been killed and the operation is still going on.

This is the third infiltration bid since Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh extended his hand of friendship to Pakistan during his visit to Srinagar.

Source ANI

Mumbai: Governor of Maharashtra S C Jamir, today called Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and his Deputy Chhagan Bhujbal to discuss the government formation in the state.

The deadline for the formation of the new government ends today.

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and his deputy Chhagan Bhujbal are expected to take the oath of office today.

"The Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister will take the oath today," said highly placed Congress sources, adding that the Cabinet formation would take place at a later date.

This clearly indicates that the Congress and the NCP that has returned to power for the third consecutive term are yet to reach an understanding on the sharing of portfolios.

The Congress won more seats than its ally, NCP and has been demanding a lion''''s share in the government, including key portfolios like Home, Finance and Power.

The NCP on the other hand has been insisting on a 50 percent of the 42 ministries on offer, including key portfolios like Home, Finance and Power, which it has held since 1999 when the two parties first formed the government.

Source ANI

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday met Maharashtra Governor SC Jamir for discussions over formation of the State Government.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Bhujbal said that his party was ready to give outside support to Congress for forming the Government.

“He (the Governor) asked us when we would like to form the Government and we told him that there was no delay from our side and we want to bring back the Congress party''s Government and if required we will give the letter of support also. This has been conveyed to the Congress leader Ashok Chavan,” Bhujbal said.

The Congress-NCP alliance won 144 out of the 288 seats in the October 13 State Assembly elections, but has developed strong differences over sharing of key portfolios due to which the Government has not been formed as of yet.

The Congress wants NCP to surrender at least two of five key departments - home, finance, energy, rural development and tribal development. The NCP is not ready to part with home, finance and energy but it is prepared to exchange the remaining two for urban development and social justice.

Source ANI

New Delhi: In his address to the Economic Editors Conference here on Tuesday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the country faced many challenges ahead during the coming months.

Disclosing his assessment of the impact and progress of some measures taken by the Government in the last few months, Pranab Mukherjee said on the domestic front, the impact of the sub-normal Southwest monsoon is yet to be felt, though it is likely that the Government may fare better than the initial estimates of the decline in food production and agriculture GDP.

“The recent information on the non-farm credit off-take continues to be an area of concern. No doubt that credit off take has been impacted to some extent by the vagaries of nature, but now an all out effort is being made to ensure that credit off take to the employment generating sectors, especially agriculture, and micro and small enterprises picks up. Banks have been asked to take advantage of upcoming busy season and enhance credit flows.”

Pranab said to facilitate the financial inclusion, banks have been advised to rapidly scale up their efforts to reach banking to the inaccessible regions of the country through Banking Correspondents and other technological and IT measures.

“While there are good reasons to believe that the immediate policy response to the global slowdown through a deliberate fiscal expansion, may have been effective in moderating the decline in GDP growth, there are some concerns on the medium term prospects of the economy. Indeed, there is some anxiety about the sustainability of fiscal correction achieved since the institution of FRBM Act,” said Pranab.

The Union Finance Minister said for the time being the fiscal stimulus needed to continue.

“For the present I maintain that the fiscal stimulus will have to continue, to allow its impact to fully run through the economy. It is, however, an imperative to come back to the path of fiscal prudence, as soon as the current economic circumstances permit us to do so. We cannot lose sight of the fact that much of our recent success in raising our growth trajectory has come about due to adherence to FRBM targets, both at the Central and State levels. Fiscal prudence is critical for maintaining a stable balance of payments, moderate interest rates and steady flow of external capital for corporate investment.

Pranab said: “We are on track to achieve the targets on fiscal consolidation indicated in my medium term fiscal policy statement. The fiscal deficit is expected to come down from 6.8 per cent of GDP in 2009-10 (BE) to 5.5 per cent in 2010-11 and further to 4.0 in 2011-12. Correspondingly, the revenue deficit is expected to decline from 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2009-10 to 1.5 per cent in 2011-12.”

He said there are a number of factors that will make this possible:  (a) the Sixth Pay Commission arrears would have been paid out in 2009-10 with no further liability on this account in 2010-11; (b) the increase in plan spending as a part of the implementation of the fiscal stimulus has been in the nature of front loading of the plan expenditure approved for the Eleventh Five Year Plan. With some effort we should be able to align it with our future requirements; (c) much of the decline in business and corporate tax collections is cyclical and will tend to be reversed with growth picking-up from the second half of the current year; and (d) the introduction of GST in 2010-11, which is also on track is expected to bring a sustained rise in indirect tax revenues.

On Debt management, Pranab said serious concerns were voiced on the implications of the Government’s borrowing programme, to fund the increased fiscal deficit in 2009-2010, on the cost and the availability of funds for private investment. He said he had clarified that these concerns were misplaced.

“Notwithstanding the increased borrowings in the current year over the last fiscal, the cost of borrowing has been significantly lower so far. Moreover, the government borrowings have been largely front loaded with nearly two-thirds of the borrowing requirement have been completed by end of September 2009, before the anticipated pickup in private credit demand. The RBI has taken several steps to improve liquidity in the market for supporting the public borrowings.”

On Disinvestment, Pranab said: “We have made considerable progress in the last three months. In the recently concluded public offering of NHPC and OIL, it has been observed that the market capitalization of these companies, post-listing, has increased from Rs.18,280 crore and Rs.9,844 crore to Rs.37,702 crore and Rs.27,220 crore respectively, an increase of 106% and 177%.” 

“The market capitalization of residual share holding of Government has increased by 78% in NHPC and 121% in OIL, after accounting for the disinvestment of 5% equity of NHPC and 10% in OIL. Few other public sector undertakings have been identified for sale of small portions of Government shareholding in the domestic market and for issue of fresh equities to meet their fund requirements, if required. This is in keeping with the stated policy that Government equity should not fall below 51 per cent and it retains the management control of the company,” Pranab said.

Source ANI

Lucknow: An irate mob torched vehicles at the concrete mix plant of a private construction company, after a dumper fatally knocked down a local in Gomti Nagar region of Lucknow on Tuesday.

According to police, the agitated members of the nearby areas went on a rampage after a 35-year-old man, identified as Tanveer Ahmed was crushed to death by a dumper.

The police had to resort to baton charge to control the mob fury.

“Thirty-five year old Tanveer died after he was run over and crushed by the dumper of a construction company. While we were investigating the cause of the accident, a mob fury from the nearby village emerged on the scene and started pelting stones and bricks,” said Paresh Pandey, Superintendent of Police of Gomti Nagar.

“They torched nearby vehicles and by the time extra force was called, two vehicles were burnt down by them. Fire engines were called in to control the fire,” Pandey said.

The mob torched around half a dozen vehicles including dumpers, trucks and motorcycles near the concrete mix plant.

The police also arrested two persons for the violent disturbances.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that education is a potent and powerful tool for empowering people to lead a life of dignity and also essential for achieving sustained high economic growth.
 
Addressing a special convocation of Panjab University in Chandigarh, Manmohan Singh said: “We live in an age where human knowledge is increasing exponentially and countries have to make an effort to remain on the frontiers of knowledge and be counted amongst the advanced nations. Therefore, in the last five years or so the Central Government has made unprecedented efforts for expanding and improving educational facilities at all levels. In fact, I often refer to the Eleventh Five Year Plan as an Education Plan.”

On the occasion Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was honoured with the degree of Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa).

 “It is not only good in itself, but also a potent and powerful tool for empowering people to lead a life of dignity and self-respect. I am deeply indebted to this great university for whatever I have achieved. I spent some of the best years of my life here. I have no hesitation in saying that the education I received in Panjab University has played a major part in whatever I have achieved in life. It is, therefore, with great humility that I have received today''s recognition. It is an honor that I will always cherish,” Manmohan Singh said.

He also emphasized the importance of solving salary related issues, which has been a cause of concern in IITs. 

“I made a mention earlier of the problem of getting competent faculty in adequate numbers in our new institutions of higher learning. To address this issue, the Central Government has announced a very progressive pay package for attracting and retaining talented faculty. The University Grants Commission has raised the entry level standards for fresh faculty members and has also started new training programmes for them,” Manmohan Singh said.

“I also realize that we may need to do more in this area. Let me assure you today that the government will continue to look for ways and means of ensuring that the faculty in our institutions of higher learning is of a very high quality. They will continue to have adequate facilities to discharge their responsibilities in a creditable manner,” he added.

Source ANI

Chandigarh: In a tragic incident a 32-yr-old man died here on Tuesday, after he was reportedly refused to gain entry in a hospital prior to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s scheduled visit to the city.

According to reports, the patient from Ambala, Sumit Prakash, was being rushed for emergency treatment to Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) hospital, when security officials stopped him.

Manmohan Singh was in the city for a day-long visit to address the Conference of the Chief Ministers, State Ministers (Tribal Development and Social Welfare Department) and State Ministers (Forests). He also attended a special convocation at his alma mater, Panjab University, where he was honoured with the degree of Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa).

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister''s Office (PMO) has said that the Prime Minister is saddened by the incident.

A probe has also been ordered into the incident.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the two-day Annual Economic Editors'' Conference in the National Media Centre, here today.

There will be separate sessions with the Ministers and senior officers of the key economic and infrastructure ministries participating in the Conference.

The Conference will enable economic editors and journalists, invited from all over the country to interact with them and get a detailed background of the government''s policies and programmes.

The media persons will get a comprehensive view of the overall economic scenario in the country and the latest initiatives and thrust areas of the Government.

The Conference will also provide an opportunity to the Government to get feedback from the economic editors.

Besides Finance Ministry, Planning Commission and Ministries of Power, Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, Road Transport & Highways, Tourism, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Petroleum & Natural Gas, are participating in the Conference.

About 300 editors and financial writers including about 50 from vernacular press are participating in the conference.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said that efficiency of delivery has to increasingly become the focus of Government programmes, as there is an urgent need to strengthen the accountability mechanisms in the public domain.

Addressing the two-day Annual Economic Editors'' Conference in the national capital, Mukherjee said the implementation of the Right to Information Act (RTI) at the Centre and in many States, the setting up of the National Authority to operationalise the Unique ID number, and launch of National Skill Development Corporation are some steps in the direction of improving governance with regard to delivery of public services.

“Steps are being taken to strengthen the project monitoring and evaluation system for public programmes and linking the performance and feedback with subsequent allocations of resources and continuation of programmes,” Mukherjee said.

The minister also said that the objective of deepening and broadening the agenda for inclusive development is a major commitment of the Government.

“To ensure that no individual, community or region is denied the opportunity to participate in and benefit from the development process and that there is food for all, education for all and health for all, the Government has undertaken a paradigm shift for making the development process more inclusive,” Mukherjee said.

“It involves creating entitlements backed by legal guarantee in those areas of the development process, where existing institutional arrangements and delivery mechanisms have so far been unsuccessful in breaking down the barriers to universal access to basic public goods and opportunities for livelihood,” he added.

Mukherjee further said that the Government has already seen great success in programmes such as the NREGA that have been implemented as a part of the initiative.

“In the past months extensive review of the programme has been undertaken and changes introduced to make it more effective and flexible in meeting local concerns. However, there is still a long way to go and we need to further improve the momentum of our efforts,” the Finance Minister said.

“For us, economic growth has to be an instrument for development and not an end in itself. It has to be not only inclusive but also equitable so as to sustain it over long period. In the last five years, we have moved steadfastly in that direction and I am sure that we will cover considerable ground in the next five years,” Pranab added.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Cross Border terrorism emanating from Pakistan is expected to top the
agenda of talks between foreign ministers of India and Iran due to be held in mid-November in the national capital.

After India and Afghanistan, Iran has become the latest neighbourhood victim of Pakistan sponsored terrorism; recently suicide bomber killed 29 people, including several senior Revolutionary Guards commanders, in southeastern Iran.

Pakistan-based Jundollah (or, God''s soldiers), ethnic Baluch Sunni insurgents are believed to be behind the attacks.

India has been crying hoarse over the Pakistan sponsored terrorism for almost two decades.

According to diplomatic sources, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki,  is expected to hold talks with SM Krishna on Nov.16. It will be the first high-level interaction between the two countries after re-election of UPA government in New Delhi and Ahmadinejad Government in Tehran.

The issue of the 1,724-mile long proposed IPI pipeline, which was planned to run through Iran, Pakistan and India, is also likely to figure during the talks.

Although India has not officially pulled out from the peace pipeline project but it has already expressed apprehensions over Transit fee, pricing, security and logistical issues surrounding the proposed trilateral project.

Iranian envoy in New Delhi recently reminded and extended invitation to India to join the project and has even cautioned that China is keen in joining the pipeline project. Iran and Pakistan have already sealed the agreement and are going ahead with the project.

Interestingly, Motttaki is visiting India just before Prime Minister leaves on a State visit to the United States.

India and Iran share deep historical and cultural relations. And, as per diplomatic sources, Washington wants New Delhi to use its influence and bring Iran onboard vis-à-vis its controversial nuclear programme.

According to sources, India and Iran are also expected to increase cooperation in the rehabilitation of Afghanistan.

Relations between India and Iran have been a sea-saw relationship with the most difficult time in their relations coming when India voted against Iran at the IAEA in 2005 and 2006.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Atul Chaturvedi, a 1974 Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has taken over as the Secretary in the Ministry of Steel, a ministry statement said on Tuesday.

Chaturvedi succeeded P. K. Rastogi, who superannuated on October 31. He was earlier the Secretary, Department of Fertilizers in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet had approved the appointment on October 21.

Source ANI

“ The recent months have witnessed some clear signs of a turnaround in the growth rate. In the first quarter (Q1) of 2009-10 the economy has recorded a growth rate of 6.1 against 5.8 per cent in the preceding two quarters of 2008-09. The industrial growth as captured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) has improved considerably in the months of June and July 2009, with growth increasing to 8.2 per cent and 7.2 per cent respectively, followed by 10.4 per cent in August 2009,” said Pranab while adding: “More importantly, the Foreign Institutional Investors who had recorded net outflows in 2008-09, have returned to the Indian market in the last five months. There is no dearth of liquidity in the economy and inflation as yet is not a pressing area of concern.”

Pranab said the two worst quarters since the global financial meltdown in September 2008 were behind, and the performance of the Indian economy reflects its basic resilience.

After visible signs of pickup in industrial growth in the last few months, there are some indications that growth of core industries may have moderated in September 2009. Some uncertainties related to the revival of the global economy also remain. We cannot therefore afford to drop our guard, the Finance Minister stated.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said that while a growing integration of the Indian economy with the rest of the world has created new opportunities, it has also brought new challenges and made it more complex to sustain high growth.

Addressing the Economic Editors’ Conference, 2009, which he inaugurated at the Shastri Bhavan here, Pranab said the Government is at such stage of development where the expectations from it are on the rise from almost all quarters.

“We are at a stage in our development, particularly in view of the economy’s performance in the past five years, where the expectations of our people and that of our global collaborators and the foreign investors from us are high and rising. In the best of times these expectations would rest heavily on our shoulders. And these have not been the best of times. While the growing integration of the Indian economy with the rest of the world has created new opportunities, it has also brought new challenges. It has made the task of sustaining high growth more complex.”

Pranab said the developments over the last two years in the Indian economy, which otherwise was experiencing an unprecedented spurt in its growth rate bear this out.

“We had to confront three major challenges originating in our external sector. “First, there was a surge in capital inflows, which peaked in the last quarter of 2007-08. Second, an inflationary explosion in global commodity prices, which began even before the first challenge had ebbed, and hit us with great force in the middle of 2008. There was barely any time to deal with this problem before the third challenge, the global financial meltdown and collapse of international trade, hit the world with severity,” he stated.

Pranab said that the resulting economic slowdown and recession in major developed economies adversely impacted growth in all parts of the world. India was also impacted. “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.”

Pranab Mukherjee underlined that despite these developments and given the severity of the global financial crisis, the growth in Gross Domestic Product of the Indian economy was a respectable 6.7 per cent in 2008-09, following three years of 9 per cent plus growth.

“Thus, notwithstanding the significant dip in 2008-09, over the last five years, the GDP growth has averaged 8.5 per cent per annum. We have succeeded in significantly raising the growth rate and sustaining the momentum of the economy to levels that are historically unprecedented,” Pranab stated.

Stating that underpinning this performance are a number of factors that will serve as sources of strength for the years ahead, Pranab said there was a significant increase in savings and investment rates, a steady expansion in domestic demand with growth in private investment becoming the prime driver of the growth spurt.

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said that it is crucial for the country to pursue reforms including in the financial sector, to make the economy more competitive and the economic regulatory and oversight system more efficient and ever sensitive to new developments.

Addressing the two-day Annual Economic Editors'' Conference in the National Media Centre in the national capital, Mukherjee said that the recent spurt in growth has come about due to the significant increase in the growth of private investment, it is important to address issues that are holding back the revival of private investment in the economy.

“We have begun to address some of the issues in this context as you would have noted from the RBI’s quarterly policy review. The efforts on fiscal consolidation and debt management and the mobilization of additional resources through disinvestment proceeds should help in this regard,” Mukherjee said.

“We are also looking quite closely at steps to help curtail non-Plan expenditure, especially subsidies on fertilizer and petroleum products,” he added.

The minister further said that the scarcity of public resources underlines the importance of making effective use of resources.

“Special attention is being paid to expenditure management with an emphasis on not just quantum, but quality of spending. On October 29, various Ministries through their Financial Advisers have been asked to cut down non-Plan expenditure, but ensure full and proper utilization of the Plan expenditure,” Mukherjee said.

“Similar advice has also been given to the State Governments and UTs through their Finance Secretaries on October 28,” he added.

He also said that both the Central and the State Governments need to focus on the issue, while efforts are underway to push Public Private Partnership mechanism, in the short and medium term, to new areas of economic and social infrastructure including health and education.

“Indeed, given the lags in the economy between specific actions and desired outcomes, it is important to initiate institutional reform measures in right earnest and set milestones for ourselves over the next five years. The release of the draft Direct Tax Code for discussion recently in one such step that we have taken,” Mukherjee said.

“As substantial resources, both public and private, are mobilized to fuel the growth of the economy and make it more inclusive in character, there is a legitimate concern that every bit of the public effort should count and yield better results,” he added.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Tuesday said that it would be crucial for the leather industries to diversify into new markets while carving out a greater position in the existing markets.

Sharma said this while meeting a delegation from Footwear design and Development Institute (FDDI), led by its Chairman Rafeeque Ahmed in the national capital.

He also said that the leather industry has to focus more on higher unit value realization in line with the creation of an India brand consciousness.

While appreciating the performance of FDDI, Sharma emphasized that the institutes providing technical training are crucial not only for the growth of the industry, but also for providing employment opportunities and expressed confidence that FDDI would fulfill this responsibility.

The Minister also underlined that the Government is committed towards the integrated development of leather sector, which has tremendous potential for growth and high impact on social equity.

“To give thrust to the sector an allocation of Rs. 1300 crores has been made for the leather sector during the XI Plan. Our various programmes, interventions and trade policies are targeted towards the sustainable development of the leather industry,” Sharma said.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has initiated a major initiative during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12) under “Indian Leather Development Programme” (ILDP) with an outlay of Rs. 1300 crore for overall development of the leather sector by augmenting raw material base, enhancing capacity, addressing environmental concerns, human resource development, infrastructure development, attracting investment and global marketing of Indian Leather.

Sub-schemes with an outlay of Rs. 1237.52 crores under ILDP have been approved and are at various stages of implementation.

For addressing the issue of shortage of manpower for the leather industry, human resource development programmes has been identified as an important initiative during the 11th Five Year Plan period and the Central Government has approved sub-schemes with outlay of Rs. 442.09 crores under ILDP out of total approved outlay of Rs. 1237.52 crores for this purpose.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The second India Disaster Management Congress will be held at the Vigyan Bhavan in the national capital from Wednesday.

The Congress is being organized by the National Institute of Disaster Management in collaboration with the Ministry of Home affairs, National Disaster Management Authority, United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Development Programme, United States Agency for International Development, World Health Organization and Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.

The three-day Congress is expected to bring together 1500 scientists, scholars and practitioners working on different aspects of disaster risk reduction and management across the world, while each Thematic Session shall have a minimum of six paper presentations. 

A number of issues pertaining to disaster risk reduction, management, emergency response and various cross cutting issues during disaster events will be the focus of discussion in this congress.

The congress will have participants from various Government, Non-Governmental, international, research and academic institutions, which are concerned with various issues related to disaster management.

International experts have been invited as guest speakers from across the globe.

Former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam will chair the valedictory session, which will be an opportunity to highlight and bring to notice issues, challenges, shortcomings, opportunities and road map ahead in the field of disaster management.

The idea of holding the India Disaster Management Congress was conceived in order to provide a platform for interaction and integration of knowledge on various aspects of disaster risk reduction and management.

The first India Disaster Management Congress was held at New Delhi in November 2006, which was the largest knowledge conference on disaster management ever held in this part of the world. More than 1200 delegates from all over the country attended it and 350 technical papers were presented.

The First India Disaster Management Congress had 7 Thematic Clusters and 18 Thematic Sessions.

Source ANI