Life normal, 150 protestors arrested in West Bengal
Kolkata,Friday, January 10, 2003: Nearly 150 protestors were arrested from three places in West Bengal during the 12-hour statewide bandh today called by Party for Democratic Socialism which evoked lukewarm response with road, air and train services normal.
Government offices, banks and business establishments were open though in some areas shops, markets remained closed. The Stock Exchange functioned normally.
Educational institutions were, however, closed while the city's Metro Rail remained unaffected.
DIG of Police (HQ) Narayan Ghose told reporters that bandh supporters were arrested from Nadia and Burdwan districts besides the metropolis for obstructing rail and road traffic.
Railway sources here said that train services on both Eastern and South Eastern Railway remained unaffected except for minor obstruction by bandh supporters in the Bandel-Katwa and Burdwan sections.
Elaborate security arrangements were made across the state with policemen on patrol in some areas of South 24 Parganas where the PDS has its strongholds.
PDS, a breakaway faction of CPI-M, has called the bandh in protest against hike in power tariff, court fees, water tax and law and order issues.
The Trinamool Congress has given "moral support" to the shutdown, while the Congress has expressed support to causes for which it has been called. The ruling CPI-M and its Left Front allies have opposed the bandh describing it as unjustified. The BJP too has opposed it though "supporting some of the causes".
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Hindujas should not be given special treatment: CBI
New Delhi,Friday, January 10, 2003: Opposing an order of the Supreme Court staying the trial in Bofors payoff case and fixing for March hearing on the appeal challenging quashing of chargesheets against Hindujas, the CBI has said the accused did not deserve any special treatment.
The CBI said in view of the "repeated attempts" made by the accused to "procrastinate the proceedings and also ensuring that the trial does not proceed further", the plea of Hindujas for stay of the trial should not be entertained.
The Supreme Court has till date dismissed all pleas for early hearing of all appeals filed after the year 2000 stating that as a lot of old appeals were pending they could not be heard out of turn, the CBI said in its affidavit.
This affidavit was filed by CBI after the apex Court stayed the trial in the Bofors payoff case reversing an earlier order refusing the same relief.
The Court, in September last year, had rejected the plea of Hindujas for stay of trial when it admitted an appeal filed by CBI challenging the High Court order.
However, on December 2, the apex Court stayed the trial proceedings on an early hearing application filed by Hindujas in which a specific prayer for stay of the trial was made.
The Court gave six weeks time to the CBI to file reply to the application filed by Hindujas for stay of trial while fixing March 11 for the hearing of the appeal filed by CBI.
Meanwhile, a Bench comprising M B Shah and Justice D M Dharmadhikari adjourned by two weeks hearing on Hindujas' plea for relaxation of bail condition to allow all of them to go abroad.
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Sinha for upgradation of SAARC into South Asian Union
Expressing disappointment over the slow progress of SAARC on economic cooperation, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha today advocated upgradation of the grouping into a South Asian Union (SAU) and said India is ready to enter into a free trade arrangement with countries in the region.
"I am not suggesting an end to SAARC but its upgradation into a South Asian Union," Sinha said while addressing a seminar on South Asian Cooperation here.
"If you want to pick anything from the past, it is perhaps the mistakes that we have made and how we can avoid making them in the future," he said at the conference organised by the South Asian Centre for Policy Studies of Dhaka.
The Minister said he was extremely disappointed that since its existence 17 years ago, SAARC has not been able to make progress on its primary objective of economic cooperation among member States.
With Pakistan, there was a list of only 18 items on which the two countries gave each other preferential tariff. This was from over 7,000 tariff lines.
With Bangladesh, there were 2,672 items where India gave preferential tariff and 484 items on which on which it got such benefits from Dhaka. "This is not good enough," he said.
"India is ready to enter into a free trade arrangement in SAARC, in South Asia tomorrow," Sinha said while observing that there was no point in discussing the South Asia Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA) without making any progress.
Emphasising that the 'Negative List' should be as limited as possible, he said even within this, a 'tariff rate quota' could be considered.
Alongwith a free trade arrangement for goods and merchandise, there should also be free flow of investment and services within the SAARC area, he said.
"We are prepared to enter into an arrangement where services and investments will be allowed to move freely," he said suggesting that there was need to work carefully on the concept of 'value-added'.
India, he said, was prepared to work at a reasonable level of value-added which will be uniform for all countries in South Asia.
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NSCN (I-M) leaders to meet Advani
New Delhi,Friday, January 10, 2003: As Naga peace process gathers momentum, top leaders of major insurgent group NSCN (I-M) will meet Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today after a "cordial and friendly" discussions with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee last night.
"We are meeting the Dy Prime Minister," today, said NSCN (I-M) Chairman Isak Chisi Swu said, who along with outfit's General Secretary G S Thuingaleng Muivah arrived here Thursday after 35 years in exile.
After the 40-minute meeting with Vajpayee, Swu and Muivah described the PM and the Indian leadership as "very sincere" in finding a solution to the decades-old Naga problem.
Centre's special emissary K Padmanabhaiah and Intelligence Bureau Director K P Singh were present among others at the meeting.
Both Naga leaders maintained that a good beginning has been made and they wanted to find a peaceful solution to the vexed issue.
Asked whether they would stick to the demand for a "Greater Nagaland", Swu said "there is no greater or smaller Nagaland...there is just Nagaland". The issue of Nagaland has been strongly opposed by Manipur.
Since the 1997 ceasefire with the security forces, Swu and Muivah have been holding peace talks with the Centre's emissary in third countries like Thailand and the Netherlands. They also had meetings with Vajpayee in France and Japan.
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No more "concessions" to India to resume talks: Musharraf
Islamabad,Friday, January 10, 2003: Accusing the Indian leadership of suffering from an "attitudinal" problem, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said he is not prepared to "grant any more concessions" on Kashmir issue that could convince India to resume bilateral talks and hoped that the international community would prevail on New Delhi in this regard.
"The Ball is now in Indian court. Pakistan is not ready to grant more concessions to India", he told local daily Pakistan Observer in an interview, claiming that he has "done enough" for India to resume talks.
He said the Indian leaders were "slaves to a mindset" and struck by an attitudinal problem.
"We need some external diplomacy to bring India back on talks table," he said adding, "attitudinal change in Indian leaders was what Pakistan is very eagerly looking for. This can be facilitated only by international community".
He expressed hope that Indian government would respond positively to offer of talks by Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali.
Ruling out any chances of him going to India for talks he said it was now the duty of the Prime Minister to pick up the threads that were left at Agra. "But again it takes two to clap. Unless Indians invite Jamali for talks, how can he move forward for the normalisation of relations" he said.
Musharraf also said he was very much disappointed about the "lack of support" from the Muslim world to the Kashmir issue.
"I am not satisfied with the Ummah's support to Kashmir cause. I have been voicing it everywhere," he said claiming that Pakistan has been doing so much for the Palestinian cause.
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US and allied troops begin war games along Pak-Afghan border
Islamabad,Friday, January 10, 2003: Close on the heels of the recent skirmishes between American and Pakistani troops on the Pak-Afghan border, US and allied troops along with Afghan army started their firstever war games in Pakhtia province of Afghanistan close to the border with Pakistan.
The exercises, that began Thursday saw US and allied troops in large numbers near the border for the first time since Pakistani and American troops exchanged fire in the border village of Angoor Adda recently, The News reported today.
The newspaper quoted a Pakistani official based in Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan Agency bordering Afghanistan, as saying that Pakistan was well aware of the exercises but that the war games carried no importance for them.
The recent exchange of fire between US and Pakistani troops had resulted from differences between the two sides over US forces conducting hot pursuit of al-Qaeda militants into Pakistan.
Also, unknown assailants fired a missile, that landed in the mountainous Shakin area in Afghanistan close to the place where the US and allied forces were engaged in exercises.
However, no casualty was reported as the attackers missed the target.
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Return rail tickets not valid for next day from Jan 15
Mumbai: Beginning January 15, railway return tickets will be valid for the date of issue only and passengers will not be able to travel on them the next day. A decision to this effect was taken by the railway ministry recently.
At present return tickets on the suburban section are valid for the next day as well. Rail passenger associations have protested against the ministry’s decision. “Why are the rail authorities withdrawing the facility?
The decision is unjust and has been taken without taking citizens into confidence,’’ said a member of one such association.
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CMIE revises real GDP growth forecast to 3.7 pc for FY-03
Mumbai,Friday, January 10, 2003: The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has revised the growth forecast for real gross domestic product (GDP) from 3.1 per cent to 3.7 per cent for the fiscal 2002-03, largely based on expected improvement in the industrial and services sector.
"The industrial sector, which exhibited an impressive 6.3 per cent rise in the second quarter of the current fiscal due to acceleration in construction and manufacturing sectors, has done well in spite of the sharp drop in agricultural production", CMIE said in its monthly (January) review of the Indian Economy released here today.
The services sector as a whole also grew by 7.6 per cent in the first half of FY-03, it said.
The real GDP growth during the second quarter was 5.8 per cent, it said adding, the third quarter ended December 2002 was likely to record near-zero growth in real GDP because of near-full impact of the decline in agricultural sector.
The insulation of growth in industry and services from the decline in agriculture as apparent in GDP growth estimates on first half warrant revisions in CMIE's earlier forecasts that had assumed a stronger inter-sectoral relationship.
"Further, the worse than expected performance in the Kharif season and the poor prospects of the Rabi crop leads us to revise our estimates for agriculture down from (-)3.5 per cent to (-)4.4 per cent", CMIE said.
Growth in industry stands revised from four to 4.9 per cent and services from six to seven per cent, as a result of which the real GDP forecast stands enhanced to 3.7 per cent, the economic think-tank added.
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Infosys net profit jumps 24.4 per cent at Rs 2.5631 billion
Bangalore,Friday, January 10, 2003: Bucking the global trend, software major Infosys Technologies Limited today reported a 24.4 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 2.5631 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2002, compared to the corresponding period of previous year (Rs 2.0604 billion).
Quarter-on-quarter (October-December 2002 compared to July-September 2002) growth was 13.53 per cent, the NASDAQ-listed company said in a statement.
Income from software development services and products registered a robust growth of 45.07 per cent, going up from Rs 6.6080 billion to Rs 9.5864 bilion. Quarter-on-quarter, the growth has been 8.99 per cent.
The company, meanwhile, increased guidance for revenue and earnings per share (EPS) for fiscal 2003.
It said income from software development services and products is projected to be between Rs 35.78 bn and Rs 35.92 billion, while EPS is expected to be between Rs 144.70 and Rs 145.
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India must carry on its economic reforms: Lord Swraj Paul
Mumbai,Friday, January 10, 2003: Emphasising that India "must carry on" its economic reforms, leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul today said the impoverished masses cannot be liberated until the economy itself is fully freed.
"India can gain tremendously from access to larger markets and can become a full player in world ecomomy. But in order to acheive that, it must carry on its economic reforms," Lord Paul said here at a seminar on 'Globalisation and its Effects on the Indian Economy'.
"The impoverished multitude cannot be liberated until the economy itself is fully liberated," Britain's business ambassador said, adding globalisation is an "opportunity" for India as it has a large human asset base.
India "stands at crossroads and has the opportunity to take unprecedented advantage of all the benefits available from globalisation," the co-chairman of India-UK Roundtable said.
On India's efforts for economic growth, he said if India had not started the reforms in early 1990s, it would have been consigned to the lower ranks of global economies.
However, India must foster competition within its business sector by encouraging entrepreneurial activities and ensure transparency of economic interaction, he added.
Attacking the US and European Union for continuing with agricultural and textile subsidies and tariffs, Lord Paul said they were denying many countries the chance to have equitable trade.
Holding that western nations have a responsibility to the developing world to fully implement free trade regimes, he said "by maintaining agricultural and textile subsidies and tariffs, the US and EU are denying many countries the chance to maintain balanced trade accounts."
"Developed countries have acknowledged time and again, from the Uruguay and Doha Rounds of WTO trade negotiations to the UN Millennium Goals, that the protectionism of wealthy countries is unjustified," he said.
Maintaining that the world has moved from "superpowers to supermarkets", Lord Paul said "This new form of globalisation is characterised by the growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide...and it is a phenomenon that is here to stay."
The House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs recently concluded that while globalisation may impose some costs, its benefits are far greater, Lord Paul said.
"Managed responsibly, it (globalisation) does not increase the divide between rich and poor. In fact, the only way that poverty will truly be eradicated is if globalisation is harnessed correctly today," he said.
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Petrotech awards given away by Vajpayee
New Delhi,Friday, January 10, 2003: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today presented the Petrotech Society's Life Time Achievement awards for contribution to the petroleum sector to late Dhirubhai Ambani and Padmashree Amiya Bhushan Dasgupta and Padmshree N B Prasad.
The awards were given away at a glittering function at the Petrotech 2003 conference here.
The award for late Dhirubhai Ambani, Reliance Industries founder, in recognition of his achievements in the downstream petroleum sector, was received by Reliance Group president V Balasubramaniam.
The Lifetime achievement award for the upstream was given to former Oil and Natural Gas Corporation chairman N B Prasad and that for geological sciences to Amiya Bhushan Dasgupta.
Dasgupta was the first Indian managing director of Oil India Ltd and was also part-time member of ONGC.
The Award carries a sum of Rs two lakh and a citation PTI 01101738 R NNNN
ZCZC
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Indian Players sign contract but with conditions
Auckland,Friday, January 10, 2003: In a significant step towards breaking the impasse over the vexed contract issue, all the 15 members of the Indian World Cup squad today signed the ICC Players' Terms contract but made it clear that certain contentious clauses in it were not acceptable to them.
Although the cricketers made themselves available for the mega event by honouring the January 14 deadline set by the ICC, they have objected to certain "restrictions" in the contract, sources in the touring Indian team said.
The signed forms will now be sent to the Indian Cricket Board which will forward it to the International Cricket Council.
The Indian players, the worst hit by the ICC's controversial sponsorship policy, have signed the forms only after declaring their non-acceptance of a few contentious clauses in the contract, they said.
Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said the players' stand had already been explained in detail to the ICC.
"We are in contact with the BCCI. We have told the ICC what our problems are. We have given our terms and conditions. There are certain areas that need to be looked into," he said.
It is learnt the players are willing to persuade their sponsors not to air conflicting advertisements for the duration of the World Cup (February 8-March 23) but not ready to do so for a month before and after the event. They have also voiced their objection to the images clause, the sources said.
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ICC Safety and Security delegation to visit Kenya
London,Friday, January 10, 2003: The International Cricket Council has announced that a Safety and Security delegation will visit Kenya for inspection of the security arrangements and preparations ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003.
The delegation will arrive in Kenya on January 13 to begin a two-day review of security arrangements for teams scheduled to play in Kenya during the World Cup to ensure that any real or perceived security concerns held by the countries playing in Kenya are identified and addressed, the ICC said in a press release Thursday.
Kenya is scheduled to play two ICC Cricket World Cup games at the Gymkhana Club in Nairobi on February 21 and 24 against New Zealand and Sri Lanka respectively.
The ICC delegation will include Anura Tennekoon, Chief Executive of the Board of Cricket Control for Sri Lanka, Jeff Crowe, New Zealand Cricket team manager, Reg Dickason, Security Advisor for New Zealand Cricket, Jimmy Rayani, Chairman of the Kenya Cricket Association, Richard Bevan, Joint Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricket Associations.
The delegation will also be accompanied by security experts and representatives of commercial partners and the Anti-Corruption Unit, it added.
The ICC President, Malcolm Gray, stressed that the only issues to be considered by the delegation would be the security and safety of the ICC's stakeholders in Kenya.
"The ICC and its members are only concerned with cricket related issues," said Gray.
"Questions have been raised about the safety and security of Kenya following the terrorist attacks on November 28, 2002 in Mombasa and it is important that we address those concerns."
"There are two ICC Cricket World Cup matches scheduled for Nairobi. The ICC delegation will be seeking assurances on the safety and security of all stakeholders in connection with these matches."
The delegation will also meet officials from Kenyan Government, Kenyan cricket and High Commission officials responsible for New Zealand and Sri Lanka, Police and security forces in charge of safety and security arrangements.
Following the visit the delegation will prepare a report for consideration by the IDI Board which will decide on the appropriate course of action in relation to those matches scheduled for Kenya.
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Rain might bring a premature end to Indian tour
Auckland,Friday, January 10, 2003: India's hopes of getting back to a winning run ahead of the World Cup were in danger of being washed out with persistent rains threatening the staging of sixth one-day international against New Zealand here Saturday.
India broke their dismal losing streak on this tour with a win in the fifth one-dayer at Wellington and were keen to clinch the remaining two games of the seven-match series too to get back to winning habits before the next month's World Cup. But it seems their plans might be spoiled due to rains.
It has rained ceaselessly over the last few days in this largest city of New Zealand and playing a match tomorrow appears a remote possibility right now. The forecast for the reserve day on Sunday is also not very good.
In fact, Hamilton, the venue of the seventh and last match on January 14, has also been experiencing heavy rains, and it appears that the last competitive game of the series has already been played.
Rains could thus bring a premature end to the troubled Indian tour of New Zealand which saw the visitors managing just one win in seven outings.
The Indians were blanked in the two-Test series with the New Zealand bowlers exposing their batsmen on pitches tailor-made to suit home bowlers. The hosts then ran to a winning 4-0 lead in the one-day series before the Indians managed a consolation victory in the previous game at Wellington.
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Football: Pakistan stun India with a solitary goal win
Dhaka,Friday, January 10, 2003: India's quest for their third consecutive title received a major jolt as they went down to arch rivals Pakistan by a solitary goal in their inaugural match of the SAFF football tournament here today.
Pakistan's Sarfaraz Rasool struck the match winner early in the second session to seal the fate of the Indians who had themselves to blame for the debacle in a fast-paced and surcharged pool-A encounter at the Bangabandhu National stadium.
The Indians, determined to reaffirm their supremacy in the region, appeared to be in disarray as the spirited Pakistanis repeatedly broke through their defence with a series of attacks from both the flanks.
The all-important goal came in the 50th minute of the contest when the hard-working Sarfaraz Rasool capitalised on a Qadeer Ahmed's cross from the right flank to beat the Indian custodian.
The win was Pakistan's first against India since the 1-0 triumph in the 1995 SAFF meet in Colombo.
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Cricketers dope tested in Auckland
Auckland,Friday, January 10, 2003: Marking a new chapter in Indian cricket history, all the 15 members of the Indian squad for the World Cup underwent a dope test here today for the first time ever.
A unit of New Zealand Drug Testing Agency, a government- backed institute, arrived at the team hotel this morning and took urine sample of all cricketers, an exercise which lasted a good two hours.
The team management took care to maintain extreme secrecy about the tests, lest media gets a hint of it and there is unnecessary speculation.
According to sources, the urine samples are now being sent to Sydney where an International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved drug-test laboratory will examine it before conveying the results in 10 days time.
The results of the test, according to sources, would only be conveyed to team's physio Andrew Leipus and no one else would get a whiff of it.
The Indian Board gave a go-ahead for conducting the test as a precautionary measure since drug-testing will be mandatory during the World Cup because of government regulations in South Africa.
Cricketers, by and large, were relaxed and happy at the thought that the procedure was over.
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