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News:
Cong to decide on participating in voting after Vajpayee's speech
No proposal to ban strikes, Lok Sabha told
"I made no distinction between minority and majority," Modi
Musharraf rejects Opposition demand to step down as Army Chief
Kashmir solution incomplete without return of Kashmiri Pandits
Frank Pallone for closer US-India defence ties
Sunanda Shetty granted regular bail
Gujarat to host global investors summit from Sept 28
Consumer Ministry prepared to issue ISI mark for soft drinks
Standards to allow greater interoperability between networks
BMC may levy additional octroi on Tendulkar's Ferrari
PIL against tax exemption posted to September 23
Working Committee to discuss graded payment system
Hearing on Tendulkar's Ferrari case posted to Sept 23
Cricketers turn to Yoga to cope with gruelling season ahead
Kalmadi re-elected to IAAF Council
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Sensex: 4006.91, +29.18
Sensex pierces 4,000
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Cong to decide on participating in voting after Vajpayee's speech
New Delhi,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: Dissatisfied over the reply of ruling coalition on issues raised by party chief Sonia Gandhi, Congress today said it would decide whether to participate in voting on the no-confidence motion against Vajpayee government only after the Prime Minister's intervention.
"The nine issues raised by the leader of Opposition have remain unanswered. We will see if Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee gives satisfactory answers or not. We will decide whether to participate in voting or boycott it only after his intervention," Congress leader Shivraj Patil told reporters here.
Asked about Defence Minister George Fernandes challenging Gandhi to produce evidence to substantiate her charges on corruption in defence deals, Patil said all these evidences are with CAG and have been reported widely.
"They (ruling coalition) are unable to answer the issues raised by Congress and instead of providing evidence to CAG on defence purchases, they are asking us to produce evidence", he said.
On the failure of the Defence ministry to utilise budget money, he said it was a serious "mistake" and would affect defence preparedness.
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No proposal to ban strikes, Lok Sabha told
Government is not considering any proposal to ban strikes, though the conduct rules say no government servant would participate in or abet any form of strike, Lok Sabha was informed today.
"No such proposal is under consideration," Minister of State for Home Harin Pathak said in reply to a written question when asked whether government proposed to bring a bill in Parliament in this regard.
He said the provisions of the conduct rules said "no government servant shall resort to or in any way abet any form of strike or coercion or physical duress in connection with any matter pertaining to his service or the service of any other government servant".
Pathak said the Supreme Court on August six had ruled that government employees had no right to strike - whether fundamental, statutory, equitable or moral.
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"I made no distinction between minority and majority," Modi
London,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: Under attack by rights groups here for his handling of post-Godhra communal violence, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has said that he never made any distinction between majority Hindus and minority Muslims in his state.
"I have never used terminology minority or majority but only 'Abhayam' (protection) to all," Modi, who is on a four-day visit to UK told reporters here late Monday night.
Asked to comment on the charges levelled by several London-based rights groups that he was responsible for the "massacre of Muslims in Gujarat", the Chief Minister avoided a direct answer but noted that no one has asked such questions to the US after the September 11 events or to Delhi after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
When his attention was drawn to a report in a leading London daily comparing him to Hitler or Pol Pot, Modi said he had not read it and he would not like to read it.
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Musharraf rejects Opposition demand to step down as Army Chief
Islamabad,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: The ten-month old political stalemate gripping Pakistan over the legality of Pervez Musharraf's Presidency deepened with the General once again firmly refusing to accede to opposition demand to set a date to step down as Army Chief.
"If I give any date for becoming non-uniformed president, some people would start countdown. It would lead to destabilisation," he reported to have told a meeting of the ruling pro-military Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) here on Monday.
Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and other pro-Musharraf leaders attended the meeting.
In his address, Musharraf also said that the Legal Framework Order (LFO), which incorporated his controversial constitutional amendments and legalised his election as President through a referendum, would stay.
He assured the ruling party MPs that he has no plans to dissolve the Parliament and four Provincial Assemblies despite the opposition's agitation.
"The LFO is no more an issue, and the issue of uniform should be left to me for a final decision," he was quoted as saying by the media here.
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Kashmir solution incomplete without return of Kashmiri Pandits
Silicon Valley,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: Any solution to the Kashmir problem was incomplete without the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley and compensation for the losses suffered by the community, US Congressman Frank Pallone has said.
"I feel strongly about Kashmir and the plight of Kashmiri Pandits," Pallone said addressing a highly successful fund-raising event organised by local activist and Kashmiri leader Jeevan Zutshi here on Monday.
Pallone, also the co-founder of India Caucus, said the issue of Kashmiri Pandits was not only important to India, but to the very soul of India.
"I think that a day has to come when the Pandits can go back to the valley. I know that is not an easy thing to say. But I think that has to be the litmus test," he told an Indian-American gathering, which comprised of a large number of Kashmiri Pandits.
"Whatever happens to the future of Kashmir, there has to be an opportunity for the Pandits to be compensated, to be able to go back for those who want to go back."
Pallone said he had good relations with the Indian government and took every opportunity to speak out in support of the Kashmiri Pandits.
"I tell them you are not doing enough or you are not chastising the state government for not doing what they are supposed to do. I don't think that their plight should be politicised, in the sense that New Delhi makes decision based on who they are trying to assuage in Srinagar".
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Frank Pallone for closer US-India defence ties
Silicon Valley,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: India and the United States need to build a strong defence relationship on the lines of NATO, a leading US Congressman Frank Pallone has said.
Pallone, who was here for a fundraising event hosted by local activist and Kashmiri leader, Jeevan Zutshi, said "I believe it is very difficult to develop a true close relationship with another country, unless there is a defense relationship."
"I honestly believe that we are going to see the day when there is going to be a formal defence treaty arrangement, maybe something like NATO. It could be a South Asian alliance, with India leading other countries of the region into some kind of formal military alliance with the United States," Pallone, co-founder of India Caucus said.
This, the Congressman said, did not mean that India had to give up its sovereignty or give up its position as a country that has always been at the forefront of the Non- Aligned Movement.
"I am very supportive of the fact that India has over the last couple of months said to President George W Bush that we are not going to send our forces to Iraq, unless you put this under the United Nations.
"India has to continue its role as a leader of non-aligned movement and also as a very important country within the UN and that doesn't preclude a close defence relationship with the United States".
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Sunanda Shetty granted regular bail
Surat,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: A local court today granted bail to Sunanda Shetty, mother of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and prime accused in an alleged extortion case, on certain conditions.
While granting bail, Chief Judicial Magistrate R P Mehta, directed her to remain present at the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court on first Monday of every month till a chargesheet is filed in the case.
The court asked Shetty to furnish a surety bond of Rs 25,000 and cash security of Rs 50,000 and directed her to surrender the passport and declare to police if she changed her residential address.
Sunanda and her husband Surendra are facing charges of 'hiring' gangsters to extort Rs 8 million from Surat-based Prafful Saree owner Pankaj Agrawal. The amount was payable to Shilpa for an Ad-film that she did for the company in 1998.
Her advocate Kalpesh Desai argued that the dispute between his client and Agrawal were 'civil' in nature and that the civil litigation was converted into a criminal one.
The defence counsel also said that Sunanda had co-operated well with the police and that she is a 'reputed' lady with two daughters who are in the film industry.
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Gujarat to host global investors summit from Sept 28
London,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: In a bid to attract foreign investment, Gujarat will host a three-day global investors summit in Ahmedabad from September 28 to showcase its industrial capabilities.
Announcing this at a press conference here, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the Summit would bring together local and global companies, Governmental agencies and financial institutions and highlight investment possibilities in the state.
"We will turn red tape into red carpet. The idea is to combine commerce and culture, trade and tradition, and entrepreneurship and entertainment," said Modi, who is here to scout for business investors for the state said here on Monday.
The international mega convention would be the first of its kind, presenting the enormous investment opportunities available in Gujarat to the global corporate world, he said.
While the London Chamber of Commerce has agreed to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Conference, about 500 delegates from Europe would attend it, he said.
The Government was also committed to promote tourism during the Navaratri festival, the largest dance festival of the world commencing from September 25 to October 5.
"Navratri will be a turning point for Gujarat and the country," he said.
Asked about the extent of NRI investment he expected, the Chief Minister quipped: "sky is the limit."
He said the government has identified 133 projects and planned to develop 72 clusters.
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Consumer Ministry prepared to issue ISI mark for soft drinks
New Delhi,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: Consumer Affairs Ministry today expressed willingness to issue ISI mark licence for soft drinks provided the companies approach them on the matter, something they had failed to do so far.
The Ministry also said the Health Ministry under which the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) is administered, has till now not recommended making ISI licence mandatory for soft drinks.
"The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms for soft drinks are optional in nature, if a company approaches us for the ISI mark, we are prepared to issue them a licence but none has applied so far", Consumer Affairs Secretary Wajahat Habibullah told PTI.
He said if a cola company wanted to score a mark over its competitors it could always apply for a BIS licence and in accordance with the rules and based on the standards governing the product it will be permitted to use the ISI mark.
He said the BIS standard on soft drinks were only voluntary unlike the ones for bottled and packaged drinking water which had been made mandatory after a recommendation to this effect came from the Health Ministry.
In the case of soft drinks, the Health Ministry has not made any such recommendation though the pesticides-cola controversy was discussed between the two Ministries. "Nothing is on the cards (mandatory BIS licence)," he said.
Nevertheless the BIS is taking several initiatives on its own keeping in mind the safety of the consumer regardless of the administering body for a particular product.
These include securing consumer interests in gold, water and electrical equipment.
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Standards to allow greater interoperability between networks
United Nations,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: In a bid to reduce capital and operational costs in cyberspace, the United Nations telecommunications agency has approved a set of standards that will allow greater interoperability between different network elements, reducing the need for extra investment.
The agency's standards making arm is the first to complete the work long sought after by the industry, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said yesterday.
Interworking standards mean that service providers will no longer be restricted to the products of one company, ITU said, adding the emerging standards will allow service providers to use existing technologies to transport data at greater speeds.
An overriding objective is the reduction of complexity in rolling out new services and a more efficient use of equipment, it added.
ITU-T, the standards making arm, is leading a more pragmatic approach to networking by providing standards that link disparate technologies such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Multiprotocol Label Switching Standard (MPLS), providing interworking between two dominant technologies in the connection-oriented packet-switched network (co-ps) mode.
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BMC may levy additional octroi on Tendulkar's Ferrari
The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) would levy additional octroi on Sachin Tendulkar's gifted Ferrari if the automobile major Fiat pays the customs duty of Rs 10.13 million, civic commissioner K C Srivastava said today.
"If exemption in customs duty is withdrawn and the company pays the amount, then BMC will be levying additional octroi duty for the vehicle," Srivastava told PTI here.
Tendulkar has already paid 4.5 per cent of Rs 70.5 million, the original cost of the car, the Commissioner said.
"In case of automobiles, the octroi tax is 4.5 per cent of the sum of the original value of the item and the customs duty.
The government had waived the customs duty earlier but with the Company agreeing to pay the amount, we will have to reassess the octroi to be levied," he added.
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PIL against tax exemption posted to September 23
New Delhi,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: The Delhi High Court today posted the hearing on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to September 23 on the Rs 11.3 million duty exemption granted to Sachin Tendulkar for the Ferrati car gifted to him by Fiat.
A divison bench of Chief justice B C Patel and Justice A K Sikri fixed September 23 for further hearing of the matter as Tendulkar was yet to be served notice in the case.
Taking suo motu cognisance of newspaper reports in the matter Justice Vikramjit Sen had on August 13 ordered issuance of notices to Tendulkar, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Sports.
Meanwhile, Additional Solicitor General K K Sud informed the court that a fresh PIL has been filed on the issue in the Delhi High Court which was likely to come up very soon.
On August 13, the Delhi High Court had issued notices to Tendulkar and the Union Government asking them to show cause why the import duty was waived for the car the cricketer got as a gift, describing it as a "profligacy" at a time when the Sports Ministry were refusing to increase the number of Arjuna Awards due to lack of funds.
The Court appointed advocate Arjun Bhandari as amicus curiae, who stated that he would file a public interest litigation (PIL) in this regard.
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Working Committee to discuss graded payment system
Chennai,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: The new graded payment system and the Grounds and Wicket Committee's report were the main issues to be discussed at the Cricket Board's two-day working committee meeting beginning here tomorrow.
BCCI secretary S Karunakaran Nair, told PTI here this morning that "the graded payment system to be introduced for both domestic and international matches will be discussed at the meeting before a decision is taken at the Annual General body meeting scheduled for the third week of September.
Nair, who arrived here last evening, said "a new insurance linked benevolent fund will also be discussed at the meeting besides the report on the preparations for the upcoming New Zealand tour".
Asked whether the existing Benevolent Fund scheme for the players would be given a go by when the new Insurance linked scheme comes into anvil, he said only the BCCI treasurer, expected here late tonight, would be able to explain it.
The working committee would also discuss the Grounds and Wicket Committee' report by Venkat Sundaram, who replaced Kasturi Rangan as chairman, Nair said.
The Finance Committee would meet tomorrow before the Working Committee meeting and it could be extended for a second day on Thursday, he said.
The meeting would also approve the secretary's and treasurer's reports to be tabled at the AGM next month and also review the reports of all the BCCI sub-committees.
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Hearing on Tendulkar's Ferrari case posted to Sept 23
Government today told the Delhi High Court that the Rs 10.13 million duty exemption on Sachin Tendulkar's gifted Ferrari car was a policy decision which has been "blown out of proportion" even as another petition was filed in the court questioning the rationale of the government's decision.
The Court fixed September 23 as the date for hearing on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the duty exemption on the Ferrari car gifted to Tendular by Fiat.
When the matter came up for hearing today, Additional Solicitor General K K Sud said it was a case of a policy decision of the Government and "things have unnecessarily been blown out of proportion. Cricket is a game in which we are doing well and let's not discourage players".
Sud also informed the court that a fresh petition on the issue raising similar questions has also been filed and it would be listed for hearing very soon.
"Since the respondent (Tendulkar) has not been served with the notice, the matter has to be adjourned," a Bench comprising Chief Justice B C Patel and Justice A K Sikri said.
At the outset, amicus curaie Arjun Bhandari submitted it was not an issue of Tendulkar alone. The entire issue of duty exemption under the Customs Act has to be examined. "Let us go through the records and see who all have been given duty exemption in the last three years under Section 25(2) of the Act," he said.
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Cricketers turn to Yoga to cope with gruelling season ahead
Bangalore,Tuesday, August 19, 2003: To cope with the rigours of the gruelling season ahead, Indian cricket team probables have taken to Yoga to improve their fitness levels, in addition to other physical exercises.
They are waking up to an hour-long Yoga session daily in the ongoing conditioning camp here, an idea mooted by coach John Wright.
Noted Yoga instructor and aerospace scientist Dr S N Omkar puts them through the Yoga-related exercises which focus on core muscle stability.
"The response from the players is pretty good and they have been taking a lot of interest in Yoga," said Omkar, the Senior Scientific Officer in the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the Indian Institute of Science here.
He said master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was having extended Yoga sessions. "He spends additional half hour doing intrinsic stretches," the 42-year-old Omkar told PTI.
Omkar, who has been a regular whenever camps are held here, said the Yoga exercises being imparted are aimed at body stability, flexibility and promoting symmetry and harmony.
"Yoga tunes and tones every muscle. It is aimed at helping players relieve stress and become calmer... it brings about harmony of the entire body," he said.
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Kalmadi re-elected to IAAF Council
Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi was today re-elected as the council member from Asia to the world athletics body, becoming the first Indian to occupy the post for two consecutive terms.
Kalmadi defeated two other nominees from Asia for the coveted post in the elections held in Paris, four days before the World Athletics Championships gets underway there.
Kalmadi, who is also the president of the Amateur Athletic Federation of India, defeated Brigadier Dahlan Juman Al-Hamad of Qatar and Prince Nawaf Al Saud of Saudi Arabia in a three-way contest.
"It is another opportunity for me to promote athletics in the region. The post carries a lot of responsibility and I am prepared for the challenge ahead," Kalmadi told PTI over phone from Paris shortly after his election.
The 59-year-old sports administrator said he would seek support from the International Association of Athletics Federations for the development of the sport in Asian countries and has got the assurance from the IAAF president Lamine Diack in this regard.
Earlier, Kalmadi had won the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) support to continue in the position of Asia's Area Representative at the 54th AAA Council Meeting in Hyderabad on May 28.
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Sensex: 4006.91, +29.18
The sensex closed at 4006.91, up 29.18
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Sensex pierces 4,000
After struggling with a stiff resistance at 4,000, the benchmark index finally pierced the psychological barrier to close with gains of close to 30 points, mainly on the back of buying in index heavyweights and a subtle comeback by frontline IT stocks.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed the day at 4,006.91, up 29.18 points or 0.73 per cent. The index hit an intra-day high of 4,026.27, while it slipped to an intra-day low of 3,981.92. The broader Nifty failed to gain a toehold in the black though. The index closed the day 0.29 per cent lower at 1,277.70.
Most FMCG stocks, apart from Hindustan Lever, slipped into red. The FMCG giant closed the day higher at Rs 188.50, up an impressive 3.66 per cent, on the back of sustained FII buying. In contrast, ITC (-0.39% at Rs 767.65), Nestle (-1.57% at Rs 578.30) and Colgate (-1.61% at Rs 152.85) courted losses. Supported by gains in Hindustan Lever, the BSE FMCG Index closed 10.11 or 1.09 per cent higher at 933.74.
Despite a positive Sensex close, the broader market trend was distinctly bearish, with declines outnumbering advances by 1,375:729 and 62 scrips remained unchanged.
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Forex
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1 U.S. $ = 45.7600 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.3821 INR
1 British Pound = 72.4289 INR
1 Canadian $ = 32.7418 INR
1 Singapore $ = 26.1068 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 12.4581 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 12.2010 INR
1 Euro = 50.6289 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 12.5676 INR
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| Temperature : 82 F / 28 C
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Humidity : 70%
Dew Point : 72 F / 22 C
Wind : SW at 10 mph / 16.1 km/h
Wind Gust -
Pressure : 29.65 in / 1004 hPa (Steady)
Conditions : Haze
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