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"I respect the Election Commission. But in a country like India, every month there is an election. Last month there was election in Punjab and Uttaranchal. Now it is in Uttar Pradesh, immediately after that there is an election in Goa. Continuously, there is election here and there," he said.
Pawar, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NDC meet on agriculture, said the government had to take basic administrative decisions as the delay could ultimately affect certain section of society.
Earlier this week, the Election Commission cleared the Centre's decision to incentivise sugar exports, but in a stinging footnote criticised the government for deriving mileage for the move ahead of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
"The intended mileage and benefit has already been derived through the media report," said the poll panel, which had earlier withheld approval to the decision in the face of elections.
The CCEA on March 24 had decided to provide subsidies for sugar export and to create 20 lakh tonnes sugar buffer stock to benefit sugarcane farmers and mills. PTI
Wheat arrival slow due to new strategy by farmers: Pawar
New Delhi, April 18 (PTI) Admitting that wheat procurement has been affected due to late arrival of the foodgrain in the market, the government today said farmers' strategy to maximise profits by separating straw from wheat was causing the delay.
Wheat procurement as on yesterday stood at 35.45 lakh tonnes as against 56.46 lakh tonnes till same date last year.
The arrivals stood at 46.81 lakh tonnes as on April 17 compared to 67.9 lakh tonnes as on same date last year.
"The arrival of the wheat in the market has been slightly late as growers are using hand-operated harvesting machine to maximise extraction of straw from wheat crop instead of mechanised system," Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told reporters on the sidelines of the NDC meeting.
The minister said the new strategy of the farmers was to maximise their returns as the prices of straw, used for cattle feed, had gone up considerably in the market.
The process would have to be undertaken through use of hand operated machines as it would not damage the straw content, he said.
In reply to a query, Pawar said the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana had assured that wheat production would be good and the procurement will pick up.
The Minister said there were indications that the high MSP of Rs 850 per quintal had forced the private traders to think twice before offering higher price, especially in Punjab and Haryana.
However, this did not apply to the purchase of the more expensive "sarbati" wheat from Madhya Pradesh where private players were active, he said. PTI
Gujarat BJP MP arrested
New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) A BJP tribal MP from Gujarat was today arrested at the international airport here on charges including impersonation after he allegedly tried to take a woman and a teenaged boy to Canada on the diplomatic passports of his wife and son.
46-year-old Babubhai Katara, a second-term MP from Dahod (ST), was detained by the police following a complaint from immigration officials when he came along with Paramjeet Kaur and her son Amarjeet, who were posing as his wife Sharadaben and son Rajesh, to take an Air India flight to Toronto this morning.
The fraud was detected at the boarding gate by the Air India staff who objected that the photographs did not match with the passport. They informed the immigration officials who detained the three including the MP, who is a commerce graduate.
After a verbal commotion, CISF personnel swung into action and detained the three for questioning and informed the local police.
Following investigation, police booked the three under various sections of the IPC relating to forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy. PTI
Sunitha guides India to hard-fought win over Kiwis
Christchurch, Apr 18 (PTI) Sunitha Rao helped India recover from an early deficit and edge out hosts New Zealand 2-1 in their third rubber of the Fed Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Qualifiers at Wilding Park here today.
After Shikha Uberoi's 6-7 (5/7), 3-6 loss to local favourite Sacha Jones in the opening match, Sunitha kept alive India's chances with her impressive 6-4, 6-2 win over New Zealand's top player Leanne Baker in the second singles.
The US-based 21-year-old, who got the chance to represent India only after Sania Mirza was sidelined with a knee injury, later teamed up with Shikha to clinch a tough doubles match against Leanne and Dianne Hollands 2-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-1.
The hard fought rubber was India's toughest in the tournament so far as they had earlier blanked Kazakhstan and Jordan with consummate ease.
In the first singles, Shikha started well, racing to a 4-0 lead before things went horribly wrong for her and Sacha managed to stretch it to tie-breaker before running away with the set.
Shikha was even more disappointing in the second set and her erratic display allowed the Kiwi to win the set and put her side one up in the tie.
Fortunately for India, Sunitha restored parity with her comfortable win over Leanne. After winning the first set 6-4, Sunitha put up an even more improved show in the second and dropped two games before wrapping up the match. PTI
IA men win carrom title
Bangalore, Apr 18 (PTI)Indian Airlines lifted the men's team title at the All India Public Sector Carrom tournament here outclassing Indian Oil Corporation Ltd 3-0.
In the first singles, former World Cup winner M Nataraj beat K Ramesh Babu 25-18 25-8.
The lead was doubled when current World Champion R M Shankara beat current World Cup winner Yogesh Pardeshi of IOC in a closely fought game 25-24 25-24.
Arjuna awardee and former World Champion A Maria Irudayam and his partner E Magimai Raj completed the sweep beating P Simon Isaac and A Kannan 23-25 25-1 25-13.
Life Insurance Corporation of India finished third beating hosts Oil and Natural Gas Corporation 2-1.
However, Shankara suffered an upset 21-25 25-20 25-6 defeat at the hands of unheralded R Babu of BSNL in the individual events.
In the women's doubles event, P Nirmala and S Appoorva of LIC, Banu Das and Bharti Medhi of BSNL, Bharati Narayan and D Adhya of LIC and Rashmi Kumari and her partner Anita Naik (also from LIC), reached the semifinals. PTI
We are peaking at the right time: Smith
Bridgetown (Barbados), April 18 (PTI) South African captain Graeme Smith today said his side's thumping nine-wicket win against England showed that the team was peaking at the right time in the World Cup.
"I would like to think so. It has been a tough tournament and the guys have stood up, regrouped and played out of their lungs," Smith said after the Super Eights encounter at the Kensington Oval.
The win saw South Africa grab the last semi-final berth on offer and knocked England out of the reckoning.
South Africa seemed to lose their way after the defeats to Bangladesh and New Zealand which also saw them lose their recently earned world no. 1 ranking.
Adding fuel to the furore were reports that some of the players misbehaved in public a day after the loss to the Kiwis.
Smith said that provided the spark for his players.
"It's always a motivation. We know what kind of cricket we can play and we showed it today," said Smith, who slammed an imperious 89 as South Africa overhauled a meagre England target of 155 with more than 30 overs to spare.
Smith, however, gave credit to the bowlers for today's win.
"The bowlers led from the front. To bowl England out for 154 was a great effort," he said. PTI
Reliance to approach government for SEZ cap removal
Mumbai, Apr 18 (PTI) Terming as a "knee-jerk reaction" the decision to cap the size of Special Economic Zones, Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries today said it would take up the matter of lifting the ceiling of 5,000 hectares with the government.
"The cap on size of SEZ does not exist in any other country. This is one of the vital issues that would be taken up with the government," Anand Jain, who heads Reliance's SEZ group and is chairman of Mumbai SEZ, told PTI.
On April 5, the Empowered Group of Ministers put a cap on size for SEZ to 5,000 hectares after land acquisition in Nandigram, West Bengal turned violent killing 14 persons in police firing.
The government's change in SEZ land policy is "knee-jerk reaction", Jain said.
The land cap would affect Reliance's plan because its SEZ in Maharashtra is spread over 10,000 hectares in 45 villages with a projected investment of Rs 35,000 crore. The company's SEZ in Haryana would also be affected by the new rule.
Reliance reaffirmed its earlier stand of one job per family and Rs 25 per lakh per hectare.
Jain pointed out that agriculture in the proposed area of SEZ was uneconomical. Most cropland was fit to grow low-yield paddy, he said.
Reliance does not plan to approach the court for removal of cap on land acquisition unlike a few SEZ promoters who have threatened legal course.
"This is not a final no. This is a policy that is evolving," Jain said. PTI
Sensex recovers 65 points as IT, Banking and PSU stocks up
Mumbai, Apr 18 (PTI) The stock market benchmark Sensex recovered by more than 65 points today on the back of fresh buying by funds on better-than-expected earnings from another IT major -- HCL Technologies.
However, heavy-weight Tata Steel stocks faced selling pressure and fell by Rs 17.30 to Rs 511.35 after the company's board announced debt and equity issues to finance its USD 12.9 billion Corus acquisition.
The BSE-30 share index, Sensex, which had lost nearly 88 points yesterday, staged a comeback to close 65.15 points or 0.48 per cent up at 13,672.19 points after touching the day's high of 13,762.92, thanks to a rally in IT, banking, PSU and healthcare sector stocks.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty, regained 4,000 mark to close 26.75 points, or 0.67 per cent higher at 4,011.60 after touching the day's high of 4,039.25 and a low of 3,981.75 points.
HCL Technologies yesterday reported a 72 per cent year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 331.80 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2007.
Stocks of HCL Technologies traded heavily throughout the session on the back of strong earnings and ended Rs 21.80, or 7.22 per cent at Rs 323.70.
Reliance Industries' stocks continued to remain at the centre of brisk activity, largely on the back of strong fundamentals and gathered another Rs 10.40 at Rs 1,486.45.
Other major gainers which helped Sensex to recover were State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, ONGC, NTPC, ACC, Bharti Airtel, BHEL, HDFC Ltd, Ranbaxy and Wipro. PTI
Jet Airways to start Toronto-New Delhi flight in August
Bal Krishna
Toronto, Apr 18 (PTI) Premier Indian carrier Jet Airways would introduce new flights between Toronto and New Delhi in August this year.
The airline would operate five flights per week between Toronto and New Delhi via Brussels or New York in late August and extend it to dailies later this year, Jet spokesman B Chandrasekhar said yesterday.
Chandrasekhar said Jet Airways would be operating a brand new Airbus 330 aircraft on this route, with two classes of service. Business class will have 30 flat bed seats and economy class will have an approximate 190 seats.
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) applauded the Jet Airways' decision to commence a flight to India from Toronto. ICCC President Ajit Khanna said it would strengthen linkages between the two countries.
Khanna said ICCC has been working actively with the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) and the Indian aviation industry to facilitate the opening of a new air route.
A GTAA delegation has gone to India to finalise the modalities. It would also discuss related issues with senior officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry in New Delhi. PTI
India asks developed nations to reduce greenhouse gas emission
Dharam Shourie
United Nations, Apr 18 (PTI) India has told the developed nations that the main responsibility for taking action to lessen the threat of climate change rests with them, stressing that reduction of greenhouse gas emission by them would have "potentially significant" effect on security by moderating the "impetus for privileged access" to energy markets.
But efforts to impose greenhouse gas commitments on developing nations would "simply adversely impact" their prospects of growth, Indian Ambassador Nirupam Sen warned the Security Council as it debated the effect of climate change on security yesterday.
Sen joined several other ambassadors in questioning the competence of the 15-member Council to discuss the issue under the UN Charter.
The Council is mandated to take up the issues of peace and security and Sen told its members that a more immediate and "quantifiable" threat is from possible conflicts arising out of inadequate resources for development and poverty eradication as well as competition for energy.
Stating that steps towards poverty eradication is the prerequisite for accelerated growth in developing countries, Sen asserted that mitigating the potential of conflict would have positive implications for global peace and security.
But British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, who chaired the special debate, disagreed with the argument that the issue was beyond the scope of the Council's mandate.
Britain, which holds the presidency for the month, had sought the debate. PTI
China creates artificial snowfall in Tibet for first time
Beijing, Apr 18 (PTI) China today claimed success in creating artificial snow in the northern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region for the first time, saying it proves that it is now possible for humans to change the weather pattern in the world's highest plateau.
Taking advantage of suitable weather conditions, the Tibet meteorological station carried out an artificial snowfall operation in Nagqu County in northern Tibet on April 10 at an altitude of about 4,500 metres.
"This proves it's possible for humans to change the weather on the world's highest plateau," an engineer with the meteorological station, Yu Zhongshui said.
Just one cm of snow lay on the ground after the artificial snowfall, Xinhua news agency reported from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. In human history, weather control has traditionally been reserved for ancient sky gods but, over the last 60 years, scientists have become increasingly interested in tampering with the weather, claiming that they can benefit the mankind.
Other than China, countries such as the US, Australia, Russia, Pakistan, India and Thailand have all carried out artificial rain-making projects.
The approaches involve the use of chemicals like silver iodide to precipitate rain. They may be released from aircraft, or fired from the ground as flares.
The jury is still out on the long-term effects of this kind of climate engineering, or "pluviculture". PTI
Air India probe: War of words between police and politician
Toronto, Apr 18 (PTI) A war of words is going on between the police and an opposition leader over a recent vote in Canadian Parliament against parts of an anti-terror act that may have an impact over investigations into the 1985 Air India bombing that killed more than 300 people.
Recent vote against parts of the Anti-Terrorism Act has had no impact on the continuing Air India investigations, according to Liberal leader Stephane Dion, but police claimed otherwise.
After the Liberals joined the NDP and Bloc Quebecois in forcing the expiry last month of provisions of the act dealing with investigative hearings and preventive arrests, the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in British Columbia told 'The Vancouver Sun' the case had suffered "a serious and damaging blow".
Under the hearings provision, brought in by the previous Liberal government and upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada as constitutional, police had the power to call people believed to have information about an act of terrorism to answer questions before a judge.
Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass said police had been preparing for more than two years to use one of the defeated provisions, investigative hearings, to advance the criminal case.
"While I do not dispute that the vote on this critical issue involved perhaps valid considerations beyond the Air India investigation, without doubt, it represents a serious and damaging blow to the interests of the families in this case," Bass said. PTI
UN reform will be incomplete without UNSC expansion: India
Dharam Shourie
United Nations, Apr 18 (PTI) Warning that any reform of the United Nations would be incomplete without the expansion of the Security Council, India has asserted that mere administrative reorganisation cannot be a substitute for "genuine institutional" reform.
Participating in the debate on Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's report on increasing coordination across the United Nations system, Indian Ambassador Nirupam Sen said the world body first needs to consider reforming the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWI) and the 15-member Council.
"The most important event in the contemporary UN and BWI is the event that has not happened at all -- the reform of the UN Security Council and the reforms of the Bretton Woods Institutions. In the shadow of non-reform, which is the source of much of fundamental incoherence, system-wide coherence may hardly touch the periphery of real change for the better," he said.
India is a strong candidate for permanent membership of an expanded Council and has been working with Germany, Japan and Brazil, known as the Group of Four, for increasing the membership of the Council to make it reflect the current ground realities.
Seeking more information, including financial implications of the proposals, Sen said the reform of the world body should be aimed at making the system more responsive to needs of the developing counties through a better delivery and effectiveness of the UN development assistance. PTI
Lawyers protest outside Pak SC as Chaudhry appears before SJC
Islamabad, Apr 18 (PTI) Hundreds of lawyers and activists of opposition parties demonstrated in front of Pakistan's Supreme Court today in support of suspended Chief Justice Iftikar M Chaudhry as he attended another session of the Supreme Judicial Council hearing the charges against him.
Lawyers from different parts of the county and activists of moderate Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and Islamist Muthahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) gathered outside the apex court premises where the government has deployed security forces in large numbers.
Several opposition leaders, including MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmed, its General Secretary Fazlur Rehman, senior leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-N attended the rally, raising slogans against President Pervez Musharraf and his decision to suspend Chaudhry.
Chaudhry was mobbed by people as he came with his lawyers to attend the hearing by the SJC headed by Acting Chief Justice Rana Bhagwan Das.
Opposition parties alleged that ahead of today's trial, large-scale preventive arrests were made in different parts of the country.
Chaudhry's lawyer Munir A Mallik told the media that the Chief Justice's defence team would focus its arguments on his allegations that three members of the five-judge SJC were "biased and therefore not competent to decide any case against him." "We want the SJC to decide first on our allegations of bias before they decide on larger issues like open trial demanded by Justice Chaudhry. We expect the Council to focus on this issue first," he said.
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