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"We are bringing this Bill (on the unorganised sector) in the current session of the Parliament," Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes told the Lok Sabha while replying to a discussion on the Agriculture Workers Welfare Bill, 2005 introduced by Hannan Mollah (CPI-M).
He said the Group of Ministers (GoM) is working on the Bill and would seek the Union Cabinet's nod on its recommendations, he said.
The Minister said that a sample survey has revealed that agricultural workers constituted 60 per cent of the workforce in the unorganised sector and there was no uniform law in the country to ensure their welfare and they remain a deprived lot.
"The UPA government is committed to the welfare of the the unorganised labour sector," Fernandes said and pointed out that the National Commission of Enterprises too is working a Bill in this connection and the government would deliberate on its report after receiving the same.
The Minister said the UPA government was committed to fructify the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) and reminded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already reiterated his desire to bring a Bill for ensuring the welfare of the unorganised workforce.
Recalling a suggestion by a member on mitigating the plight of the workers in the construction sector, Fernandes said the states have not been forthcoming to do the needful to implement the provisions of a legislation enacted earlier in this connection. PTI
Income Tax department facing acute shortage of staff
New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) With the increase in number of assessees and resultant direct tax collection since the last three years, the Department of Income Tax has been facing acute shortage of staff in various categories including officers.
The total vacancies as on March 21 this year have increased to 16,483 from 8,916 on March 31, 2004 , Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
Staff Selection Commission has initiated the process of recruitment of Income Tax Inspectors, Tax Assistants and Stenographers and the staff are expected to be made available latest by the end of this year, he said.
The Minister informed the House that a 5.79 per cent increase in the number of assessees has resulted in a whopping over 118.39 per cent improvement in the direct tax collection during March, 2004 to March 2007.
The number of assessees have increased to over 3.19 crore as on March 31, this year from about 3.02 crore as on March 31, 2004 but the direct tax collection which includes income tax and corporate tax has increased to Rs 2,29,505 crore from Rs 1.05,088 crore during the same period.
He said the surplus staff nominated by the Department of Personnel and Training from the Surplus Cell have already been allocated to various charges. These steps would meet partially the requirement of staff of Central Board of Direct Taxes. PTI
Glasgow may host India-Pakistan ODI
London, May 4 (PTI) India and Pakistan are likely to lock horns in a one day international cricket match at the neutral venue of Glasgow in Scotland in the first week of July.
A leading Asian broadcaster, which has earlier arranged India-Pakistan match in Canada, has been surveying location for the encounter, according to a report in 'The Scotsman'.
"The proposed India-Pakistan encounter is being promoted by one of Asia's leading broadcast networks, who have staged similar events in Canada which have attracted big crowds of exiles," the report said.
"And over the past two days, technical representatives from the company have been surveying both locations as part of their advanced planning process," it said.
It is believed that the big game will take place on July 4, two days after Scotland square up to Pakistan.
"The Pakistani authorities are keen to have an extra match because they don't fancy the idea of coming in cold against India in British conditions.
"Arrangements have still to be finalised, but both matches would be held at the same venue because the facilities would be in place," it said.
The matches are likely to go ahead either Clydesdale's Titwood ground, or New Anniesland - home of Glasgow Accies - early in July. PTI
IHF plans more astro-turfs in hockey heartland
New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) The Indian Hockey Federation plans to tackle the waning popularity of the national game by setting up more astro-turf pitches in areas where the game still has a following.
"We have identified 66 places around the country where hockey is still very popular and we will set up astro-turfs in these areas," IHF chief K P S Gill said today.
He said hockey was still a mass sport in states such as Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh and the Federation planned to tap into the mass base.
"We also found Mizoram has a lot of potential for the game and we want to promote it," he said.
Gill said hockey had never been a very popular sport throughout the country.
"Over the years, hockey has always been popular in pockets and we have to ensure that the interest in these areas is sustained.
"There one finds regular 11-a-side matches and there is mass participation in the game. We need to provide more facilities there," he said on the sidelines of a six-a-side invitational school hockey tournament here.
As for the metros, the youngsters, who may not be exposed to the game, need to be introduced to the game with a simpler format.
"Here the six-a-side matches are very useful in getting the top schools involved in hockey. As most children studying here come from affluent backgrounds, the infrastructure and equipment will not be a problem as it may in the rural areas," Gill said, adding that the IHF was thinking of having talent scouts to spot youngsters who can be groomed for the next level. PTI
Buchanan turned his back on potential Indian offer
Melbourne, May 4 (PTI) John Buchanan has turned down a potentially lucrative offer from India, but the outgoing Australian mentor has not entirely ruled out a return to international coaching in the future.
Buchanan confirmed that he was "indirectly" approached before leaving for the Caribbean World Cup by Indian officials, who were keen to gauge his interest in succeeding Greg Chappell as their coach after the World Cup.
But after almost eight years at the helm of Australia, Buchanan was not immediately ready for another international assignment and, accordingly, did not follow up the Indian approach. Still, the veteran coach said he would retain an open mind regarding overseas opportunities.
"There was some indirect contact from India," Buchanan was quoted as saying by 'The Age' today.
"But at the moment I am looking for new challenges as a mentor coach, and speaking to Cricket Australia and the Australian Sports Commission about that, as well as a move into corporate coaching.
"Yes, there is still some interest (in international coaching). But, and it's a big but, it would be very much dependent upon my family." PTI
PM commends Nath on FDI inflows in 2006-07
New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) Complimenting Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath for the 19 billion dollar foreign direct investment inflows in 2006-07, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed optimism that current year's target of 30 billion dollars will be met.
In his letter to Nath, Singh has commended the minister and his team on achieving the performance in 2006-07, a Commerce Ministry statement said today.
Singh has expressed optimism that the minister and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion would be able to cross the FDI target of 30 billion dollars during the current year, the statement said.
In 2005-06, FDI equity inflows in India were 5.5 billion dollars, which grew to 16 billion dollars during 2006-07. If the retained earnings reinvested by foreign investors in India in 2005-06 are added, the gross FDI would work out to 7.7 billion dollars and in 2006-07 to 19 billion dollars. PTI
Sensex dips 144 pts as RIL restrained from gas sales
Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) An interim stay preventing Reliance Industries (RIL) from selling natural gas to a third party cast a shadow on the stock market, which today ended 144 points lower amid the government's decision to relax excise duty on cement.
After a strong beginning, the market turned volatile and gradually moved downwards on selling pressure in reaction to an interim order from the Bombay High Court, restraining RIL from entering into any contract for supplying to a third party the 28 million standard cubic metres of gas per day.
RIL was hit hard by the unexpected development and fell sharply by 2.5 per cent.
Initially touching a high of 14,189.21, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) later turned weak and ended at 13,934.27, a loss of 143.94 points or 1.02 per cent from yesterday's close of 14,078.21.
The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) dropped by 33.50 points or 0.81 per cent to close at 4,117.35 from previous close of 4,150.85.
Attributing firm trend at outset to the government's decision to replace the specific excise duty of Rs 600 per tonne on cement with an ad valorem duty of 12 per cent, brokers said, the rally short-lived as investors preferred to book profits at the weekend session.
Investors seemed unwilling to hold any long outstanding positions following the interim order against the petro giant, they added.
The market discounted the positive factors, including firm Asian cues and a fall in inflation to 5.77 per cent in the week ended April 21. PTI
SEZs are turning into land scam: Rahul Bajaj
New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) In a zest to secure tax holidays, developers are gradually turning Special Economic Zones (SEZs) into a land scam, a leading industrialist has said.
Today, big industrial houses acquiring land for SEZs are "almost turning it into a scam in the name of development," Bajaj Auto Chairman and Rajya Sabha member Rahul Bajaj said at a seminar organised by Consumer Unity and Trust Society here yesterday.
Advocating direct interaction with the farmers, he said, if vast stretches of land have to be acquired to set up SEZs the companies must get them by paying the right value, and not the subsidised rates.
He also said it would not be fair to compare the SEZs in India with that of China, as in case of the latter the land is owned by the state and the benefits go directly to the people. But, in this case it is the developer who is benefiting the most.
Bajaj said development of an industrial area does not mean it has to be near an existing city. It would be of more significance if the infrastructure creation takes place at a distance providing an opportunity to promote auxiliary settlement, he added.
Echoing his thought, independent Rajya Sabha member P C Alexender said, currently, SEZs are defying the initial social objective of providing small and medium entrepreneurs a growth opportunity.
Supporting the SEZ Policy of the government, Rajya Sabha member and Founder of Farmers' Union Shetkari Sangathan Sharad Joshi said farmers, who are unable to repay their debts, are willing to give up agriculture in return of a better life that an SEZ promises. PTI
SC stays MRTPC probe into alleged irregularities in KBC
New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) The Supreme Court today stayed the Delhi High Court order directing Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practises Commission to investigate allegations of financial irregularities by Star Plus television channel in its game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).
A bench headed by Justice B P Singh stayed the High Court order after Star India Pvt Ltd moved the apex court.
The Supreme Court also issued a notice to Anuj Kumar Bhati, on whose petition the High Court had on April 27 had asked MRTPC to probe the matter.
Senior counsel Arun Jaitley and Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for Star, contended that if the order was not stayed it would become final and trigger a probe, which was completely "unwarranted" and "uncalled for".
Denying that any false impressions were created in the show, Star India said the programme was an independent show based on general knowledge and skill and did not promote products of any specific company. So, it failed to satisfy the ingredients of 'unfair trade practice', the company said.
"The High Court wholly misdirected itself in assuming that the provisions of the MRTP Act would be applicable to the general knowledge quiz game without prima facie satisfying as to whether the ingredients for such investigation are fulfilled," the Star India petition said.
The questions of allurement, misrepresentation or fraud did not arise as the public voluntarily participated in the game show without any inducement, the petition added.
It further said the issues with regard to finance were confidential and proprietary matters and it was not under any obligation to divulge such details. PTI
Pak govt asks suspended CJ to avoid travel by road
K J M Varma
Islamabad May 4 (PTI) Pakistan government has asked suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry to avoid travel by road in view of possible suicide attacks, an advice disregarded by him saying he would visit Lahore tomorrow as planned.
The Interior Ministry had requested Chaudhry not to go to Lahore because of possible suicide attacks at the roadside receptions at various towns and villages on the way to the capital of Punjab province.
In a letter to the Supreme Court, Interior Secretary Sayed Kamal Shah had said that it was not advisable for Chaudhry to travel by road as in view of the "hazardous security environment, the likelihood of any untoward incident cannot be ruled out," state-run APP news agency reported.
Shah asked the court registrar to bring these facts to the notice of Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) Rana Bhagwan Das, who in turn was expected to inform Chaudhry.
"Sometimes high threat indicators call upon the law enforcement agencies to adopt measures to minimise the exposure to likely targets in order to reduce risk to their lives," Shah said in his letter.
Chaudhry, who communicates through his advocates, said he would go ahead with his plans to visit Lahore tomorrow by road to attend a lawyers' convention despite the government's efforts to persuade him to travel by air for security reasons.
Chaudhry "will definitely go by road because he will be accompanied by a large number of lawyers who cannot accompany him on a plane," his lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan said. PTI
Musharraf staged coup fearing disciplinary action: Sharif
Islamabad, May 4 (PTI) President Pervez Musharraf chose to stage a military coup in 1999 possibly to avert a disciplinary action being contemplated by the Pakistan government for his Kargil misadventure, deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif has said.
"Perhaps he had already prepared a contingency plan to pre-empt that, it was perhaps something akin to 'chor ki darhi mein tinka' (meaning the guilty leaves an obvious proof of his guilt)," Sharif, whose government was toppled in the coup, said in an interview to 'Dawn' in London.
Asked how could a serving Chief of the Army Staff contest an election in uniform, Sharif said "Musharraf is ridiculing his own uniform, he is ridiculing his own institution, and he is trampling all norms of decency, constitutionality and the rule of law under his feet." Sharif, however, said he was not indulging in politics to become Prime Minister. "My politics is only to put the country back on the rails, my politics is only to establish the rule of law, restore the 1973 Constitution. In return whether I get something or not, it does not matter." Asked if Musharraf wanted to keep the uniform until December 31, 2007, for possibly rigging the forthcoming presidential and national elections, Sharif answered in the affirmative and said the General needed the uniform to keep the ruling PML-Q members frightened so that they would not revolt at the time of his re-election.
"I was the first one to suffer this ploy of his. He tried to frighten me with his uniform and his troops, but I refused to be frightened and stood my ground. He did the same thing with the Chief Justice and he also refused to be scared." PTI
UN resolutions on Kashmir now obsolete: Qayyum
Islamabad, May 4 (PTI) A top leader of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), who has recently returned from New Delhi after attending a conference in India, has said the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir had become obsolete.
Former President of Pakistan occupied Kashmir and leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan, told mediapersons that the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir had now become obsolete.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday here on his return from New Delhi after attending 'Heart to heart conference' of Kashmiris from the Indian subcontinent, he also said the time had come to accept that there were militant training camps in Pakistan as well as "Azad Kashmir" in the past which were boldly closed down by President Pervez Musharraf.
"Yes, of course there were training camps in Pakistan and in Azad Kashmir (POK) also. It was no secret. It was open knowledge," he said.
He said there were no training camps now but some militants were still present in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
"Musharraf closed them down and now there are no training camps, there may be people in those camps but they are not getting any training. I have not kept anything hidden behind curtains.
"We cannot keep something like this under wraps. The Americans know everything, they can tell you the last detail about these camps. In today's world, it is impossible to keep something like this hidden. We should speak the truth or else we become ourselves liars", he told mediapersons yesterday.
Sardar Qayyum said the four-point proposal on Kashmir floated by General Musharraf had evoked a good response in India. PTI
Sonia Gandhi, Mittal on Time list of 100 influential people
Dharam Shourie
New York, May 4 (PTI) Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, steel baron Lakshmi Mittal and Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi figure in Time magazine's coveted list of 100 most influential people, which also includes Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
But missing from the list for the first time in four years is US President George W. Bush.
In a write up on Gandhi, who is also on the cover of the magazine's Asia edition, Time says in the 16 years since the death of her husband, she had become the face of the country's most famous family and as leader of the Congress party, she has managed the largest political party in the country and steered it to victory.
"And she has done all this wearing a sari. Imagine if the US were run by an Indian Hindu woman without a college degree. It's tough: the US has never elected anyone who's not Christian, white and male - even as Vice President. But India, which is an even bigger democracy, is run in all but name by an Italian Catholic widow with a high school education," it adds.
When her party won national elections in 2004, she was offered the prime ministership; she listened to her "inner voice" and turned it down, and anointed the economist Manmohan Singh in her stead, the magazine recalled.
"It was a gesture that was, well, Gandhian. And it solidified her hold on power. For ordinary Indians, this act of renunciation held tremendous mythic resonance. Though Singh is Prime Minister, it is Sonia, 60, who is the kingmaker.
"And her most lasting legacy may lie in her children Rahul and Priyanka, one of whom may well become India's Prime Minister someday, ascending to the high office that their mother has thus far "renounced," it said. PTI
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