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Manmohan Singh begins fourth term as RS member from Assam
New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today took oath as Rajya Sabha member from Assam.
The oath was administered by Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in his Parliament House chamber.
Singh, who was recently elected unopposed to the Upper House for the fourth consecutive term, took the oath in English.
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union Ministers, including Shivraj Patil, Lalu Prasad, Ramvilas Paswan, T R Baalu, S K Shinde, Santosh Mohan Deb, P R Dasmunsi and H R Bhardwaj, were present on the occasion.
A number of Rajya Sabha members including S S Ahluwalia and Sitaram Yechury also attended the ceremony.
The Prime Minister was elected unopposed on May 18 after independent candidate Matang Singh withdrew from the contest.
Asom Gana Parishad candidate Kumar Dipak Das, who too was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from the other seat in the state, was also administered oath by Shekhawat separately. Das took the oath in Assamese. PTI
Parliamentary, state polls should be held together: CEC
New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) Not satisfied with the voter turnout in the country, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami has favoured the idea of conducting Parliamentary and state elections together.
"Obviously, it would not just be more convenient for us (to conduct elections together), the voting percentage would also improve. If we try to hold it together then more people would participate," Gopalaswami told PTI here last evening.
He said this could be made possible through a Constitutional amendment.
The CEC rejected the possibility of the electoral body considering state-funding for elections. "There was a report given to us on this issue for which the views of political parties were ascertained. However, many political parties were not interested considering the form it was in," he said.
Elaborating on the flaws in the current proposal, he said, "if the money has to be given to the candidate (by the state) and there is no ceiling on the funds a party can spend, then this (state funding) would become an additionality. It (proposal) has to be much more comprehensive." Concerned over increasing fragmentation of polity, Gopalaswami has asked political parties to appeal to wider sections of the society.
"Candidates in elections should appeal to wider sections of the society to counter problems posed by factors such as casteism," he said.
On the criticism the election body faced from political leaders, the CEC said there was no point in taking the comments made during the heat of the elections very seriously. "As long as they don't criticise your action as being partial, criticism cannot be taken seriously," he said. PTI
Pak oppn parties question hike in defence budget
Islamabad, June 15 (PTI) The hike of about 10 per cent in Pakistan's defence budget came in for criticism by opposition leaders, who argued that it was not needed as there was no danger of a war with India They also flayed the top Army brass for backing President Pervez Musharraf as also for the privileges enjoyed by them.
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Chaudhry Manzoor Hussain and Pakistan Muslim League-N's (PML-N) Saad Rafiq in the National Assembly yesterday questioned the justification for increasing the defence budget when, according to them, there was no danger of a war with India.
The allocation for defence for financial year beginning from July 1 has been increased by nearly 10 per cent to Rs 275 billion from Rs 250.2 billion in the budget presented by Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan on Saturday.
Some ruling party members, in their speeches in the National Assembly yesterday, defended the defence budget increase with Zeb Gohar Ayub, wife of former Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan, calling for even more funds to enable the military to buy conventional weapons in the face of new Indian acquisitions like heavy guns, tanks, missiles and jets, 'The News' daily reported.
Senior leaders of former Premier Benazir Bhutto-led PPP and deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-headed PML-N specially targeted Army's corps commanders', who recently through a resolution backed Musharraf in his stand off with opposition parties and lawyers in the crisis sparked by the suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry.
PML-N legislator Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that he had received a letter from an official of one of the institutions of the Army about the alleged misuse of power by a senior officer with the rank of Major General. PTI
India to ratify amendment to IAEA convention
New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) India today decided to ratify an amendment to the International Atomic Energy Agency Convention that provides for protection of nuclear material from acts of terror and sabotage.
A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the ratification of the amendement to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, 1980 and also to amend Extradition Act of 1962, Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters here.
"Becoming a party to the convention would strengthen the international legal framework to combat terrorism and also enhance international cooperation in investigation, prosecution and extradition of those who commit terrorist acts and acts of sabotage involving radioactive material or nuclear devices and facilities," he said.
The amended Convention will make it legally binding for state parties to protect nuclear facilities and material in peaceful domestic use, storage as well as transport, he said.
It will also provides for expanded cooperation between and among states regarding rapid measures to locate and recover stolen or smuggled nuclear material, mitigate any radiological consequences of sabotage and prevent and combat related offences, Dasmunsi said.
The IAEA members, at a Diplomatic Conference in Geneva in July 2005, had adopted an amendment to the Convention to strengthen the provisions and include terrorist acts and acts of sabotage against nuclear material and facilities.
The Convention requires the state parties to make such offences punishable under the domestic laws. PTI
Rupee rise will erode Indian IT industry margins: Infosys
Bangalore, Jun 15 (PTI) India's export-driven IT services industry would see an erosion in margins due to the strengthening of the rupee, a top official of Infosys Technologies said today.
"Every one percentage point appreciation will have an impact of between 30 and 40 basis points on the margin," the NASDAQ-listed firm's Chief Operating Officer S Gopalakrishnan said.
Strengthening of the rupee would definitely have an impact on the margin, he told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar organised by Confederation of Indian Industry here.
"The estimates depend on how much business happens, in which location and in what currency," Gopalakrishnan said.
The value of the rupee has risen by nine per cent against the US dollar since December 2006 and was trading at Rs 40.90/92 a dollar in the morning trade today.
Currency hedging, he said, was a short-term measure to offset the impact of the strengthening rupee. "Companies need to look at their portfolio of services, the geographies in which they sell and the prices that they charge from customers to mitigate the impact," he added. PTI
Paes-Damm pair enters semis in Germany
New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) Leander Paes and his Czech partner Martin Damm beat German wildcards Benjamin Becker and Christopher Kas to enter the semifinals of the Gerry Webber Open tennis tournament in Halle, Germany.
The Indo-Czech pair rallied from a set down to beat the local favourites 6-7 (8) 7-6 (10) 10-7.
Paes and Damm will now take on third seeds Simon Aspelin of Sweden and Julian Knowles of Austria in the last four stage of the 680,250 euro event.
Paes and Damm had earlier scored a 6-4, 6-2 win over the Swiss-German pair of Yves Allegro and Michael Kohlmann in their opening round match.
The pair has clinched one ATP title this year. PTI
Several prominent names in National Games hall of dope shame
New Delhi, June 15 (PTI) After four months of dawdling, Indian Olympic Association finally came out with the list of eight dope offenders at the 33rd National Games.
Though the names of the offenders had started to trickle in immediately after the Games in Guwahati in February, the IOA, which claims to be serious about cleaning Indian sports, stayed silent for a long time.
The list includes several prominent names including two current gold medallists at the National Games. The IOA has forwarded the matter to the respective sports Federations for imposing sanctions.
World women boxing champion Jenny Lalremliani and best lifter of Commonwealth Championship (2004) Vicky Batta are some startling names in the list.
Lalremliani, crowned world women's boxing champion in Delhi in November 2006, won the gold medal for Mizoram in the 63 kg category in Guwahati by defeating Delhi's Pinki in the final.
However, she tested positive for Furosemide, a diuretic, and the medal will now be forfeited. She has already been banned for two years by the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation.
Batta has represented India at several international meets and won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games last year. He was also adjudged the best lifter at the Commonwealth Championships in Malta in 2004.
He was fined USD 5,000 for skipping out-of-competition tests when officials of the World Ant-Doping Agency came calling in Bangalore in 2005. PTI
17 Indian athletes selected for Afro-Asian Games
New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) A total of 17 Indian athletes have been selected to represent Asia in the second Afro-Asian Games to be held in Algiers from July 28 to August 6.
The list includes names such as Anju Bobby George, Krishna Punia, Pinki Pramanik and Navpreet Singh.
According to the Olympic Council of Asia norms, performance at the 2006 Doha Asian Games was the criterion for selection with the first four finishers in a given discipline booking their spots for Algeria.
As the dates for the Games are coinciding with those of the Asian Athletics Championships that are to be held at a still undecided venue, the latter competition will be held either just before or after the Afro-Asian Games, an Athletics Federation of India official told PTI.
Following are the selected Indian athletes: Men: Navpreet Singh (Shot Put), Renjith Maheswary (Triple Jump), Hari Shankar Roy (High Jump), Aboo Backer (4x400m), Joseph Abraham (4x400m), Bhupinder Singh (4x400m) and K M Binu (4x400m) Women: Sinimol Paulose (1500m), Manjeet Kaur (400m, 4x400m), Pinki Pramanik (400m, 4x400m), O P Jaisha (5000m), Krishna Punia (Discus Throw), Anju Bobby George (Long Jump), Soma Biswas (Heptathlon), J J Shobha (Heptathlon), Satti Geetha (4x400m) and Chitra Soman (4x400m). PTI
Ponting distances himself from FICA threat
New Delhi, June 16 (PTI) Australian Ricky Ponting today sought to distance himself from a reported international cricketers association's (FICA) threat to boycot the next year's Champions Trophy if the ICC did not change its way of governing the game.
FICA had reportedly said that it was not happy with the manner in which the ICC member boards "voted politically" on key issues such as choosing its President, but Ponting said it was not for him to worry about the politics of cricket.
"I hadn't ever spoken to anyone on that, on how the ICC is electing its President or to certain other posts. The players have no control over that," Ponting said at a promotional event here.
"FICA has been dealing with some of these issues. It is for them to sort it out. The players have to get on with the game," the 32-year-old said.
The players' threat to boycott the Champions Trophy in Pakistan was reported by 'The Daily Telegraph' of London a few days ago.
"Our frustration is that we have ten Test-playing countries voting politically on some issues such as who will succeed (Percy) Sonn," FICA Chief Executive Richard Bevan was quoted as saying. PTI
Cricket Australia to quiz players on recreational drugs
Melbourne, June 15 (PTI) Cricket Australia will quiz Ricky Ponting and his men on whether they use recreational drugs as part of its plans to draw up a tougher drug policy.
According to 'The Age', Swimming Australia is about to introduce out-of-competition testing for recreational drugs and cricket and rugby boards would soon follow suit.
Before CA puts in place a testing and enforcement regime, all the cricketers would be asked about their personal drug use, the daily said.
CA is reportedly under pressure from the Australian government, which asserts its "zero tolerance" stance, to begin out-of-competition testings for drugs.
Australian Football League doctors, including chief medical officer Dr Peter Harcourt, will address the CA Board here today.
It is, however, not clear yet whether CA would ape the 'soft' AFL model, which says a player can't be punished until a third positive test. PTI
Moser Baer to raise USD 150 million via GDR, FCCB route
Mumbai, June 15 (PTI) Optical media maker Moser Baer India Ltd today said it will raise 150 million dollars through issue of securities in the overseas or domestic market.
The company's board of directors in a meeting today approved the raising of 150 million dollars in one or more tranches through issue or allotment of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) or other equity-linked securities, Moser Baer informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The issue is subject to necessary clearances, the company said.
****** Bayer CropScience sells entire stake in subsi * Bayer CropScience today said it has sold entire stake in its wholly-owned subsidiary Bayer Polychem (India) to Bayer MaterialScience Pvt Ltd for Rs 3.90 crore.
The deal price was fixed based on the valuation report submitted by Haribhakti MRI Corp Services Pvt Ltd and independent valuers, Bayer CropScience informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Shares of Bayer CorpScience were trading at Rs 276.85, up 1.84 per cent on the BSE. PTI
Yes Bank, Reuters tie-up for electronic forex trading
Mumbai, Jun 14 (PTI) Private sector Yes Bank today announced a tie-up with Reuters India to provide electronic trading in forex to corporates and individuals through Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange (RTFX).
Yes Bank will act as a market maker for the dollar-rupee pair for corporates having subscription to Reuters terminal, while other small corporates or individuals can avail online forex trading in any currency pair through the bank's website, Bank Group President Financial Markets Ajay Mahajan told reporters.
"For active risk managers, online trading reduces the electronic slippage and helps them to take a decision on the quoted price for forex liqudity almost in real time," he said.
In the last two years, Yes Bank has acquired more than 500 customers and it would make efforts to increase its customers through the offer, Mahajan said.
Reuters South Asia Managing Director Samir Shah said that a recent Corporate Treasury survey carried out in India found that there was a high demand for electronic forex trading.
"About 73 per cent of the surveyed corporates said they would be interested in trading forex electronically," Shah said, adding that almost 90 per cent of corporates currently carry forex trading over the phone.
Yes Bank is the first private sector bank to go 'live' in RTFX, which currently has Union Bank of India and Standard Chartered as the other two market makers.
"We are in talks with banks like SBI, ICICI and HSBC to collaborate with them on the RTFX platform," he added. PTI
Govt to issue ordinance to take over RBI stake in SBI
New Delhi, June 15 (PTI) The government will promulgate an ordinance to buy RBI's 59.7 per cent stake in the country's largest lender SBI for estimated cost of Rs 40,000 crore.
"The ordinance, relating to amendments to the State Bank of India Act, 1955, would enable the transfer of RBI's shareholding in SBI to the Central Government," Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters after the Cabinet meeting here.
He put estimated cost of the deal at around Rs 40,000 crore.
The deal would not have revenue implications for the government since the RBI is expected to transfer the surplus to the Centre during the first half of August. That way, the Centre would receive what it gives to the Reserve Bank for buying its stake in SBI.
Dasmunsi said a bill will be moved in the coming session of Parliament to replace the ordinance.
Sources said the Finance Ministry has sought Cabinet approval to issue an ordinance to amend the SBI Act, 1955 to ensure that the Centre hands over the cheque to RBI by June 30.
They said the Ministry had to push for an ordinance as a bill to amend the Act is pending with a Parliamentary standing committee.
The Ministry wanted to insert a clause enabling it to buy RBI's stake when it came back to the House, but in the absence of the standing committee report, it is pushing for an ordinance to close the transaction in time.
Although, the government got Parliamentary approval during the Budget session to enable SBI to reduce its stake in seven associated banks, it could not get approval for takeover of the RBI shareholding in the bank. PTI
TRAI sets up consumer education, protection fund
New Delhi, June 15 (PTI) TRAI today announced setting up of a Telecom Consumers Education and Protection Fund to educate and inform the consumers about their rights and discourage operators to charge in excess, while shifting from one tariff plan to the other.
As per TRAI estimates telecom companies have about Rs 10 crore undisbursed amount accumulated over last 10 years.
TRAI has considered those cases when the number of those subscribers to whom the refund is due are numerous, the service providers may find it difficult to trace the consumers refund to the excess amount.
The fund will prevent unjust or undue enrichment of such service providers and educate consumers by utilising the excess amount charged from them, a TRAI statement said.
There will be a committee for making recommendations to the Authority for utilisation of the amount.
The Fund will undertake programmes to educate consumers about various measures taken by the Central Government or TRAI for protecting their interests, besides organising seminars, symposia and workshops on the subject.
It will also conduct studies and market research projects, either directly or through specialised agencies on matters safeguarding the interests of consumers. PTI
Musharraf asks media to present positive image of the country
K J M Varma
Islamabad, Jun 15 (PTI) Cautioning the Pakistani media against "abusing freedom", President Pervez Musharraf has asked them to present a positive image of the country and highlight issues of national importance.
Addressing a joint gathering of officers of Pakistan Air Force and Navy at the Air Headquarters here yesterday Musharraf said media freedom was undoubtedly important but news organisations should also fulfil their responsibility.
The media should present a positive image of the country and highlight issues of national importance. It should avoid highlighting negative aspects and must not create a sense of despondency among the masses, he said adding that it would amount to abusing freedom.
His remarks followed withdrawal of the ordinance empowering officials to seal the premises of TV channels and seize their equipment.
The Pakistan President once again distanced himself from the reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry saying that he had nothing to do with it and has forwarded the charges by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the government.
Already a government lawyer Mallik Qayuum has said that Aziz should quit in the event of any adverse judgement in Chaudhry's case.
He said it was a purely legal issue adding that the president was bound to send it to the Supreme Judicial Council for due legal process. "It is a sensitive matter," he added.
"The Supreme Court is the only deciding authority and its decision will be binding on everyone," he said. PTI
Rogue surgeon tells US neighbours charges against him dropped
Melbourne, June 15 (PTI) India-born surgeon Jayant Patel, who is linked to the deaths of 17 people, has been telling neighbours in the United States that charges against him in Australia have been dropped.
A TV network said Dr Patel, who worked at Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland before fleeing to the US, told neighbours that Australia was not proceeding with moves to extradite him, 'Sydney Morning Herald' reported.
Dr Patel said the manslaughter, causing grievous bodily harm and fraud charges against him had been dropped, it said.
The channel showed grainy footage of the rogue doctor talking at the door of his Seattle mansion.
Cameras also showed the word "redrum" painted in black graffiti on the mansion's back fence, a reference to the word "murder" spelled backwards on a door in the horror movie, "The Shining." Bundaberg Patients' Support Group spokeswoman Beryl Crosby said she had been told what a largely house-bound Dr Patel had been saying.
"He's been telling the neighbours over there that we've dropped the charges," Crosby said, adding "I was on the blower to the Attorney-General (Kerry Shine) yesterday and got an update that extradition and everything is going ahead according to their plan, I guess." "This (Patel) is the same guy who tried to tell us earlier that he was his brother and it's the same idiot that hasn't even taken the word redrum off his fence," she said. PTI
Nine killed in Pakistan attack
Karachi, Jun 15 (PTI) Nine people, including six Army men, were killed when unidentified gunmen ambushed a van ferrying security personnel in Pakistan's Balochistan province, hours after the visit of top US envoy Richard Boucher to the troubled region.
The victims in the shooting which took place before midnight yesterday included one policeman and two civilians.
A man called up the Quetta Press Club and claimed the killings were carried out by the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group in the province which is fighting the government forces for a greater share in the region's rich natural resources.
Major General Waheed Arshad, head of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), confirmed in a statement that six Army personal had been killed in the ambush and blamed it on anti-state elements.
A full-scale investigation would be carried out into the attack that also wounded four on a busy road outside the city's main railway station, he said.
Arshad said according to initial information the servicemen were returning from leave when their van was ambushed by unknown gunmen.
One of those killed was a policeman while one wounded was in critical condition, senior police official Rehmatunna Niazi said.
The attack came just hours after a visit by top US envoy Richard Boucher who made a stopover during a visit to the border region to check on the efforts by Pakistan to curb Taliban and al Qaeda militants. PTI
Bush Admn declines to comment on SC ruling on taxes
Washington, Jun 15 (PTI) The Bush administration has declined to comment on the US Supreme Court decision rejecting the contention of India and Mongolia that they are immune to paying taxes on properties they own in the United States saying lawyers are studying the judgment.
"I have put that question to our lawyers and they have yet to produce an answer," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters yesterday shortly after the decision was given by the Court.
India's stand that it is "immune" from paying over USD 16 million in taxes on properties it owns in New York suffered a big setback when the Court upheld decisions by lower courts that the American judiciary can decide this issue.
Along with India, which has been asked to shell out 16.4 million dollars as back taxes, New York City is also demanding USD 2.1 million from Mongolia for their missions to the UN.
By a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court rejected the claim by the two countries that they are immune from paying the taxes on the properties which are partly used for residential purposes by its diplomats. PTI
Call for autonomous council for minorites raises alarm
Enaxi Saikia Barua
Guwahati, Jun 15 (PTI) The controversial demand for an autonomous council exclusively for 'minorities' by an MLA of the religious minority community dominated Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) has sent alarm bells ringing that communally harmonious Assam was being attempted to be pushed into another crisis.
The demand made by AUDF MLA from Dhubri in lower Assam, Rashul Haq, has provoked widespread protests from political parties -- both ruling and oppposition, students and social organisations decrying the demand as unconstitutional and not suitable for the social-religious fabric of the state.
Haq made the controversial demand talking to a local daily here this week. He said that an autonomous council was needed for the welfare of the "minorities", among whom he has included the religious minorities and linguistic ones such as Bengali Hindus, Hindi-speaking and Nepali people in lower Assam's Dhubri, Barpeta, Goalpara and five assembly constituencies of Darrang district.
Also talking to reporters in his constituency at the Circuit House after making the demand, the MLA said he would launch an "armed agitation" to press his demand.
Reacting to Rashul's demand, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) wanted him to be arrested under the National Security Act as the "demand for setting up an autonomous council on the basis of religion is not only against the secular fabric of the country, but violates the spirit of the Constitution". PTI
New dinosaur model at Gujarat park
Chandran Iyer
Gandhinagar, Jun 15 (PTI) A real life model of the 'Rajasoruas-narmdensis' similar to the T-Rex, is the latest to join the most ferocious dinasours that will attract visitors at the Indroda dinosaur park here.
The dinosaur park, set up with the help of Geological Survey of India is planning to develop a tertiary section which will display mammals that started evolving after dinosaurs became extinct, including ancestors of the cat family-Saber, according to C N Pande, Director of Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation.
People who were awed by Micheal Crichton's novel Jurassic Park that dealt with the dangers of biological tinkering of DNA of extinct dinosaurs would find it interesting to note that all these creatures once roamed in the region of Gujarat about 65 million years ago.
A number of fossilized bones of these creature and eggs can be found in the Indroda Dinosaur and Fossil Park in Gandhinagar and at also in the museum hall of GSI.
Infact the paleontologists who study fossils to unravel the mystery of the past in terms of evolution consider this region to be the Jurassic Park of India.
The fossilised eggs of these creatures placed in the 'Indroda Dinosaur and Fossil Park' in Gandhinagar is a living testimony of the existence of these creatures. The park has been established in collaboration with the Geological Survey of India and is now rated to be the best in the country. PTI
Pali (Haryana), Jun 14 (PTI) Not far from the buzz of the capital, a group of men enjoy a game of cards on a hot afternoon under a tree. "This is one luxury we get when we wait for jobs," they say.
They operate massive crushers day in and day out for the glossy structures that will rise in the capital for its "Commonwealth makeover." The Crushers Zone, has caught the attention of NGOs working against bonded labour.
"Nearly three generations of labourers are trapped in Pali as per our information. The zone is a clear case of blatant violation of all the labour laws and manifests a worst form of human trafficking," says Kailash Satyarthi of Bachpan Bachao Aandolan (BBA).
Thousands of labourers operate nearly 200 crushers, producing raw material supplies for big construction projects in Delhi.
"Twelve hours is the minimum one works here for, when he/she is employed. When a machine goes down, then it may well stretch over 17 hours after it re-starts," says Harju, a worker who co-operates one of the crushers along with others.
"Besides, the work goes on all through the nights and in many cases, children and women are also employed. There is no holiday in a week" he adds.
Labour officials however deny the reports of labourers working for longer hours than what they get paid for.
Newsletter Goa: CM has tough times ahead
Rupesh Samant
Panaji, Jun 14 (PTI) It is surely not a cakewalk for the newly inducted Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat who has tougher issues to handle in this tiny state on the western coast.
Beginning with the controversial regional plan 2011 to the crucial issue pertaining to sale of land to foreigners, the 54-year-old politician, will have to deal with many a challenge ahead.
The biggest of these challenges would undoubtedly be to keep together his own partymen and the allies.
Goa, which saw controversial regional plan 2011, which was later scrapped now awaits another regional plan though the Congress in its election manifesto, had assured "scientific regional plan," the science graduate chief minister, now has to produce one.
Goa, with 105 km long coastline, also is grappling with the issue of foreigners buying huge chunks of land in the state.
Finding a foreigner's bungalow along the seashore is not an unusual sight for Goans, who were not happy at foreigners land purchase deals in 2006. The state government, through its reply on the floor of the house, admitted 400-odd deals, which were in violation of foreign exchange management act (FEMA).
What followed it was usual blame game with state government pointing out that it is the responsibility of Reserve Bank of India to monitor the dealings. PTI
From the States: Assam faces acute power crisis
Sukhendu Bhattacharya
Guwahati, Jun 13 (PTI) A drought like situation leading to poor hydro-power generation and a weak distribution network have led to Assam facing the worst ever power crisis prompting the government to approach neighbouring states as well as the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan for power supply.
Already facing a shortage crisis has been compounded with a prolonged dry spell.
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi in an SOS to the centre recently requested for immediate allocation of 400 MW power from ONGC's Tripura based gas project, and also some power from the Tala and Kiruchu hydro electric projects of Bhutan to Assam.
Charging the public sector ONGC and OIL for failing to supply committed gas for power generation in Assam, Gogoi said as a result of that generation in the Namrup thermal power station (TPS) and Lakwa TPS as well as the Kthalguri TPS of North East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) have suffered badly.
The chief minister has also called for adequate investment in the power distribution segment as there are large gaps in the network in major towns.
Assam power minister Pradyut Bordoloi says that the unprecented power crisis is due to over dependence on thermal projects some of them have become obsolete.
To improve the situation the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) has been divided into separate companies for generation, transmission and distribution, he said. PTI
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