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Terror, jailed fishermen to dominate Indo-Pak talks
New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) The issue of cross border terrorism, narcotics control and release of fishermen will dominate the two-day Home Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan beginning Tuesday.
While officials in the Home ministry are silent about the agenda of the meeting, sources said New Delhi is going to raise the issue of release of nearly 500 Indian fishermen lodged in Pakistani jails as Islamabad has repeatedly evaded providing consular access to them.
Islamabad has been demanding the release of its nationals in Indian jails, a point being countered by New Delhi by saying these nationals were booked for various terrorist offences while the case of fishermen was that of an inadvertent crossing of water boundaries.
Terrorist infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir would also be mentioned to the Pakistani delegation. The influx from across the border has seen considerable increase from April onwards this year.
The talks would also focus on demands being made by New Delhi about the extradition of global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and other accused persons whom India maintains are in Pakistan.
Though Islamabad has never accepted the don's presence in its territory, New Delhi is expected to hand over a list of over three dozen criminals, including Dawood, seeking their deportation, sources in the Union Home Ministry said.
The list has the names of Dawood's brother Anis Ibrahim and chiefs of banned terrorist outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) besides the hijackers of the Indian Airlines IC-814 flight. PTI
Mumbai limps back to life as rains relent
Mumbai, July 1 (PTI) Life was limping back to normal here today as there was no overnight rain after heavy downpour whole of yesterday, even as weathermen forecast more rains.
Train services, which were suspended due to waterlogging of tracks, had been restored on the central railway but trains were running late.
Air services that were suspended during daytime yesterday were also restored.
Flood waters receded in most parts of the city and roads cleared for smooth traffic movement.
At least five persons were killed yesterday, three of whom were washed away in the floods. Asia's largest slums in Dharavi here were submerged while there were reports of incidents of wall collapses. PTI
Centre releases Rs 1346 crore to Orissa for rural dev prog
New Delhi, July 1 (PTI) Aiming to accelerate development in rural areas, the Centre has released Rs 1346 crore to Orissa under various programmes in 2006-07, out of which Rs 762 crore has been allocated under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act covering 19 districts.
During the current fiscal, the Government has so far released Rs 445 crore to Orissa against the central allocation of Rs 614 crore under major allocation based schemes, official sources said.
Under the NREGA, a total 799.34 lakh person days employment were generated, of which 198.06 lakh person days were for SCs, 393.87 for STs, 284.58 for women and 216.41 lakh persons days for others.
A total of 51,521 works were taken up in the state under the programmes, out of which 18,803 works have been completed and 32,718 are ongoing.
During 2007-08, five additional districts have been included under NREGA. Central release is Rs 94.20 crore and total available funds as on April 1, was Rs 263.28 crore, out of which expenditure of Rs 16.52 crore has been reported.
Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the entitlement of Orissa from 2000-01 till 2006-07 was Rs 1,411 crore against which Rs 1804 crore has already been released and Rs 1638.29 crore has been spent by the state government.
Under Bharat Nirman programme, 2312 habitations of 1000 plus population and 2135 habitations of 500 plus population are proposed to be covered and 9993.36 km road is proposed to be constructed under it in Orissa, they said. PTI
India, Kuwait reach deal on aviation row
Dubai, Jul 1 (PTI) India and Kuwait reached an agreement on resolving a dispute on air traffic rights hours before the expiry of a deadline set by the Gulf state to stop Indian national carriers flying there from today.
Under an MoU signed last night by civil aviation authorities of the two countries in Kuwait City after marathon negotiations lasting three days, both sides agreed to increase capacity entitlements of each side from 8,320 seats to 12,000 seats a week.
Kuwaiti carriers were granted access to three additional points of call in India -- Hyderabad and Kolkata with immediate effect and Bangalore with effect from winter 2008.
The two sides also reached an understanding that increases in future traffic rights and capacity entitlements would be to serve only the direct India-Kuwait market and not indirect markets to and from third countries.
India's ambassador to Kuwait M Ganapathi told PTI after the MoU was signed that air services between the two countries will continue freely and unhindered, much to the benefit of thousands of passengers who were fearing a disruption in flights.
"From the passenger and public view point, the MoU has been a big success," he said. The talks were held in a cordial atmosphere and the final result showed the depth of the relations between the two countries, he noted.
Under the agreement, the fifth freedom destinations will apply to the earlier 8,000 seats. PTI
Industry-agriculture debate pointless: Pranab
Kolkata, Jul 1 (PTI) With West Bengal's ruling CPI-M and opposition Trinamool Congress pitted against each other over acquisition of land for industry, the Congress today said such fights were pointless as agriculture and industry were both important for the state's development.
"Debates on the issue are useless. There is no scope for political differences or clash on the issue," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while unveiling a statue of former chief minister Bidhan Chandra Roy at the party office here on the occasion of his 125th birthday.
Recalling that Roy took over as chief minister at a time when West Bengal was plagued by the influx of refugees from East Pakistan, frequent communal riots and militant trade unionism, Mukherjee said despite such difficulties, he could successfully steer the state towards industrialisation.
"After winning the first election in 1953, he enacted legislation abolishing the zamindari system, carried out land reforms and increased agricultural productivity by taking up a series of river irrigation projects. He showed that industry and agriculture are supplementary," Mukherjee said.
In an indirect reference to the killings in Nandigram, state Congress vice-president and CLP leader Manas Bhuinya said the path to industrialisation should not be riddled with bullets.
"The path to be followed must be the one tread by Dr Roy who could successfully develop both agriculture and industry," he said, adding the Congress will launch a state-wide awareness campaign from today about the peaceful industrialisation process followed by Roy. PTI
Bajaj Auto registers 12 pc fall in bike sales in June
New Delhi, July 1 (PTI) Country's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto today reported a 12 per cent dip in its motorcycle sales (including exports) during June at 1,62,253 units as against 1,83,549 units in the corresponding month last year.
The exports during the month, however, grew 42 per cent to 48,675 units, compared to 34,369 units in June last year, BAL said in a statement.
Three-wheeler sales declined by 11 per cent in the month to 22,866 units, down from 25,687 units in the same month last year, while total two and three-wheeler sales dipped by 12 per cent to 1,87,624 units, it said.
For the quarter ended June 30, the company's motorcycle sales (including exports) were down by 13 per cent to 4,93,565 units, compared to 5,68,187 units in the year ago quarter.
Total three-wheeler sales during the quarter under review were up marginally by one per cent to 71,336 units while exports were up 52 per cent to 1,49,804 units.
The company reported a total sales of 5,71,113 units during the first quarter of this fiscal, down 12 per cent from 6,49,496 units reported in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.
It said the first quarter sales have been disappointing and the company is focusing on enhancing market and product mix to safeguard profitability.
The company would launch a new motorcycle platform in September this year which would focus on shifting 100 cc customers to a higher powered bike.
BAL said existing motorcycle owners desirous of repurchase represented over half of all new sales, and there is increasing evidence of their diminishing interest in the 100 cc motorcycles currently available. PTI
Honda plans small car to take on Maruti, Hyundai
Tapukara (Rajasthan), July 1 (PTI) Japanese auto major Honda today said it plans to take on the likes of Maruti's Swift and Hyundai's Getz Prime with its global small car developed with the Indian market in mind, even as it considers a USD-3,000 car as announced by Renault-Nissan 'out of range'.
"Personally, I would be surprised... The USD-3,000 car is out of range," Honda Motor Co Chairman Fatoshi Aoki told reporters here, when asked about the company's view on Renault-Nissan announcement to launch USD-3,000 car in India.
He said the company would have to see if it would be a viable option to develop such a cheap car.
"We cannot just make a small car without Honda-like characteristics," Aoki said at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the second plant of its Indian subsidiary, Honda Siel car India.
On the company's small car, Aoki said although its a global product, the company's priority would be to cater to the Indian market first.
HSCI President Masahiro Takedagawa said Honda's small car, which would be launched in 2009, would qualify for the excise duty benefits given to small cars with a length of four metres with an engine capacity of 1,200 cc for petrol and 1.500 cc for diesel.
"Definitely our aim with the small car is to qualify for the excise duty benefits," he said, while declining to disclose details.
This will pitch Honda's small car against the likes of Maruti Swift and Hyundai Getz, which are currently placed at the premium end of the hatchback segment, he said. PTI
TCS, Infy, Wipro account for USD 9 bn export in FY07
New Delhi, July 1 (PTI) TCS, Infosys and Wipro, the country's top three IT firms, accounted for about USD 9 billion (Rs 39,260 crore) software exports during 2006-07, a Dataquest survey has said.
The exports from top 10 IT companies crossed USD 15 billion (Rs 68,236 crore) during last fiscal, according to the industry survey and analysis by CyberMedia's flagship magazine.
The top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services earned revenues of Rs 15,881 crore during the year at a growth rate of 38 per cent from exporting software and services.
Infosys' revenues stood at Rs 13,025 crore growing by 45 per cent rate while Wipro's revenues touched Rs 10,354 at a growth rate of 39 per cent, the survey said.
Tech Mahindra, which stormed into the top 10 this time, emerged as the largest growing IT company with a growth rate of 135 per cent and revenues at Rs 2,890 crore.
Seven of the Top 10 software firms are Indian multi- national companies. The software and services exports of India development centres of foreign multi-national companies who made to the Top 10 list -- IBM, Cognizant and Oracle -- added up to Rs 13,127 crore. PTI
India, SA cricket match- Umpires to hold inspection at 6.30 pm IST
Belfast, July 1 (PTI) Chances of meaningful play in the deciding ODI between India and South Africa brightened with rain giving way to sunshine here today.
The umpires were to hold an inspection of the field at Stormont ground at 2.00 pm (6.30 pm IST).
The scheduled time of start of play was 10.45 am (3.15 pm IST).
The cut-off time for a 20 overs a side match is 5.30 pm (10.00 pm IST).
The three-match series is tied 1-1 with South Africa winning the first (June 26) and the India the second (June 29) at the same venue. PTI
Anand strengthens his position as World number 1
New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Reigning supreme, Viswanathan Anand has strengthened his position at the top with a whopping 23-point lead against World Champion Vladimir Kramnik in the latest FIDE rankings issued by the International Chess Federation.
The Indian ace, who climbed the top of the ranking charts for the first time in April after upstaging Bulgarian Veseline Topalov, has added six points to be at ELO 2792 in the quarterly updated list.
Topalov's downslide, however, continued as he was placed third behind Kramnik (ELO 2769). Kramnik swapped places with the Bulgarian with the benefit of just one point.
Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine followed at fourth spot after climbing eight places to upstage Russia's Alexander Morozevich to fifth. Ivanchuk gained 33 ELO points to be 2762.
In other significant movements in the top-10 list, Levon Aronian of Armenia slipped three places to eighth, Azerbeijani Teimour Radjabov went down two places to ninth while Dmitry Jakovenko of Russia leaped to 10th spot from 18th. Spanish Alexei Shirov was 11th with the gain of 10 places.
Among other Indians, Krishnan Sasikiran (ELO 2674) fell 14 places to 39 while P Harikrishna gained 12 places to be 46th.
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy, ELO 2572, was at the top among in the women's rankings as Judit Polgar of Hungary (ELO 2707) plays in only men's tournaments.
Dronavalli Harika was the next best Indian at 15th spot while Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman was at 20th place. PTI
Start of India-SA ODI delayed by rain
Belfast, July 1 (PTI) Rain has delayed the start of third and final cricket one-dayer between India and South Africa here today.
The series is tied 1-1. PTI
Dravid, Kumble fail to find place in dream team
Bangalore, July 1 (PTI) Rahul Dravid with the highest batting average (57.46) and Anil Kumble with by far the highest number of Test wickets (552) for India do not figure in the all-time great Indian XI chosen by an elite panel to mark 75 years of Indian Test cricket.
Elegant left-hander Sourav Ganguly, spinners B S Chandrasekhar and Bishen Singh Bedi also do not make it to the team selected by eight former Indian captains and a panel chaired by great off-spinner E A S Prasanna.
To mark 75 years since India played its first cricket match against England in 1932, eight former Indian captains -- G R Vishwanath, Dilip Vengsarkar, S Venkataraghavan, K Srikkanth, Ajit Wadekar, Nari Contractor, Syed Kirmani and Abbas Ali Baig -- were requested to pick their all-time India best Test XI.
From the selections made by the eight ex-captains, a panel consisting of Prasanna, well-known sports journalist Rajan Bala and
Probables for World Twenty20 championship on July 7
Mumbai, Jul 1 (PTI) The 30 probables for the inaugural World Twenty20 Championship in South Africa will be picked by the selection committee here on July 7, the Cricket Board said today.
The selectors, headed by Dilip Vengsarkar, will pick the probables for the Twenty20 World Championship along with the India 'A' team for its tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya, BCCI Chief Executive Officer Ratnakar Shetty said here.
The list of probables will be have to be pruned to 14 names for the tournament in South Africa, a month before the event's commencement on September 11.
The 'A' tour to Zimbabwe and Kenya will commence later this month and a coach and manager for the sqaud will also have to be chosen.
Meanwhile, Shetty said the selection process for the coach of the Indian team was yet to start though a system has already been put in place.
"We will follow the system," said Shetty, adding that no candidate has been identified for the job as yet.
However, the names of former Australian cricketer John Dyon plus a few others are doing the rounds without the BCCI ackowledging that these persons were in the running for the high-profile job. PTI
Cyclone Yemyin leaves around 60 dead, 200,000 homeless in Pak
Karachi, July 1 (PTI) Heavy rains and floods caused by Cyclone Yemyin have left around 60 people dead and some 200,000 people homeless in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, a senior relief official said today.
Provincial Relief Commissioner Ali Gul Kurd told PTI the death toll from heavy rains and flooding around the coastal areas of Balochistan in the last six days had been close to 60 and hundreds of villages were flooded in 10 districts, leaving 200,000 people homeless and stranded.
"The crops and livestock have also been destroyed to a large extent. I would say close to 80 per cent in these affected districts," he said.
Kurd said flash floods yesterday washed away and killed some 30 persons in the Khuzdar district.
This morning, officials reported that four people had died in the Mach district when the walls of a house collapsed, killing a woman and her children.
"The situation is bad and until the weather clears up completely allowing the water to recede, relief operations can not be carried out properly," Kurd said.
He said hundreds of people had taken shelter on mountains, trees and mosque roofs after the floods washed away villages and homes.
"In some places villages are under three feet of water," Kurd said.
The tropical cyclone, Yemyin, hit the coastal areas of Balochistan and the southern Sindh province last Tuesday causing widespread destruction.
Local met officials said they are expecting more rains and flooding in the next 48 hours due to another depression forming over the Bay of Bengal. PTI
Pak madrasa warns of retaliation in case of attack by Rangers
K J M Varma
Islamabad, Jul 1 (PTI) Bracing themselves for a showdown with over 1,000 paramilitary Rangers who have encircled their mosque, radical clerics of Lal Masjid here today warned of retaliatory strikes by its students if Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf ordered any raid.
Reacting to Musharraf's comments that the mosque had well-trained militants and suicide bombers of the banned Jaish-e-Muhammad, the mosque's administrator, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, told reporters here today that any raid would be "forcefully retaliated" by hundreds of his students studying in madrasas attached to the mosque.
"Of course there are no suicide bombers in the mosque. If the President is so well aware of the bombers, he must disclose their names," he said.
"We want to warn him (Musharraf) that in case of an operation against our mosque and the seminary we will put up a very forceful retaliation," he said.
He, however, sidestepped Musharraf's charge that the mosque housed some militants of Jaish. Gazzi and his elder brother, Abdul Aziz, whose slain father has established the masjid, were known for their pro-Taliban rhetoric.
They were also accused of amassing a lot of prime land in Islamabad due to patronage accorded to them by former military ruler Zia ul Haq were known to have strong ties with Jaish, specially its breakaway wing which was held responsible for 2003 suicide attacks on Musharraf. PTI
Discrimination against religious minorities: Pak watchdog
Islamabad, July 1 (PTI) A watchdog body in Pakistan has alleged discrimination against religious minorities, including Hindus and Sikhs, in the registration of voters for the general elections due at the end of the year.
A monitoring report by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), a non-governmental organisation working for minority rights, said the voter lists discriminates against the minorities in the country.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has displayed the voters lists across the country since June 12 to allow the citizens to check and correct their entries.
The monitoring of the list has shown discrimination against the religious minorities, which is likely to jeopardize their civil and political rights. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Parsis have been combined in one list whereas Ahmadis have been put in separate list, the NCJP said.
Jagjit Singh and his family are the only Sikhs in Tharparkar, the home of Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, who have been registered to vote.
There are a total of 2.7 million Hindus living in Sindh with a Sikh minority. There are a total of 405,525 registered voters from district Tharparkar.
Tharparkar is supposed to be a Hindu stronghold. It has 163,316 Hindu voters, 122 Christian and 21 Qadiani voters, according to lists displayed by the election commission.
A number of Christian voters have complained of discrepancies alleging that their names were not registered though they submitted their registration forms.
Afzal Masih of Bahar Colony, Kot Lakhpat in Lahore, was quoted as saying by the Daily Times that he had submitted the forms of his family members, but to no avail. PTI
Hong Kong celebrates 10 years under Chinese sovereignty
Anil K Joseph Beijing, Jul 1 (PTI) President Hu Jintao today led the nation in celebrating 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's peaceful return to Chinese sovereignty, promising Beijing's full support to the former British colony's continued economic growth, social stability and development of democracy.
"The central government will fully support Hong Kong in promoting economic development, improving well-being of the people and developing democracy," Hu said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the third-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
Hong Kong's exchanges and cooperation, and particularly its business ties, with the mainland have grown increasingly closer. With stronger support from the mainland, Hong Kong serves as an important window and bridge for China's economic, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges with the rest of the world, Hu said.
Hong Kong's success over the past 10 years shows that people are fully capable of managing Hong Kong well and sustaining its growth, Hu, also the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) said.
He noted that during the past decade, Hong Kong has maintained its capitalist system and way of life and fully exercised executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including the power of final adjudication as mandated by the Basic Law (constitution).
The former British colony has steadily expanded its relations with other parts of the world. It has remained a free port and an international financial, trade and shipping centre. It has been consistently rated as the most open and free economy and one of the most dynamic regions with the best business environment in the world.
"Hong Kong, an international metropolis, is thriving as never before," Hu said. PTI
11 militants held in Pak with rocket launchers, missiles
Islamabad, July 1 (PTI) Pakistani forces have arrested 11 militants and recovered huge cache of weapons including rocket launchers and missiles in special security operations in the country's restive Balochistan province.
The insurgents were arrested with weapons including 2 rocket launchers with 40 missiles and 23 kg of explosive material in special operations during the last two days in Sui sub division area in Balochistan's Dera Bugti district, the Online News said.
In another operation, the security forces recovered 25 rounds and defused a landmine.
Three suspected Al-Qaeda militants were arrested on the porus Pakistan-Iran border while trying to enter the restive Balochistan province on Friday.
The infiltrators, including two Iraqis and one Iranian, were trying to enter the Taftan area into Balochistan province, the border authorities were quoted as saying by the PakTribune online.
The police had nabbed three militants suspected to be Al-Qaeda activists from southwestern Balochistan region earlier this month. Pakistani security agencies arrested former Taliban defence minister Mullah Obaidullah Akhund from a hotel in Quetta in March.
Pakistan's northern area bordering Afghanistan has been a haven for Islamist militants who have been engaged in violent activities in different parts of the world, including Afghanistan, Chechnya, China and India.
Efforts to flush them out of their hideouts in the tribal areas, where they have received patronage from the local warlords, has put them in direct conflict with the Pakistan Army, which has suffered heavy losses while engaging the militants. PTI
PSUs in Kerala make a turnaround
N Muraleedharan
Thiruvananthapuram, July 01 (PTI): For long dubbed as 'white elephants' eating up public funds, the public sector companies in Kerala are slowly making a turnaround with the LDF government's strategies beginning to show results.
Of the 67 public sector units under Industries Department, 22 this year made operational profits with five of them contributing a modest dividend of Rs.7.49 crore to the government.
The amount may look paltry, but for the ailing state-run industries and public utilities that have accumulated a huge loss of Rs.5706.96 crore, this has come as psychological boost holding the message that all hope is not lost.
Infusion of professionalism, success in bringing workers and trade unions round and strategic partnership with the central PSUs have helped the cash-sapping behemoth to regain some vitality.
According to state Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem, who is known to be personal monitoring and making tireless efforts to improve working of the PSUs, the government's aim is to take the number of profit-making units to at least 40 by the end of 2007-08.
Coming from the CPI-M's trade union wing CITU, Kareem has often said that the government did not have any illusion that it had a magic wand to turn all the units profitable by a single stroke. But, many of them could be saved and sustained through realistic policies that suit the changed times.PTI
Caste-based reservations have helped human development in south India: Book
New Delhi, July 01 (PTI) The unique feature of high rates of human development in the southern states of the country can be attributed to the encouragement given by these states to educate people through provision of caste reservations in educational institutions, according to a new book.
This (reservations) has not only increased the urge of the lower castes to educate but also helped to improve other human development indicators, the book, 'Caste-based Reservations and Human Development in India' by K.S.Chalam says. Chalam, a professor of Economics at the Andhra University is member of the Union Public Service Commission.
"Allowing individuals to vote irrespective of their caste is not the be-all and end-all of democracy. Therefore the founding fathers of the constitution had incorporated caste-based reservations as one of the methods of achieving it. However, no attempts seem to have been made to assess the impact of this strategy in achieving the expected goals", the author says.
"It is ironic that whenever an effort is made to review it, people are divided into groups as antagonists and protagonists. A dispassionate judgement on this important issue has remained an apparition", the author says.
Citing UNDP figures, the author says the higher human development index (HDI) in Kerala and Tamilnadu is found to be equal to that of middle-income countries. The achievement of high levels of educational and health indicators in Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka suggest that pure economic factors alone are not responsible for these accomplishments.
(about the book: 'Caste-based Reservations and Human Development in India', by K.S.Chalam, Sage Publications, pages 210, price Rs.275/-). PTI
Digest of Domestic news for week June 23 -June 29
Digest of domestic news for the week June 23-Jun 29, 2007 Saturday Hyderabad: Incessant rains and strong winds wreak havoc in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa and parts of Maharashtra, claiming 70 lives and prompting authorities to evacuate thousands of people even as the army joined rescue operations in worst-hit Kurnool district.
New Delhi: UPA-Left candidate Pratibha Patil files her nomination papers for the Presidential poll, the first nominee of a major political combine to enter the July 19 election fray.
Guwahati: Hours before the start of the Asian Athletics Grand Prix here, the proscribed ULFA explodes a bomb in front of a mosque situated near a commercial area, killing at least four and injuring 20 others.
Sunday Mumbai/Hyderabad: Torrential rains lashes Karnataka and Maharashtra, throwing life out of gear while the situation improved in worst-hit Andhra Pradesh and Kerala even as the toll in these states mounted to over 130.
Bhubaneswar: The 18-month-old son of a diamond polishing firm's manager, who was kidnapped from Surat last week, was found by police near a temple in Orissa's Cuttack district.
Puskhar (Raj): Holding Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje responsible for the death of 26 people during the recent Gurjar quota stir, the national-level mahapanchayat of the community demands her immediate resignation and also called for cases to be registered against those involved in the police firing.
Monday Sultanpur (UP): Five persons -- three prisoners and two jail guards -- were killed and over fifty people injured, six of them seriously, when inmates of the district jail here clashed with security personnel.
New Delhi: The NDA suffers a setback with Shiv Sena, oldest ideological ally of BJP, breaking ranks by coming out in support of UPA-Left Presidential nominee Pratibha Patil giving a jolt to Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat who filed his nomination unfazed by the arithmetic heavily loaded against him.
Pampady (Ker): Five HIV positive children in Mar Dionysius Primary school in Kottayam district face a boycott with most of the parents today refusing to send their wards to the institution and even threatening to withdraw the kids.
New Delhi: Seeking to resolve differences in the bilateral air services agreement, India and Kuwait will hold discussions before July 1, when the middle-east nation's decision to bar Air India and Indian from flying to that country will take effect.
Tuesday Patna/Ranchi: Normal life was hit in Naxal strongholds in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh by a 48-hour economic blockade called by the CPI-Maoist to protest the government's economic policies even as the rebels targeted railway tracks at several places.
New Delhi: Facing flak over the visit to Indian waters by the American nuclear-powered USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, the government today allayed concerns over environmental hazards by saying the warship is not known to be carrying nuclear warheads.
Patna/Ranchi: Normal life was hit in Naxal strongholds in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh by a 48-hour economic blockade called by the CPI-Maoist to protest the government's economic policies even as the rebels targeted railway tracks at several places. Wednesday Chandigarh/Amritsar: Acting on a court directive, Punjab government gives the go-ahead for the arrest and prosecution of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on the charge of hurting religious sentiments of Sikhs as the Sikh clergy rejected his fresh apology.
Pune: The multi-crore fake stamp paper case takes a dramatic turn with the former Mumbai Police Commissioner R S Sharma being discharged by a local court and the key accused Abdul Karim Telgi expresses his "desire" to plead guilty.
New Delhi: With hardly a week to go for a precious letter written by Mahatma Gandhi days before his assassination under the auctioner's hammer, government has stepped in with efforts to acquire it but Christie's says it will go ahead with the sale.
Thursday New Delhi: The 17th century Mughal marvel, Red Fort, has joined the ranks of 26 other Indian sites, including the Taj Mahal, to be included in UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites.
New Delhi: India will make a bid to acquire a letter of Mahatma Gandhi written 19 days before his assassination, which is up for auction in London on July three.
Pune: Abdul Karim Telgi, the kingpin of the multi-crore fake stamp scam, is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 13 years and fined over Rs 100 crore by a court here after he dramatically broke down while pleading guilty and seeking leniency.
New Delhi: World Health Organisation announces a special award for Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss for his contributions to control tobacco consumption in the country.
Friday
New Delhi: The NDA seeks action by the Election Commission (EC) against UPA-Left presidential nominee Pratibha Patil, alleging she had given her consent to the Congress to seek disqualification of Rajya Sabha member Natwar Singh for supporting rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
New Delhi/Jalpaiguri: India rejects the US contention that NAM has "lost its meaning", with the government and political parties stressing in unison the continued relevance of the movement for promoting democracy in the world order.
New Delhi: The much-awaited pact on the 7.4 billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline is likely to be delayed by at least a couple of months as New Delhi and Islamabad have opposed seller Tehran's last minute changes in agreement on pricing.
Pune: Fines of over Rs 251.26 crore -- perceived as unprecedented in legal circles -- have been imposed on fake stamp paper scam mastermind Abdul Karim Telgi by a special court here. PTI
Kaziranga National Park struggles with swelling rhino numbers
Sukhendu Bhattacharya
Kaziranga, Jun 29 (PTI) At a time when conservationists world over are fighting to preserve the highly endangered one horned rhino, the authorities of Kaziranga National Park are grappling with a different problem-- to manage the over populated species.
According to the last 2005 census, the Kaziranga National Park, in upper Assam, a world heritage site, and taken as a success story in rhino management, has a total 1,855 of the one horned rhinos.
Considering the unique terrain of the flood-prone park along which the mighty river Brahmaputra flows, the population has become a bit too much for the park authorities to handle at ease.
"For the tourists it is a matter of delight that hardly within a minute's foray into the park they get to see the majestic animal but for us management and protecting it from the poachers is posing some problem", Park Director Surendra Nath Buragohain says.
The area of the park has been doubled from 430 sq km to 860 sq km but the existing staff strength including the forest guards has not increased correspondingly putting additional pressure on the staff, he says.
"The unique forest growth (of elephant grass) is also a factor and the perennial problem also adds to the woes making it difficult to maintain tight vigil", the director says. PTI
Civil service no longer appeals to the youth: IAS Couple
New Delhi, Jun 28 (PTI) Civil service which was once considered as an elite service and the 'steel frame of India' no longer appeals to the youth as before says a senior IAS officer couple.
"A career in the administrative services was earlier a most admired and popular option. The change in perception that has come about now is not only because of government's role is reducing in every sphere.
"In fact, renumeration, though never the most attractive aspect of the job, has turned out to be the biggest reason for the change in perception - the salary structure, when compared to that of the private sector after liberalisation, is ludicrous. Cut out the frills and consider the essentials, and it will boil down to a choice between earning one's bread and illusory prestige," writes Leena Nandan, Director, Ministry of Tourism and Jiwesh Nandan, Director, Ministry of Power, Government of India in their book, 'How to Placate an Angry Naga'.
They further point out that, "If the present stage of affairs continues then only those who can't make the best of competitive opportunities will opt for this career in the coming years." The 1987 batch couple stops short of showing the murky undercurrents of the Indian Administrative Service while frequently bordering on their reflective stories featuring whimsical bosses and autocratic politicians, overzealous juniors and suspicious spouses besides other aspects of the service. PTI
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Sensex: 14650.51, +145.94
The sensex closed at 14650.51, up 145.94
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______Forex_______
1 U.S. $ = 40.525 INR
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1 Singapore $ = 26.480 INR
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1 Euro = 54.883 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 11.134 INR
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