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Vice-prez poll: Left to field candidate acceptable to UPA,UNPA
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) Playing down the UNPA's decision to field its own nominee in the vice-presidential election, the Left is working towards fielding a nominee acceptable to both the UPA and the Third Front.
CPI general secretary A B Bardhan told this to reporters here and categorically dismissed speculation that he was a candidate in the August 10 poll.
"I am grateful to those who have suggested that (his name). But I am the general secretary of the CPI which does not allow its worker or its general secretary to be hijacked for such purposes. I have to conduct the Party Congress in Hyderabad in March next year," Bardhan said in reply to questions on the issue.
He asserted: "I am not a candidate...Do you think there will be consensus on a person belonging to the CPI or the CPI-M? My name will not come, you can rest assured." Bardhan, who met his CPI-M counterpart Prakash Karat today, said the four Left parties, who support the ruling coalition from outside, would meet here on Thursday to decide on the vice-presidential poll and other issues.
On the UNPA's statement that the Left should first withdraw support to the UPA before it could expect the regional grouping's support, Bardhan said, "We can't break our relationship (with the UPA) just because of their statement. Moreover, it was a statement only by (AIADMK chief) Jayalalithaa and not the UNPA as a whole." Maintaining that the Left would strive to put up a non- Congress candidate, he said, "The Left will take the initiative to propose the name. We will try to see that all UPA allies reach a consensus and we will be happy if we can bring the UNPA as well on board." PTI
LoC should be converted into Line of Peace: PM
Jammu, July 15 (PTI) Making it clear that there was no question of division or fresh partition of Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today hoped the militancy-hit state becomes a symbol of cooperation between India and Pakistan and the Line of Control a line of peace.
"Our dialogue with Pakistan seeks to end the bitter legacy of the last 60 years, and begin a new chapter in our bilateral relations. I hope and believe that Jammu and Kashmir can, one day, become a symbol of India-Pakistan cooperation rather than of conflict," the Prime Minister said at a convocation at the Jammu University.
"As I have stated earlier, borders cannot be changed, but they can be made irrelevant. There can no be question of divisions or fresh partitions, but the Line of Control can become a line of peace with a freer flow of ideas, goods, services and people," he said after receiving the Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa).
The Prime Minister, however, said this could happen once terrorism and violence end permanently. "...Real political power in a democracy comes from the ballot box, not the barrel of a gun. We are firm in our resolve to fight terrorism and to end the black mail of terror in this peace-loving State.
"We are committed to winning the hearts and minds of all. We will never allow anyone to stop the heartbeat of peace-loving people in whatever cause," he said.
Singh said the Centre would continue its dialogue process with Pakistan "despite difficulties" as it genuinely believed that there was no alternative but to work for building peace. PTI
Govt: Pvt sect has failed to exploit defence procurement policy
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) Rebutting criticism that the private sector was not being involved in defence production, the government has said private industry has in fact failed to exploit the new defence procurement and offset policy which encourage formation of joint ventures.
"There is no distinction between public and private sector or preferential treatment for PSUs .... The policy on FDI in defence provides for a cap of 26 per cent .... In fact, Indian industry has not been able to exploit this opportunity adequately," Minister of State for Defence Production Rao Inderjeet Singh has said.
In an interview appearing in the forthcoming issue of the premier defence journal "Indian Defence Review", he said the offset policy was "likely to encourage formation of joint ventures as that would enable investment by foreign companies for production of items which they may need not only for their own use but for export to third countries also." Observing that there was no rethink on changing the policy at present, Singh said the government "does not have any plans of having a fresh policy for taking up new initiatives, including liberalisation of licensing regime.
"There will probably be no occasion for liberalising the regime as products produced for defence would need to be carefully monitored from the security angle. This is the practice the world over and India is no exception," he said.
Singh was responding to questions in the context of assertions by defence procurement expert Maj Gen (retd) Mrinal Suman that in "all deals" where transfer of technology was negotiated, defence PSUs were nominated recipients "even if a private sector company is better placed" in terms of infrastructure and absorbing new technology.PTI
Wipro gives higher returns to US investors
New Delhi, July 15 (PTI) Shares of Wipro, whose Chairman Azim Premji has been named among the world's greatest entrepreneurs of all times by BusinessWeek, has given a return of over 25 per cent to company's investors in US in one year.
Wipro's scrip, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has soared to 15.78 dollar at the end of June from 12.59 dollar in the year-ago period.
However, on the Bombay Stock Exchange, the IT major's share has made a gain of just four per cent over a year. The scrip closed at Rs 518.20 at the end of June this year as compared to Rs 496 in the same period previous year.
Wipro's share settled at Rs 512.60 last week, while its ADRs settled at 15.86 dollars at the NYSE on July 13.
The company started off as a vegetable oil firm and has since diversified to become a leading global player in IT services.
Premji has been the Chairman of Wipro Ltd from 1966 when he took over the company after his return from Stanford. He founded the Azim Premji Foundation in the year 2001, with an aim to make tangible impact on identified social issues through education, BusinessWeek said.
The Foundation is working with 15 state governments and is engaged with 20,000 government-run schools reaching about 2.5 million children.
The US magazine named Premji in the 'Top 30 All Time Entrepreneurs' list, which honours the ideas and innovation of the world's 30 most influential people. The list includes 15th century explorer Admiral Zheng H to present day business leaders like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Michael Dell. PTI
GDP expected to grow at 9.2 pc in 2007-08: CII
New Delhi, July 15 (PTI) Indian economy is expected to show a marginal decline in GDP growth to 9.2 per cent in the current fiscal from 9.4 per cent in 2006-07 with services sector and industry maintaining the momentum, CII has said.
According to the chamber, the agriculture sector would show a moderate three per cent growth, against 2.7 per cent in 2006-07.
Industry and services sector are expected to grow at 9.4 per cent and 11.2 per cent respectively during 2007-08.
"On the whole, CII expects the GDP growth to be 9.2 per cent during 2007-08, with agriculture growing at 3 per cent, industry at 9.4 per cent and services at 11.2 per cent," the chamber said in its 'state of the economy' report.
The Indian economy had registered a 9.4 per cent GDP growth in 2006-07, highest in the last 18 years, due to a stellar performance by manufacturing and services sectors.
In its quarterly analysis of economy for the Jan-March period, the chamber said in spite of appreciating rupee impacting exports, country's GDP grew at 9.1 per cent primarily led by 19.35 per cent growth in corporate earnings.
It said appreciating rupee had a negative impact on profits of textile and leather sectors during the fourth quarter with profit margin expected to erode further to 10.4 per cent during the next six months.
Service sector companies registered a 45.68 per cent growth in profits compared to 10.32 per cent growth in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Manufacturing sector, however, reported a slowdown in profits during the quarter to 7.91 per cent from 15.17 per cent in Q4 2005-06. PTI
Adidas, Nike take gym route to woo women in India
New Delhi, July 15 (PTI) As Indian women become more health conscious, multinational sportswear brands Adidas and Nike are working out with gymnasiums to make ladies loosen their purse strings more.
Besides taking up targeted advertising and investing more on campaigns through niche women-oriented magazines, Adidas has tied up with gyms to tap women customers.
"We are in the process of developing special relationships with high-profile gyms. Also, we have roped in physical instructors such as Vesna Jacob, who would educate and motivate women to use our products," Adidas India Marketing Pvt Ltd Director (Marketing) Hartwin Feddersen told PTI.
Similarly, rival Nike has also taken up the gym route to reach the women customers.
"Based on the kind of consciousness which has developed among Indian women towards health and fitness, we have got into association with some gyms in the country," Nike India Director (Marketing) Sanjay Gangopadhyay said.
He said the company was using these gyms as touch points where people are educated and advised about the right kind of footwear and outfits for various kinds of exercises.
Some of the gyms Nike has tied up with include FitnessOne Gold's Gym and Chisel Gym.
"All these fitness chains have their individual plans for expansion which would help in building the Nike brand in the country," Gangopadhyay said.
Feddersen said currently, sales from women articles in India accounted for less than 20 per cent of the total sales.
"But we expect it to reach the Asia Pacific average of 25 per cent by 2010," he added. PTI
Noida SEZ likely to touch Rs 10,000-cr export in 2 yrs
New Delhi, July 15 (PTI) The Noida Special Economic Zone, the country's second-largest functional SEZ, is aiming to touch exports of Rs 10,000 crore and generate over 50,000 jobs in the next two years, a top official of the zone said.
"We exported goods and services worth Rs 6,893 crore last year and are hopeful of achieving the Rs 10,000-crore mark in the next two years," Noida SEZ Development Commissioner S C Panda told PTI.
The 310-acre SEZ exports gems and jewellery, leather products, garments, software, electronic products and engineering goods and employs about 30,000 skilled and non- skilled workers in its 170 units. Noida SEZ is the second- largest among 10 zones set up by the central government, the first being SEEPZ SEZ in Mumbai with Rs 11,000-crore turnover.
About the action plan to achieve the target, he said: "We have maintained the high export growth in the past and would try to sustain it as most of our units are trying to increase their export target." Panda said 38 units that were earlier closed down due to some problems would be operational soon as many exporters have shown interest in operating from the zone.
"Though gems and jewellery segment dominates the zone, recently we were approached by new players like manufacturers of anti-theft devices for cars, life saving devices in emergency situations and likewise," he said.
However, the unit approval committee would examine the proposals before giving nod to new companies. Technical viability, marketing tie-ups and financial position of these exporters would be looked into to ensure that the units meet the criteria, he said. PTI
I am nowhere near the final stop yet: Tendulkar
London, July 15 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar says his opting out of the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships does not signal a possible imminent retirement from other forms of the game as well, at least for the time being.
Ever since India's disastrous World Cup campaign in the Caribbean earlier this year, there has been calls for Tendulkar to hang up his boots.
With captain Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman also in the mid-30s, critics and former captains have stressed on the urgent need for blooding youngsters.
And when Tendulkar, 34, along with Dravid and Ganguly, told the selectors that they should not be considered for the Twenty-20 Championships in South Africa in September, it prompted the media to debate about the end of an era.
But the record breaking batsman himself says retirement is the last thing in his mind at the moment.
"I have kept things very open. I don't want to divide my energies in various directions. I just want to focus on playing cricket," Tendulkar told 'The Sunday Times' here.
"I have
It would be difficult to convince touring teams, admits PCB
Karachi, Jul 15 (PTI) After insisting that the Australian security delegation's visit was a routine affair, the Pakistan Cricket Board now admits that it would be hard to convince the touring teams for playing here in the wake of Red Mosque operation in Islamabad.
"It would not be wrong to say we are a bit worried. Because in the past we have faced problems with touring teams on security issues and we know how difficult it can become to convince them to come and play in our country," a PCB official told PTI on condition of anonymity.
A four-member Australian security delegation will arrive in Pakistan tomorrow -- the same day the Board announces a new coach for the team, who is expected to be former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson.
The official conceded that if the security situation worsened in the coming days then the Board might have to provide more guarantees and assurances to the new coach and also the South African team, which has agreed to play in Karachi and Peshawar.
"We know they monitor the situation in our country very closely and already we know the Australian government has issued an advisory to its citizens to avoid traveling to Pakistan.
"We might even face problems with South Africa if the situation gets worse. But we are confident things will be under control in the next few days," the official said. PTI
ODIs, twenty20 are fine if they keep Test cricket alive: Kapil
London, Jul 15 (PTI) Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev has rated Test cricket as the "ultimate" but said it was fine to play the shorter versions -- the one-dayers and the twenty20s -- to generate funds for keeping the five-day matches alive.
"As long as Test cricket remains in the world, I think it is the ultimate. And if you have to play Twenty20 and 50-over cricket to generate money to play Test cricket, I think that is fine," Kapil said.
The former Indian captain said the International Cricket Council should also keep in mind the interest of Tests before making the calender.
"The ICC should always make a calendar which keeps Test cricket alive. It is the ultimate test for a cricketer of class," he was quoted as saying by 'The Guardian'.
Kapil, who led India to 1983 World Cup glory, praised the 50-overs a side game for making cricket more result oriented and doing away with the mindset of draw.
"They used to say that the 50-over game was pyjama cricket and just slogging and eventually it became much bigger than Test cricket.
"I think one-day cricket has helped Test cricket with the fielding, running between the wickets and people getting in the habit of winning and losing matches.
"The mindset of the draw has gone, it's now a case of 'Let's win it'. It has led to far more results in Test cricket in the last 10 years." PTI
USD 660-million deal in sexual abuse cases in Los Angeles
New York, July 15 (PTI) The Catholic Church in Los Angeles has reached a whopping USD 660-million deal with more than 500 people alleging sexual abuse by priests, according to plaintiffs' lawyers.
"Everything just fell into place," the lead plaintiff lawyer Raymond P. Boucher, who confirmed the deal, was quoted as saying by 'The New York Times' today.
If approved, the deal will be by far the largest payout made by any single diocese since the clergy sexual scandals first erupted in Boston in 2002. It will dwarf the USD 85 million paid for 552 claims by Archdiocese of Boston.
The settlement would be announced tomorrow though any agreement would require a judge's approval, another lawyer for the plaintiffs said.
"The archdiocese will be in court on Monday," the newspaper reported, quoting the Director of Media Relations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Tod M. Tamberg.
The deal, which archdiocese officials have said would require the sale of church property, appeared to bring the drawn-out legal wrangling to a close.
"This will resolve all of the cases against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles," said Katherine K. Freberg, another lawyer who represents 109 plaintiffs. "It's a global settlement," she said.
However, when contacted, a lawyer for the archdiocese declined to comment. PTI
10 mn pounds security operation to shield Harry Potter secret
London, July 15 (PTI) A 10 million pounds security operation featuring an army of guards, satellite tracking systems and draconian legal contracts has swung into action to prevent any leak of details of the seventh and final book about the tales of boy wizard Harry Potter.
As millions around the world eagerly await the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" Saturday midnight, only its author J K Rowling and some 20 other people, including the book's editors and illustrators know Harry's fate.
When the finished manuscript was taken by hand from London to New York, the lawyer for the American publisher, Scholastic, sat on it during the flight. With each successive Potter book, security has grown. Nothing has come close, however, to the arrangements for the finale, The Sunday Telegraph observed today.
London-based Bloomsbury, which publishes the Potter books in Britain, has hired secure sites across the country to house the book prior to distribution early this week. It is understood that several dozen security teams will protect the sites round the clock. Experts say security staff will earn up to 30 pounds an hour with a guard dog, up to 20 pounds without.
Print factory workers in Britain have been threatened with the sack if they leak any details, while German publishers banned mobile phones and even packed lunches in the printing plant. Some employees reportedly had to work in near-darkness to prevent them reading the book. PTI
Bangla-India talks on water likely in August
Dhaka, Jul 15 (PTI) India and Bangladesh are likely to hold talks in New Delhi next month to finalise the recommendation for striking an interim deal on Teesta water sharing.
The water resources secretaries of India and Bangladesh will hold the meeting in the Indian capital from August 7-9, subject to New Delhi's confirmation of the schedule, media reports said.
"The eighth meeting of the joint committee of experts of the Joint River Commission is scheduled to be held in the first week of August," water resources secretary Syed Mohammad Zobaer told 'New Age'.
The secretary-level meeting, supposed to take place every six months alternately in the two capitals, has remained stalled for about three years after its seventh meeting in Dhaka in September, 2004.
The joint committee of experts, led by the water resources secretaries of the two countries, is assigned for reviewing the flows of seven major common rivers out of 52 that fall into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh territory, and to make their recommendations for sharing of water.
Bangladesh is criss-crossed by 230 major rivers mostly originating from India while watersharing in common rivers remained to be an outstanding issue of the two neighbours.
"But we have moved the bilateral ties to a trajectory, when we can start negotiations on the water issues," foreign affairs adviser of the interim cabinet Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told a water conference in Dhaka yesterday. PTI
Four civilians killed in Lanka, hours after Army-LTTE clash
Colombo, July 15 (PTI) Four civilians were killed in northern Sri Lanka today, hours after security forces clashed with Tamil Tiger rebels, leaving 10 soldiers dead and 32 others injured, in the same region.
The civilians were gunned down in Vavuniya district where security forces and the Tamil Tigers traded long-range fire throughout yesterday, a senior police officer said.
Ten soldiers were killed while 32 others sustained injuries when government troops clashed with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) across the de facto frontline in Vavuniya district, the Defence Ministry said here.
However, in a statement, the LTTE said it killed at least 16 soldiers and wounded another 45 for the loss of three of their own fighters.
Military sources confirmed that about 10 soldiers were killed while several others were unaccounted for.
The military also called in air support and deployed war planes to bomb suspected Tamil Tiger positions, the Ministry said, adding rebel casualties were believed to be high. It, however, did not give the exact details.
The latest clash came three days after the Lankan military said it had captured the Tamil Tiger bastion in the east of the island country on Wednesday. PTI
Bangalore in intl limelight again, this time for wrong reasons
M. Siddaraju
Bangalore, Jul 15 (PTI): Bangalore, priding itself on the Silicon Valley of India tag, has once again hogged the international limelight, albeit for a wrong season with links to the city in the failed UK terror plot emerging.
The newly emerging Knowledge capital of the country, whose identity globally is also synonymous with its achievements in the IT field, had its reputation dented to some extent, when detectives in U K and Australia picked up Ahmed brothers-- Kafeel, Sabeel and their Cousin, Dr Mohammed Haneef, as suspects of the Glasgow airport foiled terror strikes.
As the news broke out that the trio were taken into custody, Bangaloreans, were in for a rude shock.
Hitherto, it was known that Bangalore which houses IT behemoths like Infosys, Wipro and Intel, besides other global giants, was on the terrorists radar.
But none including the city police had an idea that the fastest growing city in Asia had given education to some people who allegedly were behind the terror plots or were hand-in glove with terror outfits.
Karnataka Home Minister M P Prakash told PTI that it was a fact that Central Intelligence Agencies had alerted the state that some of its landmark buildings like Vidhana Soudha, Vikas Soudha, High Court, defence installations and IT firms were likely target of militants.
Apart from prominent IT companies, the City is also home a number of Defence Research and academic institutions like Indian Institute of Science and Indian Institute of Management, ISRO and many more. PTI
Digest of domestic news for the week July 7 to July 13, 2007
Saturday Bangalore: The parents of Kafeel Ahmed, held for a terror plot in Britain, tell police here that the man who tried to drive a burning jeep into Glasgow airport was their son even as sleuths focused on e-mail and mobile communications of the three Indians detained in connection with the foiled attacks.
Bhagalpur: A trial court sentences 14 convicts, including one in absentia, to life imprisonment in the 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots' case for the massacre of 116 Muslims at Logain village.
Sunday New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, a socialist who strongly opposed policies of liberalisation and personality politics and headed a minority government at the Centre for a brief while, died here after a prolonged battle with cancer of the blood.
New Delhi: Propelled by some vigorous voting by Indians, the Taj Mahal, one of the most beautiful man-made marvels, today found pride of place in a new list of seven wonders polled by people around the globe.
New Delhi: The Election Commission has decided to allow MLAs in "exceptional cases" to cast their vote in the presidential poll at a booth at any state capital other than their own state if they apply for permission 96 hours before polling.
Monday Mumbai: As many as five people feared dead after a supply vessel of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation sinks off the Mumbai coast.
New Delhi: Taking stock of the investigations into last year's Mumbai serial bomb blasts, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says the government will not rest till the guilty are punished. Friday New Delhi: Amid worldwide concerns over global warming, the government decides to come out with a national policy soon to deal with climate change and launch a major country-wide afforestation campaign from next month.
New Delhi: AIIMS Director P Venugopal files a petition in the High Court challenging the appointment of a Chief Protocol and Public Relations Officer for the institute by Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court refuses to stay the orders allowing extradition of Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, accused of raping and killing British teenager Hannah Foster, to the United Kingdom. PTI
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