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Army relents, will cooperate with police on Siachen scam
Sumir Kaul
New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Faced with a controversy over the pilferage of food and clothes meant for troops on the Siachen glacier, the army has finally agreed to cooperate with Jammu and Kashmir Police after its attempts to thwart the probe into the matter were countered by the state administration.
The army has said it will cooperate with police once two courts of inquiry, initiated by it into the pilferage cases, were completed. Police could summon the concerned officials if they were not satisfied with the army's report, sources said.
The army had filed a strong complaint against Leh's Senior Superintendent of Police Alok Kumar for his alleged aggressive attitude towards its personnel deployed in the Himalayan town located in north Kashmir.
Telephone calls were made to senior government officials even from the Udhampur-based Northern Command, responsible for the whole of Jammu and Kashmir, complaining against Kumar, a 1997 batch IPS officer from the state cadre.
However, after the army found no takers for its complaints, it gave an assurance to police that it would cooperate in the probe once the two courts of inquiry were completed, sources in Jammu and Kashmir's home department said.
Copies of the findings of the two inquiries will be handed over to police and after this, if required, the concerned army officials will be produced before police at Leh for questioning, the sources said.
A spokesman at army headquarters said one inquiry was at an advanced stage and the other one would be completed once the chief judicial magistrate gave the army permission to examine five civilian witnesses. PTI
IAF choppers may be used for anti-insurgency operations
New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) After equipping its helicopter squadrons in the east with night vision devices, the IAF is shifting its focus to units in the western region where such aircraft could be used for casualty evacuation and also come to the aid of troops in militancy-hit areas like Jammu and Kashmir.
The helicopters of the Indian Air Force, which have won laurels over casualty evacuation missions during the day in the militancy-hit state, could now be used during the night as well for transporting injured soldiers, a move that is expected to give a fillip to the morale of troops engaged in countering insurgents, official sources said.
The IAF has been proposing to the government that its assets could be used in low-intensity warfare, and making the helicopters available for night-time missions is being seen as an opportunity to work out modalities for involving air warriors in counter-insurgency operations, they said.
Helicopter gunships and fighter jets of the IAF were instrumental in breaking the backbone of the Pakistani intrusion in the Kargil sector in 1999, forcing the intruders to withdraw from strategic heights they had occupied.
The IAF was silent on the issue officially but sources in the armed forces said a proposal had been sent to the government for the use of air power in counter-insurgency operations. PTI
Banks profitability likely to dip in 2007-08: Study
New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) The Reserve Bank's tight monetary policy is likely to bring down the profitability of banks by 20 basis points during the current financial year.
There could be a decline in the net profitability margin (a ratio of net profitability and net revenue) of banks to 1.4 per cent in 2007-08 compared to 1.6 per cent last year, according to a study conducted by Crisil for FICCI.
The monetary measures taken by RBI, such as increase in repo rates by 1.75 per cent in the last couple of years and hike in cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 2 per cent, have increased the overall cost of resources for banks, the study said.
The cost of deposits witnessed a sharp increase of around 60 basis points in 2006-07, it said, adding that the decline in SLR by around 3 per cent is no longer sufficient to fund the credit growth.
The study observed that given the situation, banks scramble to mobilise deposits to fund the high level of credit growth and the cost of resources is bound to move northward in 2007-08.
It pointed out that during 2000-01 to 2004-05, banks reported increase in profitability margins, backed by steady interest spreads, reducing operating expenses and stable but low fee-based incomes. The net profitability margin (NPM) of the banking system touched the peak level in a decade of 1.83 per cent in 2004-05. PTI
Coke plans new brands, local flavours in bottled water segment
New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Soft drinks major Coca Cola India is mulling an expansion in the country's over Rs 1,500 crore bottled water segment with introduction of global brands including 'Bonaqua', besides developing local flavoured products such as 'pudina' and mango water.
"Our big focus is on water which is one of the fastest growing category. We are looking at a rapid expansion in juices and water segment and evaluating options for the energy sports drinks segment," Coca Cola India Vice-President (Operations) Sumanta Dutta told PTI.
Dutta declined to divulge details on future plans, but said the company was continuously evaluating its product portfolio to provide consumers with right beverage solutions for every occasion.
"Currently we sell Schweppes in select markets and Kinley brand of packaged water in India. The market for packaged water is growing very fast and there does exist a market for a new brand of packaged water between Kinley and Schweppes. However, what brands eventually gets launched is still being evaluated," he said.
Sources, however, said the company is considering launch of bottled water brand, 'Bonaqua', to be placed between Kinley and Schweppes. The sources also said that besides bringing existing international brands into India, Coke is also conducting tests at its Hyderabad research facility to develop products to suit the local palate.
On the lines of 'Maaza Aam Panna' and flavoured Limca, which the company tried out successfully, it is also looking at developing flavoured water for India such as pudina (mint) and mango, they added. PTI
Lanka retracts report it set up defence committee with India
Colombo, Sept 9 (PTI) Sri Lanka today withdrew a government report which claimed it was setting up a high-level committee with India to handle defence-related matters.
"The committee was the outcome of the discussions the Sri Lankan delegation held with their counterparts in New Delhi on September 3 and 4," the president's office had said in a statement posted on a government website on Thursday.
However, the same website today apologised to the delegations of both countries as well as the media for the incorrect report.
"The PRIU (Policy Research and Information Unit of the president's office) is informed that there was no decision among those who participated in these discussions to establish an Indo-Lanka High Level Committee on Defence as stated in our report, which was based on an incorrect interpretation of information on this matter.
"The PRIU regrets this error and apologises to the members of the Sri Lanka delegation and the Indian officials they had discussions with, and to the media, in this regard," a statement said.
The retraction came after local media reports said India had not agreed to set up any joint defence committee with Sri Lanka. PTI
India to remain excluded from APEC until at least 2010
Melbourne, Sept 9 (PTI) India, seeking entry into the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, will have to wait for at least another three years as the group's leaders have decided to take up the issue of membership in 2010.
The APEC leaders agreed to look at the membership issue in 2010, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said at the end of the club's annual summit in Sydney.
Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mitsuo Sakaba, however, said the leaders were undecided between a three-year and five-year extension of a moratorium preventing new members joining the group.
But the Australian leader, the host of the summit, said the three years' timeframe was agreed to by the members.
The decision means India will have to wait until at least 2010, when Japan hosts the meeting, to see if it can join the Asia-Pacific club. India is among 11 countries seeking membership of the group.
Aside from India, other potential APEC candidates include Colombia, Ecuador, Macau, Mongolia, Pakistan, Panama, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Viewing India as an emerging "great power", the leaders of US, Australia and Japan during their security dialogue yesterday on the sideline of the APEC summit had expressed keenness to strengthen ties with New Delhi.
Howard today also said that the APEC summit will be held next year in Peru, then in Singapore, Japan, US and Russia.
APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. PTI
Rumours of my affair with Raj Kapoor were his creation: Vyjantimala
New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Gossip about her alleged romance with Raj Kapoor made her quite unhappy as, while the showman enjoyed the subsequent publicity, the media never sought her opinion, says the yesteryears actress Vyjantimala Bali.
"...During and after the release of Sangam, the fact of the matter was that RK was far too enamoured of getting publicity and grab the headlines. And the included the rumours that I was romantically involved with him.
"It was all the manipulative doing of RK banner's PR Drive and unnecessarily this nonsense spread like a wild fire...," she shares in her autobiography, 'Bonding...A Memoir'.
"No body from the media bothered to seek my point of view. This was absolutely baseless and made me angry," she writes.
"It hurt him and me in equal measures as like others even his family thought it to be true. But as far as my clean image and reputation was concerned, it remained untouched." Recalling another such instance she says, as far as publicity of a film was concerned RK was "very self centred". "He would go out of the way to hype it to the hilt, which was good for the film but not for me. The RK bandwagon even went to the extent of saying that I was somehow related to the Maharaja of Mysore. What nonsense!" Talking of RK's reputation of being a lady's man was an outcome his publicity stunt only. "I had observed during those four years of the making Sangam that RK was not obsessed about women, like he was made out to be. PTI
Orissa will pave way for industrial revolution: Minister
Bhubneswar, Sep 9 (PTI) Orissa will soon come out with a SEZ policy keeping the social and business interests in mind.
"SEZ is a very complex word involving lot of issues. Nevertheless one just cannot ignore the benefits of having SEZs in the state. At the same time, there are some issues to be sorted out. The earlier SEZ policy of the centre had many shortcomings and hence we would come out with a policy which would be acceptable to all," Biswabhusan Harichandan, Minister, Industries told a group of visiting journalists.
With incidents of Singur and Nadigram in West Bengal along with Kalingnagar in Orissa where there were large scale of protests by landowners whose lands were being taken for various industrial projects bringing the government's rehabilitation policy into question, the minister added that steps are being taken so that no such incidents take place in future.
"The incidents had reached such a grave stage because of the handiwork of certain political parties. Taking genuine grievances into account, we have also brought out a special rehabilitation package," the minister added.
Senior officials looking after the rehabilitation process added that dialogues were undertaken with local people and hence every major son within a family would be treated as a separate family and unmarried women above the age of 30 would also be regarded so. They added one member from each family would be given jobs at the factory for which their land have been taken after giving appropriate monetary compensation for land. PTI
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