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Centre takes stock of situation: bird flu outbreak in WB
New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) The Centre today took stock of the bird flu outbreak in West Bengal following which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh directed the government to launch an awareness campaign to inform people about the disease.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar briefed the Union Cabinet on the situation, although it was not on the agenda of the meeting.
"I have been directed by the Prime Minister to give widespread publicity on the bird flu situation so we are launching a campaign immediately," Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters after the meeting.
He said the campaign would be launched on All India Radio (AIR) as not many villages had access to television.
Dasmunsi also said that there was a delay on the part of the West Bengal government in reporting the outbreak and a timely joint initiative could have been launched earlier to control its escalation.
"It (bird flu) started on January four in some pockets of West Bengal and the attention of Centre was drawn on January 11," he said.
"There was a little delay in culling of birds," he added.
He said the state Chief Secretary has informed the Centre that at present there was no shortage of medicines or equipment to deal with the situation.
"If required, the Centre will extend all possible help," Dasmunsi said adding that the situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat were different from that in West Bengal, where poultry farms exist in small chunks. PTI
Cabinet clears ordinance to give more teeth to FMC
New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) The government today decided to grant more powers, including right to impose hefty fines, to the commodity market regulator Forward Markets Commission to check manipulation and bring about greater trade discipline.
The empowerment would be done by bringing an ordinance, a decision on which was taken by the Union Cabinet, I&B Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters here.
After the amendments to Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1952, the Commission will get power to decide on its own listing and de-listing of commodity bourses and give approval to exchanges to start options trading and other regulatory issues.
The amendments will also allow the regulator to undertake search and seizure operations and initiate steps to stop "dabba trading" (illegal futures trading), FMC Chairman B C Khatua told PTI.
The proposed amendments would also strengthen penal provisions by empowering the Commission to impose fines up to Rs 25,000 on defaulters against the present limit of Rs 1,000.
The ordinance, which will be promulgated shortly, comes in the backdrop of government's decision this fiscal to ban futures trading in staple commodities like wheat and lentils following a steep hike in their prices.
The government had in the Budget 2007-08 announced setting up the Abhijeet Sen Committee to study whether futures trading have an impact on agriculture commodity prices.
The ordinance will be placed before Parliament for approval during the coming Budget session in February.
The FMC, which currently falls under the Consumer Affairs Ministry, will become independent and function on the lines of capital market regulator SEBI. PTI
Too many divisive tendencies in India: Khanduri
New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Observing that there were too many divisive tendencies in India, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri today said there was an urgent need to imbibe the value of togetherness among the youth of the country.
"The country is divided. The problem with the country is that there are too many 'divisive' tendencies, which are being encouraged by various means that include politics, caste, religion and creed," he said.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the National Cadet Corps Republic Day Camp here, he stressed on the need to spread NCC and make use of the young force.
"In their initial stages, the youth should be given that mental feeling of togetherness and the mental block, which is present in the form of religion and regionalism should be removed," he added.
He said NCC is probably one of the few existing institutions in India which is integrating the country in the real sense.
Through NCC, India has a chance of moving again towards real integration and not merely positive integration.
"...Children imbibe the 'value system', then I think this country has a great future," he said noting that divisive forces are posing a challenge to the country. PTI
38 ULFA militants surrender in Assam
Tamulpur (Assam), Jan 24 (PTI) Thirty-eight ULFA militants, including a woman cadre, today surrendered before the army here in Assam's Baksa district.
The militants led by Nayan Kakoti surrendered before the GOC 4 Corps Lt Gen B S Jamwal at 21 Mountain Brigade Headquarters of Red Horn Division.
The surrendered militants laid down 27 pistols, 18 grenades, 22 detonators, 30 kgs of explosives and 150 rounds of AK-47 live ammunition.
Speaking on the occasion, Lt Gen Jamwal said the army was trying to bring back misguided youths to the mainstream as insurgency cannot bring any solution.
The GOC further said that some top militants are interested in surrendering.
Assam Director General of Police R N Mathur, who attended the ceremony, said the move would encourage other militants to return to the mainstream. PTI
I prefer not to count my centuries, says Tendulkar
Ashish Shukla
Adelaide, Jan 24 (PTI) "I prefer not to count them," Sachin Tendulkar said today after hitting his 80th international century which he described as a "special one".
After smashing an unbeaten 124 against Australia on the first day of the fourth and final cricket Test, Tendulkar told journalists that the innings was a "special one". He had never scored a hundred at Adelaide before.
Reminded about narrowly missing centuries last year, the master batsman said "it's not like easing the pain (of last year). When I am getting it (centuries), I prefer not to count them.
"Then it's just not about scoring centuries. There's a lot more to cricket than just this. I want to focus on the task at hand and if I end up scoring a hundred, fantastic," he said.
The Adelaide crowd gave Tendulkar a standing ovation when he came out to bat and at the end of the day and Australian leg-spinner Brad Hogg, whom he punished severely during the day's play, made no secret of his admiration for the batting genius.
"It's just fantastic to be in the same park as against someone of his calibre. He deserves standing ovation when he comes out. He's a fantastic player to watch," Hogg said.
"It's a great privilege to be part of (welcome that Tendulkar gets). He is one of the greatest the world has ever seen," he added. PTI
Shah Rukh wants Ganguly to lead Kolkata team
New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Having just bagged the bid for the Kolkata team, actor Shah Rukh Khan said he would like to see former India captain Sourav Ganguly leading the outfit in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Shah Rukh, along with fellow actor Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta, won the bid for the Kolkata team for a whopping USD 75.09 million and said he would seek suggestions of experts before putting together a winning combination.
"I have already decided on the entertainment part but we have not decided on the core and content of the team. We want to put together a winning combination, for which I would definitely seek advice of the experts.
"I don't have anyone in mind right now but we would seek expert view on that," he told CNN-IBN.
And the Prince of Kolkata would be the obvious choice for leading the side, he said.
"I hope Ganguly leads my team," he said.
Dwelling on the venture, the actor said, "It's not about money. The idea is to nurture youngsters and give them more platform for playing cricket.
"I have a huge passion for game and I want to be part of every sport.
"I guess I would have to make more films to ensure we can run the team," he quipped. PTI
SRK, Preity Zinta, Ambani, Mallya win IPL bids
Mumbai, Jan 24 (PTI) The high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL) today received an overwhelming response with some of India's top industrialists like Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya and film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta winning bids to own teams in the Twenty20 venture.
After prolonged suspense, BCCI vice president and Chairman of the IPL Governing Council Lalit Modi today disclosed the names of the winning bidders, who shelled out staggering amounts to be owner of the city-based teams.
Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani pipped Vijay Mallya to win the bid for the Mumbai team for USD 111.9 million.
The liquor baron, however, won the bid for the Bangalore team for USD 111.6 million.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan, joining hands with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta, won the bid for the Kolkata team for USD 75.09 million.
Fellow actor Preity Zinta and her boy friend Ness Wadia won the bid for the Mohali team for USD 76 million.
Among others, GMR Holdings won the bid for the Delhi team (USD 84 million), India Cements bagged the Chennai team (USD 91 million), Deccan Chronicle bid successfully for the Hyderabad (USD 107.01 million) outfit and Emerging Media won the bid for the Jaipur team for USD 67 million.
The bids of the ICICI, Sahara and Futures Group were disqualified, Modi said. PTI
Pakistan bring in two uncapped players for 3rd ODI
Karachi, Jan 24 (PTI) Continuing with their new policy of blooding youngsters, the Pakistani selectors today included two more uncapped players for the third match of the ongoing one-day series against Zimbabwe on Sunday.
The selectors introduced fast bowler Sohail Khan and opener Khalid Latif into the squad, while dropped pacer Samiullah Niazi and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed.
The two players were picked after Pakistan took a 2-0 lead in the five match series winning the second one-dayer today.
Niazi and teenaged opener Nasir Jamshed were given caps in the first two one-dayers and both faced contrasting fortunes.
While Jamshed impressed with successive half-centuries, Niazi struggled and went wicket-less.
Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said the idea was to use the Zimbabwe series to try out the successful performers at the domestic level.
"Both Sohail and Khalid have done well in the domestic season and are good prospects and deserve to be given a chance," he said.
Sohail is the leading wicket-taker in the current domestic season with 68 wickets while Latif has been a prolific scorer for the last few years.
Salahuddin also played down reports of rifts in the team management but admitted that there was a difference of opinion over some selections.
The squad: Shoaib Malik (Capt), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Khalid Latif, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Khan, Rao Iftikhar, Sohail Tanvir, Kamran Hussain and Yasir Arafat. PTI
India to respond appropriately to US interest rate cut: FM
Manoj Kumar
Davos, Jan 24 (PTI) Anticipating an indirect impact of the US financial crisis on its economy, India today said it will respond appropriately to a hefty cut in the US interest rates.
"We will respond (to the rate cut in US) through appropriate fiscal and monetary measures," Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here. The statement comes just days ahead of review of monetary policy by Reserve Bank of India.
The RBI is due to review its monetary policy stance on January 29. The scheduled quarterly review comes on the heels of a surprise 75 basis points cut in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve on Tuesday.
Referring to the impact of the US mortgage crisis on Indian economy, he said: "We did not suffer any first order effect. But we anticipate that there will be some second order impact." The US rate cut was part of efforts to stimulate consumption to keep the world's largest economy from slipping into a recession - fears of which had led to a meltdown in the global equity markets.
"We are concerned that it (US Fed rate cut) would lead to high flow of capital to India. But government is not in favour of putting curbs on capital... We have taken, will take some measures to moderate the capital flow," Chidambaram said.
He said despite fears of global recession, the Indian economy is set to grow in the range of 8.5 per cent to nine per cent. However, high interest rates may have an impact on the growth trajectory.
"Our interest rates are set in order to contain inflation, but it (high interest rate) is a dampener to growth," he added. PTI
Chinese economy moves up at 11.4 pc in 2007: hits 13-year high
Raghavendra
Beijing, Jan 24 (PTI) China's economy grew at 11.4 per cent in 2007 in the fastest pace in 13 years but its juggernaut slowed down slightly in the fourth quarter amidst worries over a possible global slowdown and mounting price rise pressure.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Communist giant posted a double-digit growth propelled by its exports and pumping in of massive investment on infrastructure that has put it well on its way to overtake Germany as the third largest economy after the US and Japan.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 11.1 per cent in the first quarter, 11.9 per cent in the second, 11.5 per cent in the third before the momentum slowed down to 11.2 per cent in the fourth, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said releasing the figures at a news conference.
The US and China had been powerful engines for the current cycle of global growth but the increasing possibility of the American economy slowing down was bound to have a "negative effect" on the world economy, NBS head Xie Fuzhan said but was optimistic about China's resilience, saying it would see a steady growth this year.
"We will keep a close watch on developments in the US economy on one hand. On the other, we will be striving to address institutional and structural problems in the Chinese economy," he said.
In a worrying factory on a sensitive issue, consumer prices also rose the fastest in a decade in 2007, reaching 4.8 per cent, despite intensified efforts by the government to rein in the inflation.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was driven up mainly by surging food prices which jumped 12.3 per cent last year accounting for 4.0 points of the 4.8 point CPI rise. PTI
Sensex ends 372 points lower after early rally
Mumbai, Jan 24 (PTI) The stock market fell back sharply after early signs of a rally and ended 372 points lower amid anticipation that the market will again test the bottoms.
The Bombay Stock Exchange bellwether Sensex swung in a 1,115-point range, initially rising by 591 points and later falling by 524 points from the last closing levels on alternate bouts of buying and selling from investors.
Market players said the market failed to get any impact of strong global cues even as investors faced a liquidity crunch due to their commitments in the primary market, which absorbed a large chunk of money in the last couple of weeks.
The Rs 11,000-crore mega IPO of Reliance Power, which was oversubscribed 73 times, absorbed a major portion of funds. Many investors subscribed to the offer, but later reportedly placed stop-payment requests with banks after the two-day stocks carnage on January 21 and 22.
The Sensex ended the day at 17,221.74 from previous close of 17,594.07, a net fall of 372.33 points, or 2.12 per cent.
Touching the intra-day high of 18,185.10 points at the outset, the BSE 30-share index later fell sharply to a low of 17,070.05 points The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also dropped 169.95 ponts, or 3.27 per cent, to close at 5,033.45 from its last close of 5,203.40.
Sustained FII pullout from the equity market was the prime concern for investors. As per provisional data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) made net sales of Rs 3,021 crore on Wednesday taking the outflows to Rs 13,524 crore in the last six days.
They, however, were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,040 crore in the Futures & Options segment on the same day. PTI
Pyramid Saimira acquires UK-based Aurona Technologies
Mumbai, Jan 24 (PTI) Entertainment firm Pyramid Saimira Theatre today said it has acquired UK-based Aurona Technologies for an undisclosed amount.
The company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange that it has acquired a majority stake in the video games and interactive entertainment software company and the new entity would be known as Pyramid Saimira Production Services Ltd.
"We are extremely happy to announce this strategic acquisition of Aurona Technologies Ltd. This marks the entry of Pyramid Saimira in the high-growth, high-margin animation and gaming industry," Pyramid Saimira Group Managing Director P S Saminathan said.
The group has access to a huge content library and would be able to cross-exploit the content properties. The acquisition brings not only the existing knowledge and customer base, but also high quality management bandwidth, with international exposure, he added.
Aurona Technologies Ltd CEO Santosh Pillai would take over as the Director of the new entity.
The company is also planning to enter the European market to cash in on the available potential and achieve synergy.
"This acquisition is in keeping with our vision at Pyramid Saimira to be the world's leading entertainment company. This also marks our entry into the European market. With this, Pyramid Saimira Group is present in 3 continents," Pyramid Saimira Director N Narayanan said.
Aurona Technologies Ltd has a development centre in Hyderabad. The company delivers full game development from India for platforms such as Sony Playstation 2 console, Nintendo DS and PC.
Shares of Pyramid Saimira were trading at Rs 312.60, down 5.57 per cent on the BSE. PTI
China calls for "creative efforts" on Iranian nuke issue
Raghavendra
Beijing, Jan 24 (PTI) China today asked all sides to make "creative efforts" to break the deadlock over the Iranian nuclear row and noted that the draft resolution finalised by a six-nation meeting on the issue exhibited the "political will" to continue diplomatic efforts to resolve it.
The six nations had reached an agreement at their meeting in Berlin on Tuesday on the outline of a third UN Security Council resolution against Iran, but Tehran has vowed to press ahead with its nuclear enrichment programme saying "such illegal behaviour (by western powers) will not deviate Iran from its path." Asked if China, which attended the meeting was satisfied with the outcome, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu told reporters that they had reached the agreement which was "the result of consultations," adding the draft resolution "exhibits the political will to continue diplomatic efforts to solve the issue through negotiations." She said the six nations had welcomed the progress made between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency on pending issues and encouraged the UN nuclear watchdog to "continue to work on that." The draft resolution would be submitted to the UN Security Council for plenary discussion, she said "China calls on all parties to step up diplomatic efforts and take initiative and make creative efforts to break the deadlock so that the Iranian nuclear issue is solved in a comprehensive and proper way," she said. PTI
Police penetrated network of Bhutto killers: Pak official
Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Jan 24 (PTI) Pakistani police have "penetrated" the network of terrorists involved in the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto last month and will soon expose those responsible for her murder, a top police official has said.
Rawalpindi's police chief Saud Aziz said the country "will soon hear news about the uncovering of the culprits involved" in the assassination.
He told reporters yesterday that police had penetrated the "network of terrorists and miscreants" involved in Bhutto's assassination after an election rally in the garrison city on December 27.
Aziz's comments came shortly after an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi gave police custody of two suspects - 15-year-old Aitezaz Shah and his accomplice Sher Zaman - arrested last week in Dera Ismail Khan town of North West Frontier Province for alleged involvement in the assassination.
The court remanded the duo to police custody for 10 days after Superintendent of Police Waqar Chohan, a member of the police team investigating Bhutto's killing, gave the judge details of the probe and sought the remand of the accused for questioning.
Shah and Zaman were brought to the court in armoured vehicles and were escorted by the Elite Force of police. PTI
Climate change may cost 5 pc global GDP by 2030: Pachauri
Manoj Kumar
Davos, Jan 24 (PTI) World renowned Indian environmentalist R K Pachauri has warned the international business and political leaders that climate change could cost up to 5 per cent of global GDP by 2030 if effective steps were not taken in time.
"The business and political leaders should realise that measures to bring down emission levels would not cost more than 0.2 per cent of the global GDP, but it could cost up to 3 per cent of world GDP by 2020, and 5 per cent by 2030, if the temperature goes by 2-4 degree Celsius," the head of the UN's Nobel Prize-winning scientific panel on climate change said.
Addressing the annual meeting of World Economic Forum, Pachauri said, threat of climate change has become a threat to world peace. Though there is an unprecedented awareness about the issue, the response of corporate sector and governments was still weak.
The agriculture production may be down by as much as 50 per cent by 2020, due to climate change and by 75-200 millions of tonnes in Africa alone, he said.
Expressing disappointment at global response to the challenge, he said the new EU strategy for slashing greenhouse emissions was "not up to expectations".
The chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said, the use of renewable energies like biomass, wind and solar power would rise to 20 per cent of all energy forms by over next two decades.
Biofuels would also have to make up 10 per cent of fuels used for transport.
Pachauri, whose organisation won last year's Nobel Peace Prize with former US vice president Al Gore, said he was sure that the priorities would change over a period of time. PTI
Book: ICT, yet to conquer the last mile!
New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) It may have touched the lives of billions in every nook and corner of the world over but information and communication technology- ICT- in short is yet to conquer the 'last mile' when it comes to reaching crucial information to the needy at the times of natural disasters, say experts.
Over 3600 inhabitants in a remote village in Pudducherry were lucky in 2004 to have escaped certain death when the Tsunami struck, thanks to the timely warning that was disseminated and the villages evacuated.
Lives of over 40,000 who perished in Sri Lanka, however, could not be saved as the warning, though available with the Lankan Authorities, could not be disseminated quickly, says a research paper in 'Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2007-2008', a compilation of reports on 31 economies.
Sri Lanka's celebrated resident Arthur C Clarke remarked:the Asian Tsunami's death toll could have been drastically reduced if the warning was disseminated quickly and effectively to millions of coastal dwellers on the Indian Ocean rim.
"It is appalling that our sophisticated global Communication system simply failed us on that day", the paper quotes him saying.
Importance of risk communication in averting many public crises and natural disasters cannot be overstated. Yet risk communication has received attention only in recent years.
Moreover, ICTs (information and communication technology)has not been harnessed to their full potential to mitigate risks from natural disaster's and public health emergencies, says the paper on 'Role of ICTs in risk communication in Asia Pacific' by Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Chanuka Wattegama and Fredrick John Abo.
(About the book: 'Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2007-2008, Sage, pages 373, price Rs.950/-) PTI
Newsletter: Its time for promises in Karnataka
M Siddaraju
Bangalore, Jan 23 (PTI) The uncertainty on whether Karnataka will go to polls by this May end or a few months later notwithstanding, the BJP has already started showering promises to woo the electorate.
There is speculation that the elections to the state assembly might get postponed to October or November in the wake of the Centre mulling to hold polls on the basis of the report of the Commission on Delimitation of constituencies.
In the event of the Centre notifying the report, the Election Commission will require time to re-draw the boundaries of constituencies.
Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami, however has said that the poll process in Karnataka has to be completed May 28, indicating that the elections will be held by that time.
Leaving no stone unturned to rule Karnataka for the next five years, after its week-old government was pulled down by its coalition partner JDS, the BJP is in the forefront promising free power supply to Irrigation pumpsets to woo the farming community.
BJP's chief ministerial nominee, B S Yeddyurappa has declared "if my party is voted to power, we will provide free power supply to farmers owning irrigation pumpsets upto 10 HP (Horse Power)".
The saffron party leader, who held the office of the chief minister for eight-days, one of the shortest for a chief minister in the state's history, is keen on installing the party to power, which it lost due to what it terms as JDS's act of betrayal.
The state has about 20 lakh irrigation pumps sets and majority of farmers have installed 10 HP motors. PTI
Ghazals need reality shows-type platform: Pankaj Udhas
Zafri Mudasser Nofil
New Delhi, Jan 23 (PTI) His "Chithi aayee hai", "Chandi jaisa rang" and "Deewaron se milkar rona" are still hummed by youths and elders alike. But ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas, who gave us these hits, feels a reality show-type platform is needed now to boost his type of singing.
"The focus has shifted nowadays. The young generation is attracted by the talent hunt shows that provide fast bucks and instant fame," he says.
"What we need is a platform on the lines of these reality shows to boost ghazal singing and listening," Udhas told PTI in an interview.
He goes on to say that some attempts made in this regard met little success.
"In our own way we had tried some ghazal contests a few years back but the response was far from satisfactory," said Udhas, who recently released his new album -- "Endless Love -- Kitni Yaad Aati Hai".
"Maybe the hard work in ghazal singing do not appeal to singers nowadays," he rues.
But Udhas feels electronic channels have a lot to contribute in this regard. "If they (the channels) devote some time to promotion of ghazals and classical music forms, a lot of good will be done." He will be next heard singing in Sanjay Chhel's film "Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam", likely to be released in April and which stars Rahul Bose and Kay Kay Menon. PTI
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