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Govt to implement farm loan waiver scheme by July
New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said his government was committed to implement the farm loan waiver scheme by July even as he accused the erstwhile BJP-led government for the woes of the agricultural sector.
"I pledge that there will be no dilly dallying in the implementation of the farm loan waiver scheme, It will be implemented by July," he said addressing a farmers' rally here.
Listing out the steps taken by his government for the welfare of farmers, he said the UPA has doubled agriculture credit, increased the minimum support price and implemented a rural employment guarantee scheme for the benefit of the poor. PTI
Special force to tackle naxal menace in Maharashtra
Mumbai, Mar 9 (PTI) In a bid to tackle the naxal menace in Maharashtra, the state police is coming up with a multi-pronged initiative including setting up of a special force.
"Maharashtra is coming out with a new initiative, including forming a special force...Already we have men doing the job but we are looking at an umbrella kind of a set up," newly appointed Director General of Police A N Roy told PTI here.
The details about the special force are being worked out and it will work alongside the Anti Naxals Operations (ANO) which is functioning right now, Roy said, adding, "I cannot give out its name as of now." "Naxalism is one of my priority areas and and we want to take some major initiatives in controlling the naxalites. It (the force) may include some specially trained people," Roy, who has just returned from a tour of naxal-infested areas said.
The ANO is not a specialised force, it is just an unit and will be a part of the new force, he said.
"Give me few days to finalise the plan, I am speaking to my officers and several steps are in the offing." Though Maharashtra has witnessed stray incidents involving naxalites since 1981, it has done well to confine the activity to small parts in the forests of Gadchiroli, Gondia and Chandrapur districts of Vidarbha bordering Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. PTI
Price rise is a problem: Sonia Gandhi
New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) Congress President Sonia Gandhi today conceded that price rise is a problem, but attributed it to international factors and said all steps are being taken to check inflation.
"I agree that price rise is a problem concerning all of us. We are making untiring efforts to tackle it," Gandhi said addressing the party's 'Dhanyavad Rally' here.
The Congress President said certain international factors were behind the price rise.
"For example, the cost of petrol and diesel are not in our hands," she said.
She added that the Government was nevertheless making efforts to ensure that the prices do not increase as much as they would due to international reasons.
Gandhi said the Government has not increased the price of kerosene keeping in view interests of the poor.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also referred to the efforts made by his Government to keep the prices of petrol and diesel under check.
Besides, he said while the prices of kerosene have not been increased, that of LPG has been increased by only Rs 40.
Singh also said that despite price rise globally, the Government has not effected any hike in the prices of fertilisers to help farmers. PTI
Dispute over IPL ticket distribution still unresolved
Kolkata, Mar 9 (PTI) Even as Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment gears up to host matches of BCCI's multi-million dollar Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens here, the contentious issue of ticket distribution among Cricket Association of Bengal's affiliates and members is yet to be resolved.
On February 26, majority of CAB affiliates had demanded at a Special General Meeting that RCE provide a larger share of tickets, than the 20 per cent decreed by the IPL, to the CAB for distribution among the clubs, universities, the Office Sports Federation and the districts as well as life, annual and associate members for the matches slated to begin from April 18.
However, two days before SRK's arrival here for making major announcements regarding the jersey, nomenclature, and theme song of the Kolkata side, the dissidents today claimed they had no clue to "what happened to the demand voiced by the majority of members at the SGM." "Nothing seems to have happened after Feburary 26. I doubt whether even the office-bearers have any idea," ex-BCCI joint secretary and dissident leader Goutam Dasgupta told PTI.
"Majority of the units had expressed their view. It's now the duty of the powers-that-be to follow it up. But they seem to be keeping us in the dark on whether they have been able to persuade RCE or not or whether they have at all discussed the issue with RCE," he said.
With veteran cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya leading the charge, the dissident lobby had argued that because of the large capacity (90,000) at the Eden, the RCE should not stick to the ticket distribution formula announced by IPL commissioner and chairman Lalit Modi. PTI
England beats Austria in World Olympic Hockey qualifier
Anand Philar
Santiago, Mar 9 (PTI) Playing at half-pace, Britain beat Austria to complete their league engagements with an unbeaten record and 15 points in the World Hockey Olympic qualifying tournament, here.
Britain's win yesterday only confirmed India's progress to the final as Austria finished on nine points. India, scheduled to play Chile, are also on nine points but with a superior goal-difference than Austria.
Leading 3-0 at half-time, Britain scored through James Tindall (5th minute), Ashley Jackson (12th), Richard Mantell (22nd) and Rob Moore (69th).
Looking ahead to the final against India tomorrow, Britain coach Jason Lee said it would be a close game that could go either way.
"We have met India a few times in the past, and each time, the contest has been well-fought and fairly even. It will be much the same in the final. We need to play far better than we did on Thursday when we beat India 3-2," the coach said.
Later, in an inconsequential game, Russia recorded their second win in five matches by defeating winless Mexico 9-1. PTI
India beats Chile 4-1 to reach final
Anand Philar
Santiago, Mar 9 (PTI) India ended its league campaign on a winning note with a 4-1 defeat of Chile en route to the final of the World Hockey Olympic qualifying tournament at the Prince of Wales Country Club here.
With their berth in the tomorrow's final already confirmed following Britain's 4-0 win against Austria, the Indians played freely and with confidence, but missed far too many scoring opportunities in the match played late yesterday.
The winner of the final will qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Drag-flick specialist V Ramachandra Raghunath was again in the thick of things scoring two goals (23rd minute, 61st), including one from India's only penalty corner to take his tournament tally to 10. Prabhjot Singh (ninth) and Bharat Chhikara (23rd) scored one apiece.
For Chile, which defended with great fortitude, Felipe Montegu converted their lone penalty corner in the 63rd minute, much to the delight of the partisan crowd.
India thus finished second overall behind Britain with 12 points, followed by Austria (9), Russia (6), Chile (3) and Mexico (0).
Although dominating much of the game, the Indian forward line again missed out on far too many scoring opportunities even granting that the Chilean defenders were on the button with their marking and covering.
The Indians rested Gurbaj Singh and Shivendra Singh for the game and the reshuffled half-line was quite solid overall despite a few blemishes.
On their part, Chile played as well as they were allowed to and their limitations denied them more success. PTI
India-Japan trade may touch USD 15 bn by 2010: CII
New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) Trade between India and Japan has the potential to double in the next two years if issues like trade facilitation and non-tariff barriers are addressed, according to industry body CII.
India-Japan trade can reach 15 billion dollars by 2010 from 7.5 billion dollars in 2006-07. New areas of trade in services, higher investment flows into India from Japan, promoting people-to-people contact are other ways through which the level of bilateral trade can increase," CII said.
Bilateral trade has more than doubled since 2002-03 with trade balance in favour of Japan. "While import duties on most goods in Japan is low at present, the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) can raise the level of India's exports," it said in a study.
There is need for greater focus on agricultural exports to Japan since share of agricultural items in India's exports to Japan has declined by about 22 per cent over the last 10 years, although export of processed food increased by 4 per cent during this period.
Further, export of Indian agricultural goods, chemicals and pharmaceuticals face various NTBs. Exporters also have difficulties in understanding guidelines and regulations, since they are mostly in the Japanese language.
It further said there is need to relax visa norms for Indian medical, para-medical workers and engineers similar to the liberalised entry its nurses have to Philippines and Indonesia as part of free trade deals. "There should be liberalisation of trade in services with regard to movement of professionals in the CEPA," it said.
The Japanese government should also provide Validated End User (VEU) certificate on the lines of the US policy for the Indian buyers. The 6th round of India-Japan CEPA negotiations is scheduled to take place in Tokyo later this month. PTI
Nooyi-led PepsiCo more admired than rival Coke: Fortune
New York, Mar 9 (PTI) Beverages major PepsiCo, led by India-born Indra Nooyi, has been placed higher than its arch rival Coca-Cola on a list of 20 most-admired global companies prepared by US business magazine Fortune.
The list, published in the latest issue of Fortune, ranks PepsiCo at 13th position as against Coca-Cola at 19th spot.
The list has been led by Apple Computer, the maker of digital music player iPod and Mac personal computers. PepsiCo shares the 13th position with IT services major IBM.
PepsiCo is the only company run by a person of India origin to have figured on the list of most admired firm.
Apple is followed by diversified industrial conglomerate General Electric at the second position and Japanese auto major Toyota at the third place.
Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company of legendary investor Warren Buffett who was crowned the world's richest man last week by another business magazine Forbes, has been ranked at the fourth position on the list of 20 most admired global companies.
Others ranked higher than PepsiCo include consumer goods major Procter & Gamble (5th place), courier and logistics firm FedEx (6th), consumer goods maker Johnson & Johnson (7th), retail giant Target (8th), luxury car major BMW (9th), software giant Microsoft (10th), retail firm Costco Wholesale (11th) and another logistics firm UPS at the 12th place.
PepsiCo has, however, outscored companies like networking solutions major Cisco Systems (15th rank), aircraft maker Boeing (16th), world's largest retailer Wal-Mart Stores (17th), Japanese auto maker Honda Motor (18th) and industrial and farm equipments maker Caterpillar (20th). PTI
Malaysian ruling coalition suffers poll setback
Jaishree Balasubramanian
Kuala Lumpur, Mar 9 (PTI) In one of its worst electoral performances, Malaysia's ruling coalition lost control of four state governments and failed to win a two-thirds majority in Parliament in the general election amid complaints of racial inequality by ethnic Indians and rise in crime and corruption.
Malaysia's lone ethnic Tamil Minister Samy Velu, President of Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) - a component of ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, lost his Sungei Siput parliamentary seat in Perak state in yesterday elections for parliament and 12 state legislatures.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi-led Barisan Nasional failed to win a two-thirds majority in the 222-member Parliament for the first time since 1969.
It got 139 of the 220 seats, a simple majority, raising questions about the political future of Abdullah. The results of two seats are yet to be announced by Election Commission.
The Barisan also lost control of assemblies of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Perak states for the first time. Apart from these four states, the opposition won in Kelantan.
Velu, who turned 72 yesterday, was defeated by his arch- foe D Jeyakumar, a former chest physician whom he had defeated in 2004 polls. Jeyakumar beat Velu by a margin 1821 votes.
The political tsunami that hammered Badawi's ruling coalition took the government by surprise as veteran politicians lost their seats.
The ethnic Indian voters, who form nearly 8 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million population, helped the opposition win more mixed seats, Jenison Jayasooria, Executive Director of MIC's think tank Yayasan Strategic Sosial said.
M Manoharan, one of the five detained leaders of non-governmental Hindraf spearheading protests against alleged marginalisation of ethnic Indians, contested the polls under the opposition DAP ticket and won convincingly. PTI
Zardari, Sharif to hold talks
Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Mar 9 (PTI) PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif are set to meet to finalise the formation of a coalition government by their parties which won Pakistan's general election last month.
Zardari will go to Sharif's residence in the hill resort of Murree near here for talks on government formation. Close aides of the two leaders have already gathered at Sharif's residence, which he often uses for weekend breaks.
The PML-N chief will also host a lunch for the top leaders of the two parties this afternoon.
Sources said among the key issues to be discussed by the two leaders were the PML-N's demand for reinstatement of judges deposed by President Pervez Musharraf during last year's emergency and the PPP's suggestion that Sharif's party should be part of the government instead of supporting it from outside.
The contentious issue of new government's relationship with Musharraf will also come up for discussion, the sources said.
Sharif had yesterday noted that his party's dialogue with the PPP on government formation was proceeding in a positive direction and said, "We will finalise all matters related to the formation of the government at (tomorrow's) meeting." PTI
Second international airport being planned for Beijing
Beijing, Mar 9 (PTI) After unveiling the worlds largest airport terminal recently, authorities have said they plan to start the construction of a second international airport for the Chinese capital in 2010.
The General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC) had said in January that it had submitted a report to the central government on selecting a site for the second international airport to meet the booming air traffic.
"The final results of the site selection will be announced the year after next, and the construction will begin that year", Yang Guoqing, Deputy Head of CAAC, said.
He said with the Beijing Capital International Airport in the north of the city, it was difficult to find an ideal place for the new airport, adding, the western part was not appropriate due to complicated terrain. The eastern part was not suitable either as another airport was in operation in Tianjin, a coastal city close to Beijing.
Taking into account the terrain and airflow factors, the southern part is a relatively favourable choice, he said, according to official Xinhua news agency. "But we have to consider it keeping coordinated development among different regions. Therefore, the final site will not be necessarily be located in an area under Beijing's jurisdiction," China had opened the swanky new dragon shaped USD 3.8 billion terminal on February 29, in preparation for a deluge of millions of passengers for the Olympics in August and for meeting its increasing air traffic demand.
British architect Norman Foster who designed the airport had said the new terminal was like Heathrow (London airport) terminals 1,2,3,4 and 5 being brought together under one roof and an extra 17 per cent of floor space added to it.
The new terminal which can handle 76 million passengers a year or 208,000 passengers a day, has 175 escalators, 173 lifts, 437 travelators, 64 restaurants, 300 check-in counters and a modern baggage handling system on 50 kms of conveyor belts. PTI
Women artists a growing tribe
Sunandita Dasgupta
New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) Women are shattering age-old myths as well as glass ceilings slowly but surely in all fields including that of art. Once considered a predominantly male domain, women have by now carved out a space for themselves in the world of contemporary art.
This was amply demonstrated at an exhibition in the national capital where an array of works by 25 leading woman artists of the country -- bringing out their world of colour, imagination and innovation -- was displayed to mark the International Women's Day.
Curated by noted artist Anjolie Ela Menon and organised by online art library Indianartcircle.Com, the show displays works by Arpana Caur, Jayashree Barman, Jaya Ganguly, Latika Katt, Mimi Radhakrishnan and Menon herself, among others.
"For years I balked at the idea of 'Women's Art' but today I am convinced that women artists in India have carved a niche for themselves," says Menon.
"There has been a significant change in the attitude of the new generation of women...Today's women are bold, innovative and dedicated professionals. Societal and familial considerations have ceased to be barriers to achievement," she says.
Dealing with the question of whether there is a thing as a distinct "woman's view" in art, she feels "this is not always discernible except in blatantly obvious feminist art." However, the qualities of compassion and intuition, a natural feeling for colour, form and embellishment and the ability to subsume pain "informs women's art and makes it both significant and special," Menon says. PTI
From scavengers to walking the ramp at UN
Snehesh Alex Philip
New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) From being scavengers carrying night soil on their heads for years, 28 women from Alwar, a small village in Rajasthan, are now all set to walk the ramp at the United Nations' General Assembly Hall.
The liberated scavengers, 30 to 70 year olds who till recently followed the age old family practice in their localities have been shortlisted as part of the social reform initiative of Sulabh Sanitation movement, to walk the ramp.
"It is a symbolic gesture to showcase the path breaking contributions of liberated scavengers in the context of social reform," says Bindeshwar Pathak, founder Sulabh movement.
According to Chameli, one of the 28 women who have now become almost like a role model, the women are busy designing the clothes which they plan to showcase at the UN Assembly in July 2 this year.
"I started carrying the night soil since I was a child. I continued with the profession even after marriage and this had become our lone source of income and almost like a ritual for us," says Chameli, 35, a liberated scavenger.
"I now feel more confident and more a human since I have left the profession," she adds.
A book containing success stories of these women titled, 'Princess of Alwar' would also be released at the Assembly.
"The journey from being a scavenger carrying night soil in a small town to a chance to walk on the ramp and rub shoulders with celebrities was torturous but it happened like a classic case for each one of the 28 woman folks who hails from the lower strata of the society," says a social worker associated with the movement. PTI
Nicole Kidman to sport Indian label at Melbourne fashion show
Annie Samson
New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) Oscar-winning Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman is set to walk the ramp in Indian clothes at a fashion show to be held in Melbourne.
Kidman along with other celebrities will sport creations by desi designers Rahul Jain and Gunjan Arora, who are participating in a fashion show to support the cause of children affected by cancer at the Royal Children's Hospital of Melbourne.
'Sirali,' the label under which the duo retails their creations is characterised by a unique method where the cloth is prepared using a mix of coloured threads to create an effect of embroidery resembling a huge painting.
"Kidman will wear a long sherwani like blue jacket with lots of red and yellow. The design on the jacket will look like somebody has embroidered the design, but it is a patented method of ours. The different colours blend on the garment to create the effect of an art," says Rahul Jain.
"The thread is used as a brush to make the clothes look like a huge painting. We have done gowns, saris, jackets and dresses for the fashion show and all the 14 clothes are going to be auctioned off and the process will go to the hospital." Apart from Kidman , other celebrity clients of 'Sirali' include Caroline Douglas, Naomi Campbell, Sean Connery, Mallaika Arora and others.
Kidman and others will showcase the new collection called 'Wearable Art' where the expression comes alive with coloured threads diminishing the fine line of paint and canvas. "The range is meant to be a merger of art and fashion," says Rahul.
The designers are also participating in the forthcoming Wills India Fashion Week where they will showcase 36 garments under the creative category. PTI
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