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Centre seeks vacation of Cal HC order on quota issue
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) The Centre today approached the Supreme Court seeking vacation of the Calcutta High Court order staying the implementation of a government memorandum realating to 27 per cent quota for OBCs in post graduate courses in IIMs.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan allowed the plea of Solicitor General G E Vahanvati to include the matter for hearing in the mentioning list tomorrow.
The Calcutta High Court yesterday stayed quota for OBCs in post-graduate courses in Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and stopped interview of OBC candidates for the same.
Justice Maharaj Sinha, in an ex-parte interim order, granted the stay on a petition by Sayan Guha, a B-Tech student challenging the HRD ministry's memorandum and also the IIM-C interview scheduled for tomorrow.
The interim order stayed till June nine the operation of the reservation clause of IIM prospectus and also the resolution of office memorandum dated April 20, 2008 passed by the HRD ministry.
The matter would come up for hearing again on June nine.
IIM-C had scheduled the special interview of OBC students following the HRD memorandum.
Guha's counsels Kishore Dutta and Nilava Bandopadhyay told the court that the office memo and the subsequent reservation clause were in violation of the April 10 Supreme Court order on reservation of OBCs that had set a yardstick for such quotas and defined the creamy layer that would be out of the purview of reservation. PTI
India extends ban on LTTE by 2 yrs
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) The Centre has extended the ban by two years on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), declaring it as an unlawful association.
The notification to this effect was issued yesterday, a Home Ministry release said today.
The LTTE, also known as Tamil Tigers, is a militant group that has waged a violent campaign against the Sri Lankan government since the 1970s in order to create a separate Tamil state in the northern and eastern part of the island nation.
The group-led by V Prabhakaran has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by several countries including the United States.
The LTTE was involved in the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991. PTI
Bansal attributes Azlan win to mental toughness of players
Ipoh (Malaysia), May 15 (PTI) After clinching the third successive win by beating arch-rivals Pakistan in Azlan Shah hockey tournament here today, Indian coach A K Bansal attributed the success to the mental toughness of his players.
India today notched up a 2-1 win against Pakistan in a crucial match to keep them in the title contention.
"Normally, we are not mentally strong enough to go for a win while facing Pakistan. But, for a change, we were psychologically not down today. That's why from the beginning we were dominating," Bansal told PTI after the match.
"Once we were mentally ready, the results were there on the field. We scored early goals, put them on the defensive and had a great first half," he added.
The coach, however, didn't try to hide his disappointment about the team's sloppy performance in the second session when the opponents organised several attacks though without much success.
"I am concerned why we didn't maintain the same temperament in the second half. We have come here to play for 70 minutes, but won two matches on the strength of two first half performances. This is not good," Bansal rued.
Bansal said he is not satisfied with the team's showing in the latter part of the game.
"I think we played only 20 to 25 per cent of our actual potential in the second half. This is not acceptable to me," he said. PTI
Aussie star Hodge to rejoin Knight Riders
Kolkata, May 14 (PTI) Aussie cricketer Brad Hodge is set to rejoin the Kolkata Knight Riders team for Indian Premier League.
Hodge, who had left for Australia last week to don the national colours as a replacement for Michael Clarke, is expected to return to the city within the next two days.
"He is coming back but I cannot say when he will reach the city," Joy Bhattacharya, Knight Riders team manager said.
However, team sources said Hodge would rejoin his IPL teammates by Friday.
Clarke had earlier declared himself unavailable for his country's series againt West Indies, prompting the selectors to recall Hodge to the Australian squad.
But, later Clarke changed his plans. PTI
Govt hopes for more cut in cement prices to tame inflation
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) Government today said it expects further cut in cement prices for taming inflation, but ruled out reduction in import duties on crude oil, claiming the measure would not have any impact on retail prices of petroleum products.
A day after the cement companies agreed to cut prices between Rs 3 and Rs 7.5 per bag of 50 kg, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said there is big scope for further reduction in retail prices.
"I do think that there is a scope for significant reduction in cement prices," Chidambaram told reporters here.
When asked whether the government would consider the request from the cement industry to cut excise duty, Chidambaram said "I do not know".
In the past two months, government has taken various fiscal measures such as cutting import duties on edible oils besides banning export of cement and non-basmati rice to contain inflation, which has touched a 42-month high of 7.6 per cent.
He said there was no proposal to cut import duty on crude oil because it has no impact on administered prices.
With the oil prices crossing 125 dollars a barrel, the state-owned marketing companies are suffering higher losses as they have not been allowed to pass on the entire burden onto the consumers due to pressure from the Left parties.
Government has so far been partly compensating the oil firms like Indian Oil Corporation, HPCL and BPCL by giving them bonds.
Asked whether the government would reward steel producers for reducing prices by way of withdrawing export duty, the minister said he has not received any such any proposal from the Steel Ministry. PTI
Chidambaram rules out cut in import duty on crude oil
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) Finance Minister P Chidambaram today ruled out cut in import duty on crude oil, which has been ruling above USD 120 a barrel in the international market resulting in increased losses to state-owned oil marketing companies.
"No. Because mere reduction in import duty on crude oil has no impact on administered prices," he told reporters when asked whether the government was considering cut in duties on the pattern of food articles.
The government has not been able to pass on the burden of spurt in crude oil prices because of the pressure from the Left parties, which have also been demanding that taxes be reduced to make up for the losses of the oil companies.
The government has so far been partly compensating the oil firms like Indian Oil Corporation, HPCL and BPCL by giving them bonds.
Finance Ministry has issued them oil bonds worth Rs 20,333 crore and has agreed to compensate them more to the extent of Rs 15,000 crore for 2007-08. PTI
Chidambaram favours further cut in cement prices
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) A day after the cement companies agreed to cut prices between Rs 3 and Rs 7.5 per bag of 50 kg, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said there is big scope for further reduction in retail prices.
"I do think that there is a scope for significant reduction in cement prices," Chidambaram told reporters here.
When asked whether the government would consider the industry request to cut excise duty, Chidambaram said, "I do not know".
Chidambaram said he has not received any "official" communication on reduction in prices, but "I have read in the newspapers that they have agreed for small cut in cement prices. There is scope for significant reduction." At a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, the cement manufacturers had yesterday agreed for a small roll back in prices.
Nath had said though price increase was only two per cent in the last one year, the industry had agreed for a reduction in prices. PTI
China steps up relief efforts in quake-hit areas
Raghavendra
Beijing, May 15 (PTI) China today scaled up the rescue and relief efforts in the earthquake-battered areas ordering more helicopters and air drops as the toll in the worst-hit southwest Sichuan province mounted to nearly 20,000 with thousands more still buried under the rubble.
As China struggled to cope with the disaster whose full scale of horror began to unfold after the rescuers yesterday reached the areas most affected by Monday's 7.8 magnitude quake, the Defence Ministry said it would deploy an additional 101 helicopters to Sichuan province, highlighting the urgent help needed there.
The death toll in Sichuan province alone exceeded 19,500, state media reported. Thousands more lay buried under the debris of toppled schools, hospitals, factories and other buildings while several thousands were also reported missing.
"We must use all our forces, and save lives at whatever costs. Life is the most precious thing, we must be amenable to the people and the history," Premier Wen Jiabao said, as rescuers raced against time amidst fears that the toll would rise rapidly.
In Sichuan province, the quake has also injured 64,746 with 25,788 people buried in debris, the official Xinhua news agency said.
More than 50,000 people had been evacuated from the epicentre of quake in Wenchuan and other badly-hit areas after the armed police and other rescuers reached there by air, water and even on foot.
An emotional Chinese Premier made whirlwind visits from one affected place to another, directing rescue and relief operations and speaking comforting words to the affected. PTI
Pak media praises India for restraint after Jaipur blasts
Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, May 15 (PTI) The Pakistani media has praised India for showing restraint and not indulging in "finger pointing" following the bomb attacks in Jaipur that could have affected the ongoing composite dialogue between the two countries.
The two countries, however, would have to continue to be on guard to prevent terrorist groups from carrying out attacks that could set back the peace process and put key economic projects like the India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline on the back-burner, newspapers warned.
Condemning the multiple blasts in India's Pink City Tuesday, leading English daily Dawn wrote: "...No Indian government official has blamed Islamabad or any Pakistan-based organisations for the crime, and this should serve to reassure us that New Delhi has refrained from an exercise in finger pointing that could have affected the ongoing composite dialogue.
"The motives behind the crime could include another bid to sour India-Pakistan relations... It is time the two governments redoubled their efforts to tackle the monster of terrorism jointly," the lead editorial in Dawn today said.
The Daily Times' editorial titled "Jaipur must not derail Indo-Pak peace process" too praised India for refraining from a knee-jerk reaction.
"It is also an event that could give space to hardliners within India to point fingers towards Pakistan," it said, describing New Delhi's action of refraining from a knee-jerk reaction as "a positive fallout of the four-year-old normalisation process". PTI
Aishwarya sparkles at Cannes
Cannes, May 15 (PTI) Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai and hubby Abhishek sparkled at the 61st Cannes Film Festival as they appeared together for the premiere of "Blindness" along with superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
Ever since she arrived by horse drawn carriage in the company of Indian top actor Shahrukh Khan in 2002 for the screening of 'Devdas', Rais annual presence at the festival has added a unique Bollywood hue to the red carpet proceedings.
The family flew into Cannes yesterday to be present at the world's most famed international film festival. At least 20 Indian directors are expected to attend an Indian cinema conference from Sunday 18.
The curtains went up on the gala event with the screening of 'Blindness,' the poignant film which is Oscar-nominated Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles's screen adaptation of Portuguese Nobel laureate Jose Saramago's apocalyptic novel about a town struck by a mysterious epidemic that leads to everybody, except a doctor's wife, losing his eyesight.
In 2003, the Bollywood diva was even on the main Cannes Competition jury. Aishwarya's association with the red carpet hinges on her being a brand ambassador of L'Oreal, the French cosmetics giant that sponsors the Cannes Film Festival.
But that isn't the only reason why the Bachchans are here. In the next few days, father, son and daughter-in-law will be participating in the promotional activities of several films, including Ram Gopal Varma's 'Sarkar Raj' and Goldie Bahl's much-awaited fantasy 'Drona'.
As the festival progresses, given the line-up of big films in competition, including Steven Soderbergh's two-part 'Che Guevara biopic', Clint Eastwood's new film 'Changeling', starring Angelina Jolie, and James Gray's 'Two Lovers', many more stars will glitter on the Croisette and send the shutterbugs and fans into a tizzy. PTI
Puducherry wants statehood
Puducherry, May 15 (PTI) The just concluded Budget Session of the Puducherry Assembly was marked by events that could be termed historical.
The official resolution tabled on May 7 by Chief Minister N Rangasamy before the session adjourned sine die urging the Centre to grant full statehood to Puducherry recieved positive response from all but one member in the House.
Tourism Minister Malladi Krishna Rao was the only member who declined to back the demand for statehood as he took the stand that Yanam region in the union territory, from where he has been elected, was totally opposed to statehood and wanted retention of the current status of Union Territory for Puducherry.
He also pointed out in the course of his explanation for his rejection of the demand for statehood that as a Union Territory, Puducherry and its outyling regions had been making good and enviable progress in all fields of development.
This was probably for the first time in the history of the Puducherry assembly and also council of ministers that one of the ministers distanced himself from an official resolution.
Political observers feel that lack of unanimity on the part of the ministry could be a major impediment for Chief Minister N Rangasamy and his colleagues to press the demand effectively.
"A fractured approach will be of no help and efforts should be made to convince Rao of the necessity for statehood. He should be made to toe the line of the ministry and the Assembly to persuade unitedly the Centre to accord statehood," a senior Congress functionary said, on condition of anonymity. PTI
Typical Bollywood heroes are boring: Emran Hashmi
Bedika
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) Characters with strong shades of gray is what interests Bollywood actor Emran Erfan Anwar Hashmi, who plays a street smart bookie caught up in a betting racket in his latest film 'Jannat.' Emran, whose appearances in 'Kalyug', 'Gangster' and 'Aawarapan' portrayed him in characters who are gray, reckless and negative in appearance, says he enjoys such roles compared to conventional 'goody-goody' heroes.
"Typical Bollywood heroes are very boring. There is no growth or realism in the characters. It is just difficult for me to connect to the typical hero thing," says the actor who began his career in the film industry with 'Footpath' in 2003.
"For me, it is very important to have someone who has flaws, who has gray shades. We all make mistakes and then redeem ourselves, That's what I saw in my character in 'Jannat' and I jumped to it." he says.
After 'Footpath' he did three films, 'Murder,' 'Zeher' and 'Tumsa Nahin Dekha,' all in the same year, 2004. His next films 'Kalyug', 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne' and 'Jawani Diwani' in 2005 stamped him as a 'serial kisser,' a tag that the 28-year-old actor is not comfortable with and terms as "unfortunate." "Just having one or two scenes does not really make you a serial kisser but unfortunately that's how it is," says Emran adding that as long as his audience is fine with it.
"I fail to imagine how this can create so much hype, curiosity or media attention but I am fine with it as long as my film does well. Media always hypes these things but that's okay as long as my fans like it," he told PTI on his recent trip to the capital to promote 'Jannat,' that releases on May 16. PTI
Earth Matters - TV programme helps people take initiative
Shivani Bhakhry
New Delhi, May 14 (PTI) For them climate change was a distant process occuring in far away places. It could not affect them as they had never done anything to harm the environment. But had they done anything to support the environment? They never realised that the depleting water levels in the once water rich region could be a result of climate change and that they could save it.
According to the people of Rajgarh and Solan in Himachal Pradesh, the hilly terrains used to receive heavy rainfall at one point of time, but in the recent years this has reduced considerably causing the ground water to deplete. However, one programme not only helped them to understand the causes of the depleting water levels but also helped them with ways to conserve it.
Doordarshan's environment and wildlife series "Earth Matters" not only acquainted them with the effects of climate change but also told them about water conservation and afforestation as some of the solutions to deal with the problem. After viewing the programme, the people of the region decided to take steps to deal with the problem and thus came up the Earth Matters Nature Club.
The group headed by Tilak Vij, a farmer from Himachal Pradesh, along with the people of the region started working towards building water storage tanks using all renewable resources and rain water harvesting. They started planting more and more trees to stop soil erosion.
"We never realised that we ourselves were causing deforestation leading to soil erosion which in turn was depleting the quality of the crops. We have dug small ponds and earthen tanks to store the rain water and utilise it for irrigation purposes," Vij told PTI. PTI
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