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8 Pages Rs: 1.00 Jammu Edition www.thestudentage.com

STUdenT aGe
FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2013

JKENG/2012/41612 Vol. 2 No: 11

Asaram Bapu must mind his language

Delhi gang-rape case: Trial may be handed to fast-track court

Panetta, Israeli Defence Minister hold talks over bilateral issues

IN BRIEF
Cabinet approves two highway projects
NEW DELHI: The cabinet Thursday approved upgrading of two highway projects under various stages of the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) with a total outlay of Rs.5,652.03 crore. The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) approved the development of the contd on page 2

India rejects Pak's proposal for UN probe into soldiers' killings

NEW DELHI,JAN 10: India today outrightly rejected Pakistan's proposal for UN probe into the incident in which twoIndian soldiers were killed across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, making it clear it does not want to internationalise the issue. The unprovoked attack by Pakistani troops in Poonch sector on January eight in which the two jawans were killed and subsequent developments figured at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which was briefed about the incident by Defence Minister A K Antony. "We are certainly not going to agree to internationalise the issue or allow the United Nations to hold an enquiry. That demand is obviously rejected out of hand," Finance Minister P Chidambaram told a press conference after the meetings of the Union Cabinet and CCS presided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Reacting to Pakistan's proposal, National Security Advisor Shivshanker Menon asserted that the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has no role. "They don't have a role," he said in a one-lie reply. Menon also said there has been an "increase" in the incidents of ceasefire violations and infiltration attempts not just in the last few months. "In 2012 there was an, over all, increase over 2011 and that is a fact. And we are dealing with both ourselves and with Pakistan authorities," he said. Menon rejected reports that the government was rethinking or revisiting the decision to operationalise liberalised Indo-Pak visa pact. He also said the January 8 incident which can be termed as "reprehensible, barbaric and dastardly" has not happened for the first time but hoped it never happens again. The bodies of the two slain jawans were found in a mutilated condition. contd on page 2

'UN urges India, Pak to respect ceasefire'

NEW DELHI: The United States has turned down Pakistan's demand for an international probe into the January 8 killing of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, by Pakistani Army jawans. While rejecting as "baseless and unfounded" the charges that contd on page 2

Northern Army Commander briefs J&K Guv on LoC attack

JAMMU,JAN 10: Northern Command Chief Lt General K T Parnaik has briefed Governor N N Vohra over the killing of two jawans by intruding Pakistani troops in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Lt Gen Parnaik met the Governor at Raj Bhawan here contd on page 2

LoC trade stops, Pak won't open gates for Indian trucks
JAMMU,JAN 10:The violation of the ceasefire that resulted in the deaths of two Indian soldiers has prompted speculations that the talks between the two nations could be derailed. While the Indian authorities have summoned their Pakistani counterpart and lodged a strong protest over the contd on page 2

SC hints at speeding up trial in crimes against women

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday hinted at speeding up trial in all pending cases of sexual harassment and crimes against women. "Please wait for a week. I have something in mind. All matters like this one pending from 2004 and 2005 will be speeded up," said contd on page 2

CJ inaugurates Fast Track Courts for trial Govt set to raise diesel, LPG price after railway fares Mamata criticises rail Won't support any of rape, other offences against women fare hike, terms it decision that will hit
JAMMU, JAN 10: Mr. Justice, M. M. Kumar, Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir today inaugurated 3rd Additional District Judge (TADA), Jammu, besides four other courts as the Fast Track Courts to try the cases of rape and other offences against Women. The other four Courts earmarked as Fast Track courts by High Court of Jammu and Kashmir contd on page 2 NEW DELHI: After announcing a hike in railway fares, the government is now set to take a tough decision on raising fuel prices as early as this week or next week. A hike of Rs 4.50 per litre in diesel prices and that of Rs 100 per cylinder for LPG prices is expected. Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Thursday said the government was looking to hike GDP growth to 8 per cent in two to years and was willing to take tough decisions. He said the decision to increase fuel prices will be taken in a week or two. The Oil Ministry has made a proposal to Cabinet to raise diesel prices and increase the number of subsidised LPG cylinders available to households to nine a year from the current cap of six, two oil ministry sources said on Wednesday. The proposal has got the approval of both contd on page 2

'anti-people'

the poor: Karunanidhi

India calls for sustainable strategy for child survival at top BRICS health officials meet
NEW DELHI: India Thursday called for adopting a concerted and sustainable strategy for child survival for the progressive reduction in maternal mortality, infant mortality, neo-natal mortality and under-5 mortality rates. Addressing a two-day meeting contd on page 2

Justice, M. M. Kumar, Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir today inaugurating Fast Track Courts in Jammu.

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the hike in rail fare terming it "antipeople" and questioned whether it was ethical for the government to do so before the budget. "Railway fares for all classes have been increased on an average by 20 per cent today. In the last budget there was an increased contd on page 2

CHENNAI: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance, on Thursday said that it would take up the latest railway fare increase issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Party chief Karunanidhi said that he would not support any hike that would hit the poor. "DMK will not support any hike contd on page 2

Indian victim gets Rs 32 lakh compensation in Oman

DUBAI: A court in Muscat has awarded Rs 3,200,000 (25,000 Omani riyals) to an Indian expatriate who met with a road traffic accident in 2010, a news report said. Sasikumar, the victim who hails from Kerala was hit by a vehicle while he was walking on the road and suffered serious head injuries in Al Khoud area. "According to the contd on page 2

319 posts to be created for JU, KU campuses:Malik

JAMMU: J-K government is contemplating creation of 319 new posts for offsite campuses of Jammu and Kashmir universities in the state, Minister for Higher Education, Labour and Employment Abdul Gani Malik said. "Higher Education Department will move proposals for creation of 186 positions for offsite campuses at Kashmir University and 133 positions for offsite campuses at Jammu University so that Finance and Planning department will provide concurrence for these creations", Malik said. University authorities have been asked to submit a report about the students pursuing PG Courses in Education Institutions outside the state so that intake capacity of state Universities is increased accordingly, he said. The Minister underscored the need for strengthening offsite (Satellite Campus) at Kashmir University and Jammu University by creation of number of positions so that job oriented modern subjects are introduced in the curriculum in these highest seats of learning, aimed to benefit enthusiastic students of the state. The Minister was addressing a high-level officers' meeting convened here yesterday to review the pace of overall functioning of the State Universities as well as the contribution of offsite campuses contd on page 2

Mufti Calls For Restraint Over Ceasefire Violations

JAMMU,JAN 10: Cautioning against any further downside in Indo Pakistan relations Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) has strongly condemned the repeated violations of ceasefire along the Line of Control ( LOC) which have culminated in unfortunate casualties in Poonch sector this week. In a statement the party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed expressed the hope that the political leadership of the two countries would rise to the occasion to save the biggest confidence building measure that had come as a great relief to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. " Earlier innocent civilian lives were also lost in Churunda village of Uri bringing back the specter of border shelling that had made life impossible for the residents in those areas for nearly six decades," he said. Mufti said while strategic considerations needed to find place in our response to the lately volatile environment on the LoC it was of supreme importance that the hawks on either side are not able to derail the peace process between two neighbours. It is the people of Jammu and Kashmir who are the basic stakeholders in peace, he said emphasizing that their life, property and dignity was in direct line of fire in any hostilities between our country and Pakistan. "2003 ceasefire was a states manly response by the then prime minister Vajpayee to the urge for peace he found among people during his visit to Srinagar, a process that was carried forward by Dr Manmohan Singh even in the face of Mumbai atrocities. The people of J& K have invested a lot in the peace process and it would be highly dangerous if the process is allowed to be sabotaged contd on page 2

J&K Bank Continues Its Financial Literacy Mission

JAMMU,JAN 10:With an aim to bring positive change and spread financial literacy, J&K Bank, in collaboration with Agriculture Department, organized a number of awareness camps in Bandipora and Pulwama. Facilitator, Financial Literacy and Credit counseling Centre Bandipora conducted a series of awareness camps in remote villages of Bandipora including Chittaybanday, Gamroo in Gundpora, Kunan in CA Khan, Sumlar, Chintmulla, Sonarwani Chek Reshipora, Arin in Ayathmulla and Kaloosa village in Qazipora Patushai. The camps witnessed impressive participation of locals who were made aware about need to bring themselves within the ambit of modern financial system that offers varied solutions and services to upgrade their economic status. Awareness was also given regarding various deposit products available with the bank. The Lead Bank Officer also attended the camps and interacted with the participants. Meanwhile, Lead District Manager Pulwama and FLCC Pulwama and Incharge LDM, Pulwama participated in the two Awareness programmes organized by State Handicrafts department at Pampore and Rajpora in Pulwama for handicraft artisans. A number of district and state level functionaries of contd on page 2

E-governance:K'taka offers public services through mobile phones

BANGALORE: Karnataka took a step forward today in the area of e-governance by offering public services through mobile phones. Chief Minister Jagadish Shetter launched the services in Bangalore today. Under the new initiative, 100 public services to the citizens can now be accessed through their mobile phones. This is done contd on page 2

Rs 402 cr revenue realised in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, JAN 10: Underscoring the significance of power sector in the economic development of the State, the Minister of State for Power, Mr. Shabir Ahmed Khan Thursday called for necessary reforms to bridge the gap between the energy supply and revenue collection. The Minister said the government under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister, Mr. Omar Abdullah, was endeavoring hard to provide power to the people round the clock for both domestic and commercial purposes and for achieving this goal the full collection of tariff is very important. He directed the Power Development Department (PDD) to put in all efforts for ensuring hundred percent revenue collections, instead of mooting curtailment programmes. Addressing a high level meeting convened here today to discuss issues pertaining to the supply of electricity and collection of revenue, the Minister said that failure or lapse in the revenue collection forces officials to go for curtailment and asked the PDD functionaries no to go for the curtailment option instead of making efforts to realize the revenue and avoid disruption in power supply. Principal Secretary Power Development Department, Mr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Power Development Commissioner, Mr. M.A Salroo, Secretary Technical Power, Mr. Asgar Ali Majaz, Chief Engineers EM&RE, Kashmir, Mr. Muzafar Ahmed, Chief Engineer System & operations Kashmir, Chief Engineer System and Operations, Mr. Gul contd on page 2

India, China termed 'unfree' in economic freedom index

WASHINGTON: India and China are ranked 119th and 136th respectively and both termed "unfree" according to the 2013 Index of Economic Freedom published annually by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation. The Asia-Pacific region is home to the world's freest economy, and its most repressed, according to the index released here Thursday. For the 19th consecutive year, Hong Kong maintained its top position, while North Korea languishes at the bottom. However, the Asia Pacific region's "foundations for long-term economic development continue to be fragile in the absence of effectively functioning legal frameworks", the index's editors write. "Progress with marketoriented reforms has been uneven and has often backtracked under the influence of those with a political interest in maintaining the status quo". Singapore, Australia and New Zealand finished 2-3-4 respectively, while the US is ranked 10th in the index that evaluates countries in four broad areas of economic freedom -- rule of law, regulatory efficiency, limited government, and open markets. Based on its aggregate score, each of 177 countries graded in the 2013 index was classified as "free" (i.e. combined scores of 80 or higher), "mostly free" (70-79.9), "moderately free" (60-69.9), "mostly unfree" (50-59.9), or "repressed" (under 50). Europe, the second-freest region and the world's most improved, narrowed the gap with North America in the 2013 index. The scores of 32 countries improved, while just nine lost economic freedom. Switzerland continues to be the only "free" economy in the region, which has only two "repressed" economies that score below 50 -Ukraine and Belarus. North America continues to be the world's freest region, though Mexico was the only economy that improved contd on page 2

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Ganges, Chenab and Sutlej rivers, lifelines for millions of people," it said. "It would be pertinent, then, to renew the call for all troops and infrastructure to be removed from the Siachen area." It said there was "too much evidence now for even the most optimistic to deny that this planet is fragile and every country must do what it can to mitigate the effects its population may be having on ecosystems and the environment". JAMMU, JAN 10: After successfully launching the ambitious Artisans Credit Cards (ACC) in Kashmir province this fiscal, the Government has announced to introduce this scheme in Jammu division also which envisages to entitle weavers and artisans for interest free bank credit upto Rs.1.00 lakh without any mortgage. In Kashmir about 10,000 ACCs have been distributed sofar and the Minister for Industries & Commerce Mr. Slathia directed the concerned officers to conduct a comprehensive survey of artisans in Jammu so that they too are provided ACCs from the next month. Announces this decision, after inaugurating the special Handloom Expo-2013, 4th in a series during the current fiscal, Mr. Slathia said that the Government is committed to promote the world famous handlooms products and handicrafts ,for which expose both in and outside the country are being regularly organized to showcase the rich handloom heritage of the state. He said the main objective of organizing handloom expose is to provide a platform to the handloom weavers under one roof, besides, enabling them to sell their products directly to the customers with the exploitation of middlemen. He said these expose also provide an opportunity to the customers to get quality assured products at genuine price. Mr. Slathia called for maintaining the quality standards of handloom and handicraft products at all costs, which, he said was key to increase their demand in the world market. He said, though the state's handcraft exports have touched a high of Rs.1300 crores per year, there is still a great scope to enhance this figure, for which there was a need for launching a vigorous publicity campaign on sustained basis to make the people aware about various activities being organized by the departments associated with handicrafts and handloom development. He said, after holding National Handloom Expo in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, the Government has decided to organize an expo of Royal Pashmina in Mumbai to showcase this artistic handloom product in a big way. Mr. Slathia also announced that a special package for revival and restructuring of handloom sector in the state is at final stage and MOU in this regard has already been signed with NABARD adding that the package will provide great relief to the handloom weavers.

'Remove troops to save Siachen' ACC Scheme being launched in Jammu from next month: Slathia
ISLAMABAD: The IndiaPakistan dispute over Siachen, the world's highest battleground, is a "waste of resources" that could be put to much better use, a leading Pakistani daily said on Thursday, renewing a call for all troops and infrastructure to be removed from the area. "Despite decades having passed, the two countries have been unable to come to a comprehensive agreement on this barren wasteland," the Dawn said in an editorial. Citing a recent study titled "Climate Data and Modelling Analysis of the Indus Ecoregion", the daily said the Siachen glacier has lost 5.9 km of its longitudinal length between 1989 and 2009 due to rising temperatures. The glacial ice mass has thinned by 17 percent, the daily said. "Just as worryingly, the human presence in this region may also be affecting the neighbouring glaciers of Gangotri, Miyar, Milan and Janapa, which feed the

Contd. from page 1...

India rejects...
Pakistan had yesterday claimed that its troops were not involved in the attack carried out inside the Indian territory in Mendhar area of J&K and said it was prepared to hold investigation through the UNMOGIP, which has presence on both sides of the Line of Control(LoC). "We take a serious view of what happened...Whatever has to be done will be done," Chidambaram said while describing the incident as brutal. He also asserted that Indian troops had committed no violation of the ceasefire agreement as claimed in a media report. Asserting that Indo-Pak ties were not a "zero sum game", official sources said "this is not the sum total of everything and has not happened for the first time. Instead of shouting, we should give them (Pakistan) time to take action".

Army intruded across the LoC in the Mendhar Sector on January 8, 2013," Public Relation Officer (PRO), Ministry of Defence (MoD) Northern Command, J&K, Lt Col Rajesh Kalia said.

LoC trade....
incident, there has been no other action taken so far. Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has offered to seek for a third party probe into the incident, but India has stayed mum on the topic and hasn't lodged a protest with the United Nations over it despite calls from some quarters to 'name and shame' its neighbour. The US has urged India and Pakistan to resolve the issue peacefully and has refrained from making a comment on the issue for now.

fares with effect from January 21 to net an additional Rs 6,600 crore a year, the first such increase in a decade. The hike coming a month before the presentation of Railway Budget has been slammed by opposition parties which have demanded a rollback.

319 posts...
of both the institutions. The Minister sought reports and concrete suggestions from both the registrars to make the functioning of universities purposeful.

J&K Bank ...

Handicrafts Department were present on the ocassion. Bank officials impressed upon the participants to inculcate the habit of savings and avail various financial solutions to usher a new era of economic growth in their respective lives and areas.

India, China ...

its index score over the last year. The region boasts two "mostly free" economies (Canada and the US) and one "moderately free" economy (Mexico). It leads the world in terms of rule of law, regulatory efficiency and open markets, but is getting worse where government spending is concerned. The world average score of 59.6 was only one-tenth of a point above the 2012 average. Since reaching a global peak in 2008, the editors' note, economic freedom has continued to stagnate. The overall trend for last year, however, was positive. Among the 177 countries ranked in the 2013 index, scores improved for 91 countries and declined for 78. "On the plus side, average government spending scores improved. Unfortunately, this was matched by a decline in regulatory efficiency, as a number of countries hiked minimum wages and tightened control of labour markets," the editors wrote. "The global advance toward economic freedom has ground to a halt," they concluded.

Mufti Calls...
through misadventures like the ones in Mendhar," he said. Describing the ceasefire as mother of all CBMs Mufti said no progress was possible on other fronts like trade between the two countries or the reopening of traditional routes across LoC for travel and trade if the borders remained tense. He said the people of the state who lived in border areas had rediscovered the meaning of life after the 2003 peace initiative and they are looking at the deteriorating situation with immense anxiety. He said for these people the last ten years have been like a pleasant dream come true and those who want peace on borders disrupted for whatever reasons actually are hitting at this large population that has spent most of their lives under fear and threat of guns. He said people from Kathua to Kargil are worried over the looming though hopefully still remote prospect of having to return to the experience of daily shelling and life in bunkers and shelters but expressed confidence that peace on borders would be preserved at any cost.

CJ inaugurates....
to deal with such cases, include Court of 2nd Additional District & Sessions Judge, Srinagar, Court of 1stAdditional District & Sessions Judge, Baramulla, Court of Additional District & Sessions Judge, Anantnag and Court of Additional District & Sessions Judge, Pulwama. Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Hasnain Masoodi, besides prominent lawyers, government functionaries and Law Officers of the state were present at the inaugural function here at Janipur Courts Complex. The High Court has taken the remarkable initiative keeping in view the urgency of expeditious trial of rape cases and the fact that justice delayed is justice denied. The Chief Justice, in tune with the policy to use tools of modern technology for faster administration of justice, inaugurated the four courts earmarked as Fast Track Courts in Kashmir Division through video conferencing. During his interaction with the Judges of these courts, the Chief Justice emphasised the obligations of delivering timely justice. It is pertinent to mention here that the J&K High Court has sought the creation of eight courts of the rank of District & Sessions Judge as Fast Track Courts in the districts where there is huge pendency of rape cases. Since, it would take time to create new Fast Track Courts, it was resolved to earmark five existing courts to exclusively try rape cases to provide succour to the victims, as it will not brook any delay in the policy of High Court to deliver timely justice. The High Court has also sought the creation of ten Fast Track Courts of the rank of Civil Judge (Senior Division) Sub Judge (JMIC) in the state of Jammu and Kashmir to try the cases pertaining to offences against women at Magistrate level.

'UN urges...
its troops killed and beheaded the two Indian soldiers, Pakistan had suggested a third party probe. A day after Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar called for interference of the United Nations to verify the country's claims on the deaths of two Indian soldiers, the UN has urged India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions through dialogue. The UN has urged India and Pakistan to respect the ceasefire and "de-escalate" tensions over the recent crossborder firings through dialogue. The United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) made the plea even as it received a complaint from Pakistan which claimed that Indian troops had allegedly crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and "raided" a border post on January 6. India has denied it has crossed the LoC. "UNMOGIP is aware that the Pakistan Army and Indian Army are in contact via the Hotline and urges both sides to respect the ceasefire and de-escalate tensions through dialogue," the UN observer force said. The ceasefire has been in place along the LoC since 2003. However, "no official complaint has been received either from the Pakistan Army or Indian Army" regarding the January 8 clash in which two Indian soldiers were killed, it said. The attack on the Indian soldiers has raised concerns over Indo-Pak bilateral relations, with the Indian Army calling it a significant breach of ceasefire. Hina Rabbani Khar's call for a UN-led third party probe into the brutal killing of Indian soldiers has sparked off an angry response in India. Indian diplomats claim this is Pakistan's attempt to internationalise the issue. External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid admitted that the incident is a setback to normalisation of Indo Pak ties but also added that India should tread cautiously taking one step at a time. "I would imagine that this issue has very serious implications. But let's take it one step at a time. I don't think we should either let our guard down or get hysterical. Let's take one step at a time. Let's get a formal response from them and then we will see." When asked whether India was ready to take it up at the UN International Convention, Khurshid said, "Because we are distressed and disturbed doesn't mean that we will give a go by to sort out positions that we have taken about not inviting multilateral interference. We have consistently maintained this in the bilateral situation between India and Pakistan." Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar denied Pakistan's hand in the killings of Indian soldiers. She said Pakistan was ready for a third party to verify their claims if 'India doesn't believe in our enquiry'. She also said that Pakistan had completed its investigation. Pakistan Ambassador to India, Salman Bashir, also reiterated that the country did not violate ceasefire or cross the Line of Control (LoC) at any point of time. Pointing that a Pakistani post was attacked on January 6 wherein a soldier had died, Bashir said that though the matter was raised by the Foreign Ministry, Pakistan had refrained from going to the media.

Cabinet approves...
Baharagora-Sambalpur section of National Highway 6 and the Patna-Gaya-Dobhi section on National Highway 83. The Baharagora-Sambalpur section will be developed as a four- and two-lane road on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis, with a total length of 368.20 km. It will cost Rs.3,636.43 crore. The Patna-Gaya-Dobhi section will be developed as a four-lane road with a total length of 127.20 km. According to a statement from CCEA, the project will cost Rs.2,015.60 crore and will be completed within three years after the contract is signed.

Rs 402 cr...
Ayaz, Superintendent Engineers and Executive Engineers of different wings of the Department attended the meeting. The Minister said despite limited resources, the State has to spend over Rs 3100 crore on import of power against a revenue collection of half of this amount which was a matter of great concern and needs immediate attention of the authorities at the helm of affairs. Mr. Shabir urged for a multi -pronged strategy to bring a turnaround in the power sector with emphasis on energetic inspections, 100 percent metering and effective implementation of relevant laws to cap pilferages at various levels as also to affect targeted recoveries precisely. "Jammu and Kashmir is the only State where highest, about 70 percent energy is lost due to power pilferage and T&D losses", Shabir said adding that the State's economy cannot afford this huge deficit for a long. The situation demands self introspection and the responsibility lie on the officers, engineers and the field staff of power department, he said. Principal Secretary, PDD, Mr. Mehta directed concerned engineers to complete all under execution power sector projects well in time for reducing power losses in the division. He directed for re-activating the services of field staff to check and control power pilferage. He stressed for brining all consumers on record and agreement with the department for actual power consumption. He also instructed that preventive maintenance of power infrastructure should be taken first before damages and asked them not to wait till the minor damage to the power infrastructure becomes a big problem. He directed for organizing awareness camps in cities and towns for judicious use of energy. He also directed the AEEs and JEs of the department to ensure punctuality at their jurisdictions to check the status of transformers and other infrastructure to save these from damages. Mr. Mehta directed concerned authorities to ensure scheduled power supply to the consumers as they have the right to get proper electricity. He stressed upon all the wings of the department to work in coordinated manner for achieving good results. 2012. The meeting was informed that 34921 new connections have been registered in the region during last eight month of current fiscal taking the total number to 719908. The meeting was informed that Power Development Department, Kashmir has registered revenue collection of Rs. 40206.54 lakhs from the consumers of Kashmir Division till ending December, while Rs. 60.24 lacs have been recovered from the defaulters till November. The meeting was also informed that 4951 new applications were received for revision of load against which 4162.66 KWs load was added in the division. It was also informed that the checking squads have made 15957 inspections across the division to check illegal connection and power pilferage and imposed a fine of Rs. 169.67 lakhs againstwhich Rs 60.24 lakh have been recovered from the violators The meeting also took detailed review of under execution works being carried out under RGGVY, R-APDRP and state plan in the division.

SC hints...
Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir when the All India Democratic Women's Association's appeal in the Suryanelli rape case came up. V K Biju, lawyer for the association, said, "The Chief Justice heard the appeal and said all such cases pending in the Supreme Court have to be fast-tracked." In the Suryanelli case, a 16-year-old girl was gang-raped by 42 men over 40 days in 1996. The girl from Suryanelli in Idukki district of Kerala was abducted in January 1996 and moved from place to place across Kerala. On September 6, 2000, a special court sentenced 36 persons to rigorous imprisonment for varying terms. But the Kerala High Court acquitted 35 convicts. The court convicted one person and sentenced him to five years in jail and a fine of Rs. 50,000.

Govt set...
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The government argues this would help counter Rs 160,000 crore deficit. India, which imports more than 80 per cent of its fuel needs, liberalised petrol prices in June 2010 but continues to regulate diesel prices to protect the poor. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has recently said the country must gradually bring local fuel prices in line with global prices. Manmohan Singh had warned that the government must raise diesel, kerosene and cooking gas prices in a phased manner as India's fuel prices are well below international prices. "Energy remains under priced in our country, with coal, petroleum products and natural gas prices well below international prices. To meet our target of rapid, inclusive and sustainable growth we must undertake a phased rationalisation of energy prices to bring them in line with world prices," he had said on Monday. Earlier on Wednesday, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced a hike in railway fares, the first in the last 10 years. The new fares will be effective from midnight of January 21, 2012. The Railway Minister also clarified that the fares will not be hiked in Railway Budget.

India calls...
of health secretaries and senior advisors of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) which began in New Delhi, Health Secretary P K Pradhan said these countries can together play a major in influencing global health of women and children. He said although BRICS members have been able to make significant progress in providing better health facilities to the people, much more still needs to be done. Mr Pradhan also asked the member countries to rise to the occasion with specific and agreed plans of collaboration to harness their strengths and overcome the weaknesses.

Indian victim...
medics, the victim had 100 per cent disability. The money has been sent through the Indian embassy," a legal adviser said. According to statistics released recently by the Royal Oman Police (ROP), 1,131 people were killed and 11,364 were injured in various road accidents in the country during 2012.

Mamata criticises....
of about 8 per cent in AC I and AC II," Mamata said in a Facebook post. "Today's decision of additional burden is anti-people. Budget is coming next month. Is it ethical to increase the fare before the budget? It is too much, we do not agree," the former Railway minister said. "In the recent times, the UPA government has raised prices of many essential commodities, be it LPG, diesel, petrol, fertiliser," she said. "What else is left out?," Mamata said.

Northern Army..
last evening and briefed him in detail about Tuesday's incident on the Line of Control (LoC) at Mankot Sector in Mendhar tehsil in which the two jawans were killed and as many were injured, an official release said here today. It is likely that another meeting would take place between the Governor and the Army Commander in the next few days on the matter, it said. Lt Gen Parnaik, who is Col Commandant of the Raj Rifles Regiment, had undertaken security review at the spot soon after the attack. The Army jawans were killed in the attack by Pakistani troops, reportedly of 29 Baloch Regiment, after they intruded 600 meters deep into Indian territory along the LoC. "In a significant escalation to the continuing series of ceasefire violations and infiltration attempts supported by Pakistan Army, a group of their regular soldiers of Pakistan

E-governance....
to maintain transperancy and avoid corruption. Under the new arrangement, enabled by technology, the citizens can pay their electricity, water, property tax and mobile bills through their phone. In addition all the services offered by Karnataka one kiosk, Bangalore Traffic police, Mysore Transport department and Sakala services can be accessed through mobile phone. Speaking on the occasion Mr Shettar said the scheme will provide value added services in health, education, agriculture and legal aid sectors. He added that Government is planning to utilise Banking Correspondents appointed by different banks in rural areas to extend the government services in rural areas, through the hand held computers. After the launch of this scheme, it is made mandatory for all departments to offer services through the mobile service delivery platform.

Won't support ...

that will hit the poor," party chief M Karunanidhi said when reporters asked him about the railway fare hike announced by PK Bansal on Wednesday. Replying to another question, he said his party would take up the matter with the Prime Minister through its MPs. In the pre-budget measure, the government has announced an across-the-board increase in rail passenger

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STUDENT AGE FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2013

STATE
JAMMU, JAN 10: Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Ghulam Hassan Mir today asked the farmers to adopt latest Agritechniques in their fields to improve their production and returns. The Minister was addressing a gathering after inaugurating one day sensitisation programme on "National Vegetable Initiative for Urban Clusters (NVIUC)" organised by Directorate of Agriculture, Jammu in association with Actech Agro Pvt. Ltd. at Zorawar Singh Auditorium, Jammu University, here this afternoon. The Minister said that the economic empowerment of the farmers of J&K has been accorded priority by the coali-

NEWS IN BOX

India dismisses Pak allegations of transgressions in Uri sector

NEW DELHI,JAN 10: India on Thursday dismissed Pakistan's allegations that its Army transgressed the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector. In fact, Pakistan had carried out a ceasefire violation on the night of January 5-6 and "controlled retaliation" was carried out by the Indian Army on January 6, an Army press release said on Wednesday. "No LoC transgression has been resorted to by the Indian army in Uri Sector on January 6 as alleged," it said. Pakistan has been alleging that one of its soldiers was killed by Indian troops along the LoC in Uri sector on Sunday. On January 8, two Indian soldiers were killed on Line of Control (LoC) by Pakistani troops with the body of one being badly mutilated. Pakistan has claimed that its troops were not involved in the attack carried out inside the Indian territory in Mendhar area of Jammu and Kashmir.

Empowerment of farmers govt's priority: Govt

'Rs. 12 cr being spend in Jammu under NVIUC'
the farmers under one umbrella, to strengthen the economy of the producers, to facilitate them for cost effective production and to provide them marked linkage under well furnished plan. While referring to the challenges faced by farmers, especially vegetable growers on several fronts like production, post harvest handling, storage, transportation, marketing and distribution, Mr. Mir assured that agriculture Ministry was watching their interests at every moment . Mr. Mir said that an amount of Rs. 12 crore has been sanctioned under National vegetable Initiative for urban clusters of Jammu, out of which action plan for Rs. 6 crore is being implemented during this fiscal. He said the scheme was introduced in the State during 2011-12 and said that two capital cities of J&K were covered under it to provide every logistic support to the vegetable growers for strengthening their economic status, besides meeting the local demands. He said under this provision the farmers are being provided high quality hybrid vegetable seeds, vermicompost units, UVS polythenes sheets and shade nets for protected cultivation of vegetation government, He said several steps have been taken to make the agriculture a profitable activity. He said that the measures taken aim at to add glamour to agriculture sector by way of introduction of latest techniques, hybrid seeds and other agriculture inputs besides to provide market linkages to the farmers. He said there is a dire need to make the agriculture as an organised sector so that more and more investment is made for the economic empowerment of the farmers. Elaborating on the vegetable initiative for urban clusters, Mr. Mir said that the main objective is to organise bles. He said that with the kind of interventions envisaged under the scheme, not only more avenues of employment generation will be augmented but also the remuneration to the farmers. Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chairman of Kissan Welfare Board, Th. Rashpal Singh appreciated the efforts of Agriculture Department in taking up the scheme in its right perspective and giving due emphasis to awareness generation, development of organization and technological dissemination in a big way. Earlier, the Minister gave away awards and certificates to the progressive vegetable growers of Jammu province. Earlier, Director Agriculture, Jammu, Mr. Ajay Khajuria said that after the baseline survey conducted through the Indian Society for Agri Business Professions, more than 20 vegetable clusters have been identified by the agriculture department Jammu for development in a holistic manner. He said with the facilitation of Actech Information Systems Ltd which has been engaged by SFAC more than 3000 farmers from vegetables growing peri-urban clusters Jammu city have been constituted into 209 Farmer's Interest Groups (FIG) under the vegetable initiative.

MLC Shenaz calls on Governor

JAMMU,JAN 10: Dr Shenaz Ganai, Hon'ble M.L.C today met His excellency the Governor of J&K state sh N.N Vohra at Raj Bhawan. this was her first meeting with the Governor after her being elected as M.L.C in the legislative council. the emphasis of the meeting was to bring the issues of the people to the notice of the His excellency. during the course of deliberation the Hon'ble M.L.C requested His excellency to use his good offices so that the railway line for the twin Border districts gets sanctioned from the ministry of railways govt of india, as these two districts lack the proper connectivity. These two border districts dont have any alternate connectivity with the rest of India. Also the youth of the hill locked area of these Border Districts is not having proper avenues for employment and accordingly she requested that special requirement be done for the deserving youth of the area in the paramilitary forces. various other issues were also discussed including the demand of the Sarpanches and Panches for Monthly Honorarium.

Saroori visits GMC, enquires health of accident victims

JAMMU, JAN 10: Former Minister and MLA Inderwal G M Saroori, on Thursday visited Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, and enquired about the health of the injured in the Goila Khara and Sirgwari accident victim. The accident took place when Sumo carrying 3 person fell into deep gorge at Goila Khara area of Doda District, among one died one spot namely Yasir Ahmed R/o Chabba Khara and other one died at GMC Jammu namely Mohammad Shafi R/o Chirala Khara. Yasir Almed was a staunch Congress worker. Several Congress leaders attended Namaz-EJinazah which was offered at Khara Doda District. During his visit District Commissioner Doda, Farooq Khan releases interim relief amounting Rs, 5,000 to injured namely Tariq Hussain R/o Khara beside Rs 10,000 to family of deceases namely Mohammad Shafi R/o Chirala and Yasir Ahmed R/o Chabba Khara. Red Cross society also gave Rs, 5,000 to the injured as well to deceased family. Saroori asked the doctors about the status of injured and directed them to extend best Medicare to them for their early recovery. He also extended heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family of deceased and prayed for external peace to the departed soul. He also wished for early recovery to the injured. He appeals to Chief Minister Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah for early release of ex-gratia relief in favour of the family members of those who have lost their lives. He also interacted with wounded persons of Sirgwari accident victims which take place on Tuesday including Mohd Ashraf, Pancham Singh, Uzma Wani, Yasir Ahmed, Aljahual Javed, Shagal Ishaq and Ikhlaq Ahmed. Saroori demanded deployment of more SRTC buses in the hilly district especially Khara, Bunjwah, Sarthal, Saroor, Chatroo and other areas besides undertaking strict checking of the vehicles plying on these roads besides imposing ban on use of mobile phones by the drivers.

Justice Kumar inaugurates Fast Track Court Sgr through Video Conferencing at Jammu
SRINAGAR, JAN 10: Chief Justice, J&K High Court, Justice M.M. Kumar inaugurated fast track court at Saddar Court Srinagar through Video Conferencing at Jammu. The inaugural function was attended by various High Court Judges which include Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Husnain Masoodi while as Principal District and Sessions Judge, Mr. Mohammad Shafi Khan was present on the occasion. Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr. Madan Lal who was als present on the occasion has been given additional charge of Fast Track Court of Srinagar set up for focussing on domestic and sexual violence against women folk. Chief Justice, Justice M.M. Kumar while addressing the Judges through Video Conference asked them to initiate action against the crime of sexual and domestic violence against women folk, so that the sanctity and status of women is maintained at all costs in the society. He said this Court is first of its kind to redress the grievances of women victimized by vested interests. He impressed upon the Judges to complete the process of all the sexual crime related cases upto January 21, 2013 so that from January 22, 2013 these cases are settled through Fast Track Court inaugurated today. The Principal District and Sessions Judge, Mr. Mohammad Shafi Khan on this occasion said that 188 cases of different nature are under trial in district Srinagar out of which 50 cases has been settled.

Youths protest violence against women in J&K

SRINAGAR,JAN 10: In the backdrop of a recent acid attack on a school teacher, a group of youths on Thursday staged a demonstration demanding speedy justice in cases of violence against women. A school teacher suffered severe burn injuries last week when she was attacked by a youth with acid while returning from a tuition centre in uptown Srinagar. Although the youth was immediately arrested by police, the incident had sparked widespread condemnation and anger among the locals. Dozens of young men and women assembled at Press Enclave in the heart of the city under the banner of NGO 'Human Rights Law Network' and held a peaceful demonstration to condemn violence against women in the state. "The recent acid attack on a young school teacher shows the breakdown of our society. We are here to mobilise our society so that such incidents do not occur again," said Advocate Altaf Mehraj, one of the protesters. They were carrying placards which read "Crime against women must stop", "Teach your sons not to harass rather than teaching your daughters how to dress" and "call for change". A woman protester demanded punishment of the "uniformed personnel" involved in gang rapes over the years. "The rape victims of Kunan Poshpora, Warpora-Sopore and Shopian have been denied justice as the cases are still pending in courts. Justice delayed means justice denied," she said and demanded early action against those involved in these heinous crimes. "We are here to convey our message that criminal elements will not be tolerated and there is no place for such people in our society," Mehraj said. He added that setting up of fast track courts to deal with crimes against women is a welcome step but the need of the hour is to set up such courts in every district of the state at the earliest.

VC OBC Board calls on CM

JAMMU, JAN 10: Vice Chairman, Other Backward Classes Welfare Board, Kuldeep Raj Verma Thursday afternoon called on Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah here and discussed various issues relating to the development of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Mr. Verma expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for enhancing the income slab for OBCs for obtaining various certificates for benefits. He also congratulated the Chief Minister for success of all the four candidates of coalition government in the Legislative Council election. Kuldeep Raj Verma highlighted the need for constitution of OBC Boards at district levels. He raised the issue of reservation and other matters relating to the upliftment of other backward classes.

LA panel discusses impact of B-Kiln on agriculture production

JAMMU, JAN 10: The Sub -Committee of Environment Committee of Legislative Assembly today sought detailed report from Agriculture department about the agriculture land used by the Brick kilns owners in Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Rajouri, Budgam and Pulwama within a fortnight for the scrutiny of the members of Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee which met here today held a detailed discussion on the production losses in agriculture due to use of land and removal soil for brick making. Chairing the meeting, MLA Ch. Zulfikar Ali sought detailed report about the agriculture land used by the Brick kilns owners in Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Rajouri, Budgam and Pulwama within a fortnight for the scrutiny of the members of Sub-Committee. Ch Zulfikar directed the CA&PD authorities, to seek the verification from the concerned Tehsildar that the mud stock is available with the brick unit holder, before renewal of licence to brick kilns. Legislators, Dr. Shafi Ahmed Wani, Haji Mohamamd Asharaf Gani, and Mr. Charan Jeet Singh stressed for stringent measures need to be adopted while granting permission for establishment of brick kilns. The panel suggested that the permission may be granted only for non-productive belts and less fertile lands in rainfed areas. Earlier, the Commissioner Secretary Revenue, Mr. B. A Runyal, Director CA&PD, Jammu Mr. Parveez Ahmed Malik, Director Agriculture Production department Jammu, Mr. Khajuria, Chairman Pollution Control Board Mr. Lal Chand, Speical Secretary Law, Mrs. Farhet Taseem, Director Geology and Mining, Mr. Farooq Ahmed Khan, Commissioner JMC, Mr. K. L Khajuria, Director Environment and Remote Sensing Mr. Suresh Chug and other officers besides senior officers of Assembly Secretariat attended the meeting. Later, the SubCommittee convened a meeting with the Association of Brick Kilns and appraised their problems.

Dr. Shehnaz Ganai calls on Governor

JAMMU, JAN 10: Dr. Shehnaz Ganai, Member of the State Legislative Council, called on Mr. N. N. Vohra, Governor, at Raj Bhavan here today. During her meeting with the Governor, Dr. Shehnaz Ganai discussed issues relating to the functioning of Panchayati Raj institutions and their empowerment, need for establishing rail connectivity with Poonch and the importance of socio-economic development schemes and programmes being executed timely and efficiently. As Dr. Ganai has post-graduate qualification in the field of Medicine, the Governor urged her to take special interest in the functioning of health care institutions in her area and, besides, the education of the girl child. The Governor wished Dr. Shehnaz Ganai a very productive and successful political career in the coming time.

Congress leader demands better medical facility to the injured

KISHTWAR,JAN 10: Prominent Congress leader and former President DYCC Kishtwar Sheikh Nasir Hussain Advocate has wished for early recovery of the injured of the recent Tata Sumo accident. While showing concern over frequent road accidents on the roads of Chenab valley the Congress leader has demanded that every accident requires a thorough investigation so that the cause of these accidents can be ascertained. Congress Leader has urged upon the government and concerned departments to look into causes behind frequent accidents on Doda and Kishtwar roads and work out measures for minimizing the same. He has also criticized the Traffic police and transport department for their failure to curb the increasing road mishap incidents across the Chenab valley. Sheikh Nasir has stressed for providing best treatment to the injured at Govt Medical College Jammu. He has also demanded creation of trauma centers at various places / station on the National Highway which can provide immediate treatment to the injured in case of any accident.

Massive infrastructure created to revive sports culture: Bhalla

JAMMU, JAN10: Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Mr. Raman Bhalla has said that massive sports infrastructure has been created across the State over past few years to revive the sports culture in the State and provide talented youth an opportunity to refine their skills. This was stated by the Minister while addressing a large gathering of sports lovers after inaugurating Ist All J&K State Bench Press Championship organised by J&K Sports Power Association at Indoor Sports Stadium at MA Stadium, here today. MLA Mr. Ejaz Jan besides representatives of J&K Sports Power Association were also present on the occasion. Mr. Bhalla said Government was making all out efforts to organize more and more sports events in all districts of the State as it would help tap the available talented lot. He said there was no dearth of talent in the State and only need is to engage the youth well in the sports and provide them an opportunity to exhibit their performance. The Minister asked the officers to seek cooperation of the education and other departments, besides local sports clubs to organize sports events as it would help to promote sports culture in particular areas. He said only sports can help channelize the energy of youth for constructive purpose, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir where there are many around to misled them. Mr. Bhalla said the Government has started several mega projects to strengthen and upgrade sports infrastructure adding that crores of rupees has been earmarked for construction of latest technique stadiums in tehsil and district levels so that sports lovers could get adequate opportunity to prepare for national and international competitions. The Minister said upgraded infrastructure facilities would help the budding sportspersons to do well in national and international level competitions. He said Government has launched several schemes to provide enough opportunities to the sportsmen to channelise their energies and excel in different sports activities. Mr. Bhalla urged the younger generation to participate in co-curricular activities besides academic education. He said co-curricular activities are essential for making the students physically and mentally fit. He appealed the students to participate in sports activities in a big way besides pursuing academic education. The Minister informed that the Government has sanctioned Rs. 75 lakh for construction of play field near Government Higher Secondary School Bahu Fort adding that on its completion the locals could celebrate their national festivals besides sports activities at their doorsteps stadium.

Cabinet approves creation of 80 posts for 5 ITIs

JAMMU, JAN 10 : The State Cabinet which met here today under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah accorded sanction to the creation of 80 posts of various categories for establishment of five new Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) one each at Gurez, Hajin, Nowshera, Bani and Banihal. The Cabinet also accorded sanction to the transfer of State Land measuring 93 kanals under Khasra No. 334 Min situated in Village Sangani, Tehsil Akhnoor, District Jammu in favour of J&K Health and Medical Education Department for construction/establishment of an Ayurvedic College. The Cabinet approved promotion of Dr. Arun Kumar IAS Financial Commissioner (Revenue) to fixed scale of IAS (Rs. 80,000) with effect from 02.01.2012. The Cabinet also approved regularization of 3 (Retd.) Incharge Chief Engineers namely Mr. Showkat Ahmad Shahdad, Mr. Mumtaz Nazim and Mr. Vijay Kumar Koul as Chief Engineers.

Dy.CM reviews pace of Sub Urban schemes under implementation

SRINAGAR, JAN 10: Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Tara Chand Thursday reiterated Government's resolve to give focussed attention towards urban and sub-urban areas of the State in respect of infrastructure development for providing best possible facilities to the people. The Deputy Chief Minister was addressing a high level officers meeting of Housing and Urban Development Department here today convened to review the pace of progress of various schemes under State Plan as well as schemes funded by Central Government which include Urban Infrastructure Development of Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT), town drainage and infrastructure developm e n t . Commissioner/Secretary Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Jeet Lal Gupta, Vice Chairman LAWDA, Mr. Irfan Yaseen, Director Urban Local Bodies, Kashmir, Mr. Shamim Ahmad Leharwal, Joint Director Information Kashmir, Mr. Bashir Ahmad Khan, Deputy Director Planning, Mir Mushtaq Ahmad and officers of Housing and Urban Development attended the meeting. The Deputy Chief Minister said that Government has initiated several programmes for giving better look to Sub Urban areas by developing lanes, drains, extending safe drinking water and construction approaches to various villages connecting district headquarters. He said that construction of community centres has been speeded up for providing accommodation while organizing various social events in the complex. Directing officers to make judicious use of funds and work with honesty and dedication, Deputy Chief Minister said that the Government is committed for transparent functioning of government departments to extend healthy environment to the people by strict implementation of urban and sub-urban schemes efficiently. The meeting was informed that under State Plan out of approved outlay of Rs. 7.53 crore, Rs. 3.34 crore have been expended during the current financial year. It was further said that under Integrated Housing and Slum Programme (IHSDP) a centrally sponsored scheme, Rs. 24.17 crore were spent out of Rs. 27.30 crore approved plan. It was informed that under Infrastructure Development Programme, Rs. 9.15 crore were spent against an amount of Rs. 13.71 crore. Similarly, under UIDSSMT, Rs. 13.87 crore was spent against approved outlay of Rs. 20.71 crore. Under Town Drainage Scheme, Rs. 3.29 crore have been utilized against the total allocation of Rs. 5 crore. Director Urban Local Bodies, Kashmir informed the meeting that 42 Municipal Committees and 03 Municipal Councils are functioning in the Kashmir division to provide civic amenities to the people.

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STUDENT AGE FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2013

EDITORIAL & STATE WATCH

Chinese checkers is a game we must master

ndia has for long allowed Beijing to dictate terms and set the agenda for talks to settle issues such as the border row. This narrative must change and New Delhi should assert its presence more effectively The most serious foreign and defence policy challenge for the new year is in making good India's failure to match up to a rapidly rising and militarily modernising China, whose growth trajectory in contrast to our own is strategically planned and executed. This poses a grave security challenge to an ill-prepared India, unable and unwilling to measure up to China. Both countries started modernising at about the same time from a similar base line, but look at the gap between the two! The Indian economy is just one-third that of China's. We can showcase the world's largest democracy, but this itself is part of the problem and in need of reform. Fifty years after the Himalayan debacle of 1962, India has not learnt the craft of dealing with China as an equal. It continues to behave as a defeated nation. The ghost of the 1962 parliamentary resolution to retake "every inch of territory" continues to haunt the Indian polity. The Henderson Brookes report lies closeted in a safe when it ought to have been made public long back. New Delhi has been increasingly deferential to Beijing even as the new Chinese leadership flexes its muscle and postpones, indefinitely, settlement of the border issue. With each passing day,

By Ashok Mehta

China gets stronger while India struggles to catch up. Yet we downplay the threat and cut our defence budget by Rs 10,000 crore. Take the incidents of the last three months. Last December on Navy Day, the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral DK Joshi, in response to a journalist's question about the Chinese Navy's aggressive stance in the South China Sea, made some perfectly sane and measured comments about India's economic interests, freedom of navigation in international water, naval preparedness, etc and added that, if the Indian Navy is ordered to protect national interest, the Navy would do so. National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, who was reviewing with his counterpart Dai Bingguo in Beijing the progress in 15 rounds of border talks, blamed the media for putting words into Admiral Joshi's mouth. Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne was similarly asked about the outcome of the 1962 war had the Government authorised the use of the Air Force. He said it would have been a game-changer. This led to the Congress's Praveen Davar virtually castigating the Air Chief for not knowing the "full facts". But when the Chief of Army Staff, General Bikram Singh, was accosted with the inevitable China question, he said that relations between two countries were "absolutely perfect". During the India-Asean summit last month at New Delhi, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tang Dun spoke about

China's creeping assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea, but India side-stepped the issue in order not to ruffle Chinese feathers. These events accompany Beijing's new biometric passport showing Aksai Chin, Arunachal Pradesh and South China Sea as part of China, its latest board-andsearch rules in South China Sea and its foreign office's strong rebuttal of Admiral Joshi's comments. These events demonstrate how unqualified New Delhi is in handling and managing China. The central issues with China are the border dispute and that country's collusion with Pakistan, which are in violation of good neighbourliness conduct. Beijing refuses to discuss with New Delhi its all-weather, all seasons, higher-thanKarakoram, deeper-than-Indian Ocean relations with Islamabad. It will also not converse on nuclear issues as it does not recognise India as a nuclear weapons power. But on the boundary question, it is prepared, as it has shown since 1981, with an inexhaustible capacity to obfuscate the problem, which it attributes to a legacy of history and calls for strategic patience. The 2012 Chinese philosophical formulation was the need for a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution. Mr Menon is the current face of India's China policy of continuity with change, and the fourth NSA to converse with Mr Dai since Special Representatives were appointed in 2003. Border talks have

trekked a long and difficult path starting with the Foreign Secretary-led Working Groups in 1981, and soon went into mark-time mode. It was only after the Indian Army's tough unilateral action at Wangdung in Sumdorong Chu in 1986 that China discovered New Delhi's new found will to defend and deter. But, keen to continue modernising its economy, it sought to tranquilise the border through treaties in 1993 and 1996 of peace and tranquility and confidence building measures, designed both to buy time and Indian goodwill. Then began another round of JWG talks from 1996 to 2004, which included a fruitless attempt to delineate the Line of Actual Control through exchange of maps, as Beijing's real intention was to drag the dialogue not indicating the LAC. The Special Representatives' discourse was heralded as a breakthrough. It was decided to skip the delineation of the LAC and aim for a three-stage political settlement: Agree on political parameters, a framework agreement and delineation. The Chinese have again reneged on the agreed set of political parameters. At the review meeting at Beijing, Mr Menon and Mr Dai, therefore, decided to do a stocktaking of the progress made during the 15 rounds of talks. Mr Menon has said that progress and common understanding has been made in the process of agreeing on the political framework. It transpires that basic differ-

ences have emerged in interpreting the 2005 agreement on political parameters and guiding principles for a border settlement mainly over safeguarding interests of settled population in border areas (read Tawang), national sentiment and a package settlement including mutually acceptable adjustments. In short the political route too has hit an IED, reflecting a hardening of Chinese position. We can celebrate the 18 points of agreement which include the mechanism to prevent border incidents and bilateral strategic economic dialogue. A new ball-game will start this year, with Mr Dai being replaced either by former Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi or more likely Wang Yi who, at present, holds the Taiwan desk. A stalemate can be expected as the new Chinese leadership gets acquainted with the post-2014 Indian counterparts, who will also change. Till then, and for a long time to come thereafter, we can hold on to the 18 points of bilateral agreement till Beijing finds it opportune to seriously address the boundary question. Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid has been the first Minister in the Government in admitting the new reality of Chinese presence in our region. In this new year, the Government might consider measures to redress the strategic balance which has tilted in favour of China and create capabilities and pressure points to play Chinese checkers . In other words, behave as an equal. Meanwhile, expect a tense 2013 contending with China.

t is bad enough that some politicians and other public figures have been making irresponsible remarks in the wake of the December 16 incident of rape and torture of a girl in a moving bus in Delhi. But what is worse is that certain selfstyled spiritual leaders who unfortunately command tremendous influence in society, too have begun shooting their mouths off with crass and insensitive statements. On Monday, Asaram Bapu told a gathering at one of his discourses that the girl could have avoided the trauma had she only held the hand of the criminals and pleaded with them as a sister would to a brother. The remark would have been laughable but for the fact that the statement comes from a man who is supposed to show the right and spiritual way for the uplift of mankind. If this is the kind of sermon he specialises in, one shudders to think of the fate that awaits those who actually believe in such godmen in their naivet and innocence. Shocking as the remark was, there was more to follow. In his profound wisdom, Asaram Bapu went on to blame the girl, who eventually lost her life after battling the brutal injuries that the rapists had inflicted on her. He said that the unfortunate victim would have escaped the fate had she only taken guru diksha and chanted the Saraswati mantra. The self-styled godman either lives in a make-believe world or has lost his mental faculties. In fact, by making such a senseless remark, he has only ridiculed the sacred chants and the lofty practice of guru diksha. The creator of the Saraswati mantra and the trend of guru diksha must never have imagined that some day a spiritual leader would invoke them in such a bizarre fashion to not only justify a heinous crime but also blame a vic-

Asaram Bapu must mind his language

tim for 'inviting such fate'. Indeed, that is what Asaram Bapu meant when he said that a clap requires two hands. Asaram Bapu's subsequent clarifications following a national outrage over his remarks, have been less than convincing. No one is going to believe him anymore when he says that he has always harboured the utmost respect for women. It is time that his devotees wake up from their slumber and realise that their godman is gripped by a dangerously regressive mindset. It is clear that the many mantras and the spiritual teachings that Asaram Bapu may have imbibed in his career, have done him no good. If his statements are anything to go by, he is not even fit to be a spiritual leader. Thankfully, some better-reputed gurus have slammed the godman, with one of them saying that the remark displayed "the height of ignorance and idiocy". While reactions of condemnation from across society and political circles have been quick in coming - and justifiably so - the issue must not end with that. The likes of Asaram Bapu flourish not only because they have over the decades built for themselves widespread following among the lay people, but also because they have been patronised by influential sections of society, including politicians who have extended to such people benefits of cheap land and resources to establish ashrams and centres of 'spiritual learning'. There are innumerable instances, present and past, where dubious godmen have wielded tremendous heft because they happened to be close to influential people in politics. Asaram Bapu is no exception, which is why, despite being in the eye of various controversies in recent times, he has managed to not just survive but also prosper. Such patronage has to end.

STATE WATCH

Maharashtra Congress meets to discuss state affairs

MUMBAI: Chavan said that the decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet here and that several other measures will also be put in place for water supply in scarcity-hit regions of the state. Initiating early preparations for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Wednesday convened a meeting of all its delegates and discussed the changing political situation. The meeting was attended by Chavan, former union minister Mukul Wasnik, All India Congress Committee in-charge of the state Mohan Prakash, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Manikrao Thakre, central and state ministers, legislators and parliamentarians from the state. The MPCC also decided to strengthen its activities on the grass root level in all its Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies. "The Maharashtra unit (of the Congress) will work to strengthen the party in the entire state, including those seats held by the NCP," Chavan said. A decision was also taken to entrust ministers and senior leaders of the party with responsibilities of each assembly and parliamentary seat. Addressing reporters after the meet, Chavan and Thakre said that a decision on the party's alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party or other parties will be taken by the party's central leadership. Thakre said that all parties wish to grow without anybody's help. "No one is happy in an alliance, everyone wants to be number one," he said. Prakash, on the other hand told the party officials that the Congress will have to adopt a different perspective to strengthen their hold on those seats where they have been losing during polls. "In the view of changing political situation, a reason why Congress lost on certain seats should be seen through a different perspective. Appraisal and evaluation of party leaders will depend on their performance," Prakash said.

MAHARASHTRA

46 years on, opinion poll controversy rakes up in Goa

b o u r i n g Maharashtra. Kakodkar, whose father then supported the merger, alleged that the opinion poll was " f a r c e . " Bandodkar was in favour of the merger of Goa with Maharashtra. "The opinion poll was farce, there was lot of cheating. Luizinho Faleiro (a former Chief Minister) himself at a public function confessed that he voted in the poll despite being only 15years-old then," she pointed out, adding that "Faleiro voted twice." The controversy over opinion poll began yesterday during the 'Legislator's Day' function organised by the state government to commemorate 50 years of the first Goa Legislative Assembly session. On the occasion, Kakodkar further alleged that people from outside the state were brought to vote for the opinion poll by the anti-merger lobby. The issue raked up when antimerger leader and former MLA Radharao Gracias criticised Bandodkar during the function. Gracias alleged that "Bandodkar was all out to destroy Goa." He hailed the then Leader of Opposition Jack de Sequeira for protecting Goa. "Today if we are here and celebrating 50 years of legislation, it is because of the leadership of Jack de Sequeira," he said, adding that "Bandodkar was out to destroy Goa by merging it with Maharashtra." Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was present at the function, refrained from commenting on the debate. "I am not going into the controversy. We cannot afford to forget the contribution of Bandodkar. I heard that one of the reasons why people voted in favour of remaining independent was because they did not want to lose Bandodkar as a Chief Minister," he said.

GOA

Odisha to probe rape cases within 60 days

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has asked the police to file chargesheets in rape and other sexual offence cases related to women within 60 days of the crimes instead of 120 days stipulated in the law, an official said Thursday. The government will also set up special fast-track courts for speedy disposal of cases related to violence against women, a state home department official said. The decision was taken Wednesday in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the state secretariat, he said. In view of the public outrage over Dec 16 New Delhi gang-rape in which a 23-year-old woman was also brutally assaulted in a moving bus and spurt in similar cases in the state, the government has also announced to take several other measures to prevent crimes against women, he said. Victims of rape and other sexual violence would be allowed to lodge their complaints at any police station in the state. Such complaints would be immediately forwarded to the concerned police stations. There is a provision of framing chargesheets within 120 days in the CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) but the government directed the police to complete probe into rapes, molestations and other crimes within 60 days. Each police station will have at least one woman sub-inspector. Besides a separate cadre of public prosecutors will be created to handle cases related to crimes against women, he said. The government's move comes hours after the opposition BJP demanded imposition of president's rule in the state to prevent rape cases and atrocities on women. Citing government figures, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit vice president Ashok Sahu said Odisha had registered 1,112 rape cases in 2011, higher than the 1,025 cases reported in 2010. During 2012, rape incidents have reportedly increased to more than 1,300 cases.

ODISHA

BIHAR
PATNA: Twenty-five villagers from Jharkhand, among them women and children, were killed and nine others injured in Bihar's Aurangabad district Thursday when the truck they were travelling in overturned, police said. The condition of two of the nine injured was stated to be critical at hospital, Aurangabad Superintendent of Police Daljeet Singh said. "The driver lost control of the truck due to bad (condition of) the road and the fog," he said. More than 40 people, comprising of labourers and their families, were travelling on the truck when it overturned into a roadside ditch near Titai Bigha village in Aurangabad, about 150 km from here, the official said. All those killed were residents of villages in Palamu and Latehar district of Jharkhand and were returning home after harvesting crops in Bihar's Kaimur district. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar directed the district magistrate and the superintendent of police to investigate the accident. "Taking a serious note of casualties of labourers in this accident, the chief minister has ordered ban on ferrying labourers on trucks in the state," an official of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. The state government has announced a compensation of Rs.50,000 to kin of all victims.

25 killed as truck overturns in Bihar

PANAJI: Fifty one years after Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule, a former chief minister has raked up a controversy alleging that the "opinion poll" held 46 years ago to decide on making it a separate state or merge with Maharashtra was "rigged". Shashikala Kakodkar, a former state chief minister herself and daughter of Goa's first CM Dayanand Bandodkar, claimed yesterday that the "opinion poll" conducted by the Centre on January 16, 1967, was "rigged." The "opinion poll" was held to seek a choice for people of Goa, then recently liberated from Portuguese rule, whether to remain as an independent state or merge with neigh-

WEST BENGAL 'Goondaism' in West Bengal, says Governor MK Narayanan after political violence
KOLKATA: West Bengal governor MK Narayanan has said the political violence going on in the state was a kind of goondaism and not political culture at all. The Governor's strong statement was prompted by several incidents of violence involving political workers over the last few days. Mr Narayanan said, "The last twothree days have been distressing and disturbing. We should not tolerate this kind of violence that's taking place. I believe it is the responsibility of the administration to ensure that law and order is maintained." The Governor, who is a former national security advisor, is known to speak in measured terms. He is also seen as supportive of the administration and his intervention is being seen as significant. "I understand his comments are a very strong message to the Trinamool Congress and the state government. The ruling party should take the message in right earnest and try to correct itself because it is the responsibility of state government and the ruling party to maintain peace and normalcy," CPI leader D Raja said today. The ruling Trinamool is yet to react to the Governor's stern comments. On Sunday, a 70-year-old CPM leader Rezzak Mollah was beaten up allegedly by a local Trinamool leader, Arabul Islam, in Kanta Tala in the South 24 Parganas district. Then, on Tuesday, CPM and Trinamool supporters, including Arabul Islam, clashed with guns and bombs on the outskirts of Kolkata on Tuesday, leaving at least 40 people injured. Vehicles were burnt and several people landed in hospital, including Arabul Islam. A CPM supporter has bullet wounds. There were protest rallies and meetings held by both the Trinamool and the Left yesterday and many more are planned. Even former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya of the CPM joined the Left's protest march in Kolkata for about 10 minutes yesterday. Today, the Congress, now in the Opposition the state, will hold a protest rally in Kolkata.

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FAMOUS LEADERS: SHYAMA PRASAD MOOKERJEE

Born On: July 6, 1901 Born In: Calcutta, India Died On: June 23, 1953 Career: Politician Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, the son of eminent educationist and Calcutta University Vice Chancellor Ashutosh Mukherjee, was a prominent member of the Congress party during the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was responsible for the ministry of industry and supply in the Jawaharlal Nehru cabinet. However, differences soon arose between him and Nehru, compelling Shyama Prasad Mookerjee to leave the Congress and form his own party the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee had a flourishing career in politics even before his sting as a Congressman. He served as the Finance Minister of Bengal and was a major spokesman for the Hindus in Bengal through the Hindu Mahasabha. Childhood and Student Years Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was born on July 6, 1901 in British occupied Calcutta. His father Ashutosh Mukherjee was an eminent advocate of education and was much respected even among British circles. He earned his graduation degree in English in the year 1921 from the University of Calcutta and went on to complete his masters from the same institution in 1923. The same year, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee became a member of the Senate of the University of Calcutta and started studying in law. He earned the BL degree in 1924 and subsequently became an advocate in the Calcutta High Court the same year after the death of his father. After practicing with the Calcutta High Court for two years, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee left for England in the year 1926 for further studies in law at the Lincoln's Inn. He became a barrister in the year 1927 and returned to his hometown Calcutta. In the year 1934 when Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was only 33 years of age, he assumed office as the Vice Chancellor of his alma mater the University of Calcutta, becoming the youngest person in the history of the University to do so. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee remained in office till 1938. Political Journey Shyama Prasad Mookerjee entered into active politics after the end of his term as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calcutta. He joined the Indian National Congress, from where he was elected to the Legislative Council of Bengal. However, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee resigned from the legislative council after only a year in office in support of Congress' decision to boycott the legislature. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee decided to contest elections as an independent candidate after his resignation. He won the elections and assumed office as the Finance Minister of the Bengal province for the term 1941-1942. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee protested against the communalist and separatist ideas propagated by Muslim League leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Jinnah wanted a separate Muslim state, a condition that Shyama Prasad Mookerjee decided to protest against. He gradually became popular as a spokesman for Hindus in Bengal and after he joined the Hindu Mahasabha, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was appointed its President in the year 1944. However Shyama Prasad Mookerjee soon realized that all that the Muslim League promoted was communal disharmony. He realized the futility of compromising with the Muslim League and being a part of a Muslim dominated state. Therefore Shyama Prasad Mookerjee no longer protested against separation, rather he spoke in favor of the partition of Bengal in 1946, saying that the Muslims could live in a separate state of East Pakistan. Later it was the Hindus who were blamed for violence when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic. The Hindu Mahasabha, of which Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was the president, came under attack after the assassination and was highly criticized. Contd.....

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The Magic Mirror

Arthur the Artist

Snow-white thanked him so sweetly, and was out of sight in a few moments. "She will be devoured by wild beasts," he said to himself. But the thought that he had not killed her was as if a stone-weight had been lifted from his heart. To satisfy the queen, he took part of the inside of a young fawn, which the wicked woman thought was poor little Snow-white, and was overjoyed to think she was dead. But the poor little motherless child, when she found herself alone in the wood, and saw nothing but trees and leaves, was dreadfully frightened, and knew not what to do. At last she began to run over the sharp stones and through the thorns, and though the wild beasts sprang out before her, they did her no harm. She ran on as long as she could till her little feet became quite sore; and towards evening she saw, to her great joy, a pretty little house. So she went up to it, and found the door open and no one at home. It was a tiny little house, but everything in it was so clean and neat and elegant that it is beyond description. In the middle of the room stood a small table, covered with a snow-white table-cloth, ready for supper. On it were arranged seven little plates, seven little spoons, seven little knives and forks, and seven mugs. By the wall stood seven little beds, near each other, covered A Funny Art Poem for Kids I'm Arthur. I'm an artist, and I love to paint and and my belly and my back are brushed with beautiful tableaus. I hope you'll come and see me to appreciate my scrawls. I am always in museums where I hang upon the walls. Just find the guy with ink and paint on every body part. Or, instead, just ask for me by name; my friends all call me "Art."

ne day in the middle of winter, when the snowflakes fell from the sky like feathers, a queen sat at a window netting. Her netting-needle was of black ebony, and as she worked, and the snow glittered, she pricked her finger, and three drops of blood fell into the snow. The red spots looked so beautiful in the white snow that the queen thought to herself: "Oh, if I only had a little child, I should like it to be as fair as snow, as rosy as the red blood, and with hair and eyes as black as ebony." Very soon after this the queen had a little daughter who was very fair, had rosy cheeks, and hair as black as ebony; and they gave her the name of Snow-white. But at the birth of the little child the queen died. When Snow-white was a year old, the king took another wife. She was very handsome, but so proud and vain that she could not endure that anyone should surpass her in beauty. She possessed a wonderful mirror, and when she stood before it to look at herself she would say: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, Am I most beautiful of all?" Then the mirror would reply: "Young queen, thou are so wondrous fair, None can with thee at all compare." Then she would go away quite contented, for she knew the magic mirror could speak only the truth.

Years went by, and as Snow-white grew up, she became day after day more beautiful, till she reached the age of seven years, and then people began to talk about her, and say that she would be more lovely even than the queen herself. So the proud woman went to her magic lookingglass, and asked: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, Am I most beautiful of all?" But the mirror answered: "Queen, thou are lovely still to see, But Snow-white will be A thousand times more beautiful than thee." Then the queen was terrified, and turned green and yellow with jealousy. If she had caught sight of Snow-white at that moment, she would have been ready to tear her heart out of her body, she hated the maiden so fiercely.

And this jealousy and envy grew every day stronger and stronger in her heart, like a disease, till she had no rest day or night. At last she sent for a hunter, who lived near a forest, and said to him, "Hunter, I want to get rid of that child. Take her out into the wood, and if you bring me some proofs that she is dead, I will reward you handsomely. Never let her appear before my eyes again." So the hunter enticed the child into the wood; but when he took out his hunting-knife to thrust into Snowwhite's innocent heart, she fell on her knees and wept, and said, "Ah, dear hunter, leave me my life; I will run away into the wild wood, and never, never come home any more." She looked so innocent and beautiful as she knelt, that the hunter's heart was moved with compassion: "Run away, then, thou poor child," he cried; "I cannot harm thee."

draw. I paint portraits on my forehead. I draw landscapes on my jaw. There's nothing quite as fun as making sketches on my skin, so I color on my elbows and I scribble on my chin. I'm known for doing doodles on my fingers and my toes,

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

If youre walking down the right path and youre willing to keep walking, eventually youll make progress. ~ Barack Obama

Some Interesting Facts

1. The reason honey is so easy to digest is that it's already been digested by a bee. 2. Roosters cannot crow if they cannot extend their necks. 3. The color blue has a calming effect. It causes the brain to release calming hormones. 4. Every time you sneeze some of your brain cells die. 5. Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart. 6. The verb "cleave" is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate. 7. When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red. 8. When hippos are upset, their sweat turns red. 9. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor. 10. The lion that roars in the MGM logo is named Volney. 11. Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros. 12. Switching letters is called spoonerism. For example, saying jag of Flapan, instead of flag of Japan. 13. It cost 7 million dollars to build the Titanic and 200 million to make a film about it. 14. The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples.

IMAGE TO COLOUR

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

CRAFT: PRINCESS MIRROR

What you'll need: * 2 craft foam frames (look for the 2 packs) * Aluminum foil * Shipping tape * Glue dots * Wooden dowel * Craft jewels * White craft glue * Ribbon * Scissors How to make it: 1. Open the frames and remove any inserts. Use the insert to create the mirror by covering it in aluminum foil. Insert back into the frame. Do this for both frames. If there aren't two inserts, simply smooth out a piece of foil and insert it into the frame. 2. Turn one of the frames upside down and insert the wooden dowel into the back of the frame. Secure with shipping tape. 3. Place glue dots all around the outer edge of the back of the frame, then press the two frames together, back-toglue. 5. Tie some colorful ribbon around the top of the dowel handle. Trim the excess with scissors. Tips: 1. Craft foam frames are available at craft supply stores and are often sold in packs of two. 2. For a quicker solution, look for craft foam mirrors as they are still available for sale in some places. 3. Buy craft jewels from craft supply stores in a variety of sizes and shapes.

back. 4. Decorate the outside of the frame with craft jewels, securing with white

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NATIONAL

Court fixes Feb 4 to frame charges against Kalmadi and others

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has fixed February 4 to frame charges against sacked CWG Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi, for allegedly cheating, conspiring, abusing his official position and causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to public exchequer in a games-related graft case. Special CBI Judge Ravinder Kaur is slated to frame charges against Kalmadi and nine others, including former OC Secretary General Lalit Bhanot, under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act. The court on December 21 last year had ordered framing of charges against the accused and had fixed the matter for Thursday for formally framing charges against them. Besides cheating and conspiracy, the accused will also be charged with the offences of forgery under the IPC and criminal misconduct by public servants under the PC Act. "Charges under section 120B (criminal conspiracy), read with 201 (destruction of evidence), 420 (cheating), 467, 468, 471 (relating to forThe accused have been charge-sheeted by the CBI for "illegally" awarding a contract to install Timing, Scoring and Results (TSR) system for the 2010 CWG to Swiss Timing at inflated rates causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the public exchequer. Besides Kalmadi and Bhanot, the other accused in the case are OC`s Director General V K Verma, Director General (Procurement) Surjit Lal, Joint Director General (Sports) A S V Prasad and Treasurer M Jayachandran. They are no more associated with the sporting body.

NGO accused of sending minor girls to boys hostel as punishment

BHOPAL: A non-government organisation (NGO) based in Madhya Pradesh, tasked with the welfare of minor girls, has been accused of sending the girls - most of them disabled and mentally weak - to boys hostel as "punishment". The reports said that the matter came to light several months after the NGO started the practice. Bright Star Social Society, based in Sehore, was entrusted with running separate hostels for boys and girls. The matter came to light on Tuesday when a team from the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) conducted raids in the Mandi area of Sehore, located at a short distance from the state capital Bhopal. The team discovered that the girls were not in a stable mental state and were too afraid to talk. The girls were forcibly sent to the boys' hostel next door whenever they committed any "mistake" or complained about poor facilities. "Senior madam would send us to the boys whenever she thought we should be punished for something we had done wrong," one of the girls told the SCPCR officials, reports said. "We were then made to do dirty things. Often we were thrashed." The SCPCR team also discovered that out of a total 48 girls enrolled only 30 were present in hostel premises on the day raids were conducted. NGO secretary Avanish Jaffery told the team that 18 girls hadn't turned up since the Diwali vacation. Also, all the 30 girls were found to be stacked up in one room of 11 feet by 11 feet. The district authorities have, meanwhile, cancelled the licence of the NGO to run the hostels.

gery), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and section 13(1)(d) read with section 13(2) (criminal miscon-

duct by public servants) of the PC Act is ordered to be framed against all the accused," the court had said.

Muslim panchayat bans use of cell-phones by girls

JAIPUR: After the khaps in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim community panchayat in Rajasthan Thursday banned girls from using cell-phones and also from dancing and singing at weddings, ostensibly in an effort to prevent incidents like Delhi gang-rape. Boys and girls have also been prohibited from marrying someone against the wish of their family members or someone from a different community, panchayat members said Thursday. The restrictions have been imposed on the Muslim community members at Salumbar town in Udaipur district, some 400 km from Jaipur, by the Anjuman Muslim Panchayat, a minority community council. "We have decided to ban the girls from carrying and using cell phones. The decision was taken with a view that cell phones are spoiling girls," panchayat secretary Habibur Rahman told reporters. He said that a slew of measures has been taken to ensure safety of girls belonging to the community in the area. "The girls would not be allowed to dance and sing during wedding functions. A couple cannot get married against the wishes of their family members," said the panchayat secretary. He added that punitive action will be taken against girls who are found ignoring the panchayat edicts. "If a couple runs away from house to get married, they will be ostracised and a cash fine of Rs.51,000 will be imposed on them. Fine of Rs.51,000 has also been decided for those who marry someone from a different community," said the secretary. He added that panchayat decisions have been communicated to all members of the community in the town.

Delhi gang-rape case: Trial may be handed to fast-track court

NEW DELHI: A day before a case of gang rape and murder that has attracted worldwide attention was scheduled to be handed over to a new fast-track court for trial, two lawyers said that they had been retained by some of the suspects and planned to offer not guilty pleas for their clients. Despite a charged atmosphere that led thousands of lawyers in the local bar association to claim this week that the accused did not deserve representation because of the heinous nature of the crime, it appeared that the defendants were beginning to put together a defense team. One lawyer, Manohar Lal Sharma, who practices in India's SC, said Wednesday that three of the five adult suspects had signed papers authorizing him to represent them. The three are Ram Singh, Mukesh Kumar and Akshay Thakur. Sharma said he was waiting to read the police charge sheet before formulating a defense strategy. He said he intended to scrutinize the thoroughness of the police investigation in the case, saying it was "not done properly." But there was still some confusion over who would be representing the suspects. Another lawyer, V.K. Anand, said he was representing Ram Singh, the driver of the small bus where the 23-year-old victim was raped and assaulted for 45 minutes on Dec. 16 before being stripped and thrown out on a highway. Anand said he had spoken with Singh for an hour and a half on Tuesday in Tihar Jail, where the accused are being held, and was convinced of his innocence. "He should definitely be represented," Anand said. "The reason is, whatever is coming in the media, whatever stories are coming from other corners and sources are absolutely different." Both lawyers said they would hand in their appointment letters, known as "vakalatnamas," to a magistrate on Thursday. On Monday, shortly before the five adult suspects appeared in a south Delhi court, Sharma and Anand informed the court about their offers to represent the accused during a chaotic courtroom scene where other lawyers tried to shout them down. The disarray prompted the magistrate to order journalists, lawyers and others not connected to the case to leave the courtroom. A sixth defendant is expected to be tried as a juvenile. The magistrate, Namrita Aggarwal, issued an order declaring that the inquiry and trial would be "in camera," permitting only those directly involved to enter the court. On the request of the special public prosecutor, Rajeev Mohan, the magistrate also prohibited journalists from printing or publishing any information about the proceedings. Aggarwal ruled that the crowds pressing inside the courtroom made it "completely impossible" to function. She also said that the police feared for the safety of the accused. The case is expected to be transferred Thursday to a trial judge in a so-called fast-track court, but the proceedings will continue to take place in private. On Wednesday, a district judge rejected a challenge to the order barring journalists and others not connected to the case from the proceedings, saying that the order complied with India's criminal procedure code.

Kolkata experiences coldest day in over 100 years

KOLKATA: The temperature dropped to nine degree Celsius in Kolkata on Wednesday, the coldest day for the City of Joy in over 100 years. "Temperatures are not likely to fall any further," they said and forecast a rise in temperature to 10 degrees on Jan 11. The official said that skies would remain hazy for the next few days. While the temperature was five degrees below normal in Kolkata, the maximum temperature recorded during the day was 19.3 degrees celsius. Meanwhile, at least 34 more deaths have been reported from UP as the unabated cold wave continued in North India, taking the death toll to 233 people. The minimum temperature in New Delhi rose to 4.4 degree Celsius from its previous 3.3 degree Celsius on Wednesday, but the Met department says mercury dipped to sub-zero levels in some parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Govt notifies amendment in UAPA Bill

NEW DELHI: Government notified the amendment in Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Bill which designates economic offences including circulation of counterfeit currency as terrorist acts. The notification was issued after receiving the assent of the President, an official release said. The Bill, passed by Parliament on Dec 20, provides for extended period for ban on an association from current two years to five years. An individual, group of individuals and an association involved in counterfeit currency circulation will be covered under the law. Other salient features of the bill include expansion of the definition of terrorist act to include acts that involve detention, abduction, threats to kill or injure, or other actions so as to compel an international or inter-governmental organisation to comply with some demand. The bill would cover those involved in procurement of weapons, raising funds for terrorist activities and counterfeiting Indian currency. It would also cover offences by companies, societies or trusts.

Delhi Police tenders Court hearing on foreign funding to INC, BJP today 'Develop skills & promote entrepreneurship unconditional apology to HC NEW DELHI: The Delhi High the Centre, the Election Malco "have donated several crores NEWamong weaker sections': Kumari Selja DELHI: Minister of
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police Thursday tendered an "unconditional apology" to the Delhi High Court for defying its order on providing the names of the officials posted on the PCR vans in the areas during the Dec 16 gang-rape incident here. The police apology came a day after it faced the high court's wrath for not disclosing the names of the officials on Police Control Room (PCR) vans on patrolling duty and claiming that it cannot be blamed for any "consequential order". Filing fresh status report before the court, counsel appearing for Delhi Police tendered an "unconditional apology" and also submitted the names of officials deployed in the PCR vans during the incident. A division bench of Chief Justice D. Murugesan and Justice V.K. Jain hearing the case asked the home ministry to increase the number of PCR vans in the city to ensure better safety to people. The court also asked the central government to appraise it from time to time on the commission of inquiry set up by the government to deal with the related case. The 23-year-old woman succumbed to the brutal Dec 16 gang-rape and torture in a moving bus in a Singapore hospital Dec 29, sparking a nationwide outrage. Court will on Thursday a PIL which has alleged that various Indian laws have been violated by the Congress party and the BJP by receiving funding from UK-based Vedanta Resources. The plea is listed for hearing today after Justice VK Jain recused himself, without assigning any reason yesterday. Delhi High Court Chief Justice D Murugesan then put the PIL for hearing before a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Indermeet Kaur. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan will represent the PIL filed by an NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms and EAS Sarma, a former Secretary of the Government of India. The PIL, which has impleaded Commission, Indian National Congress (INC) and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) as parties, has sought a direction for a "thorough court-monitored investigation by SIT or the CBI into the violation of foreign funding and other laws by major political parties, corporate groups and PSUs." The PIL has alleged that the two political parties have violated the Representation of People's Act 1951 and Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) by taking donations from government companies and foreign sources, which is prohibited under both the legislations. The petition said that UK-based Vedanta Resources and its subsidiary companies in India, including Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa and of rupees to major political parties like the INC and the Bhartiya Janata Party". The PIL has also alleged that according to Vedanta's annual report of 2012, it had made political donations to the tune of USD 2.01 million either through a trust or directly in respect of the Indian general elections. "Sterlite's annual report (of 20112012) also states that during the year the Group made political donations in India, of Rs 5 Crore either through trust or directly," it said. The PIL has sought directions to the Centre to "initiate action against the major political parties and corporate groups under FCRA and to confiscate the illegal donations under the supervision of the high court." Social Justice and Empowerment, Kumari Selja urged the private sector to focus on skill development and the promotion of entrepreneurship qualities among the weaker sections of society. She was addressing a meeting convened in New Delhi to review the progress made by the private sector in this regard, especially for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The Minister called for wider publication of the success stories of weaker sections of society. This, she said, will have a positive impact on the mindset of the people towards the weaker sections. In this context, she advised the industrial

houses to organise more and more events for creating awareness among these peoples. On this occasion, the representatives from industry chambers gave a brief to the minister about the various activities being taken by them in the areas of employment, entrepreneurship development and education of the weaker sections.

Take revenge from Pak, behead 40 Pakistani soldiers for our two: Uddhav Thackeray
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray Thursday demanded that India should "take revenge" from Pakistan for the brutal killing of its two soldiers near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir two days ago. In a statement here, Thackeray said that mere condemnation of the incident will no longer be of any use. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut strongly condemned the ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district and sought a "befitting reply" from India to the killing of two Indian soldiers. "If our two soldiers are beheaded, we should behead their 40 soldiers... If such brutal attack takes place without any Raut had e a r l i e r demanded the resignation of Defence Minister AK Antony over the incident. "Antony s h o u l d immediately resign from his post. It is not just the Sena that is demanding Antony's resignation, but it is the entire nation that wants him to quit. Where is the need for such a Defence Minister when such incidents take place?" he asked. However, Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Salman Bashir on Wednesday denied a Pakistan Army attack on Indian soldiers in the Mendhar sector in Poonch district on Tuesday. "I would like to address some of the concerns, which are expressed here in the Indian media since yesterday regarding what is called the Mendhar incident. First of all, I would like to say that Pakistan remains firmly committed to respecting the ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. It is important, I believe both governments agree, that the ceasefire, which is an important confidence building measure, must be respected by both sides," Bashir said. "In this context, we are mindful of the aberrations that have happened in the past. We are especially concerned about the incursion by the Indian forces on 6th of January when our post in the Haji Pir Pass sector was attacked which led to the martyrdom of one of the soldiers and injuries to several. This matter was raised by the Foreign Ministry with the Indian High Commission and also by the Director General Military Operations Pakistan with his Indian counterpart," he added. In a major escalation to the ceasefire violations and infiltration attempts, a group of Pakistan Army soldiers raided across the Line of Control in Mendhar sector and killed two Indian soldiers and injured one more. The Pakistani troops attacked an area domination patrol party of the Indian Army. The two Indian soldiers have been identified as Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh.

BJP describes ceasefire violation by Pak as 'unprovoked act of aggression'

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader Arun Jaitley strongly condemned the incident of ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch District, describing the attack as an unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan. "This ceasefire violation is an unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan. This obviously is intended to disturbed the environment of relationship between the two countries. The Bhartiya Janta Party is strongly condemns this unprovoked attack," Jaitley said. "The brutality, which has been practiced on the two Indian soldiers, shows the real design behind this attack. This attack is also a warning to India. A warning that, in dealing with Pakistan is now extremely important. The government of India clearly defines redlines. It has to very firms, very cautions in how to deal with Pakistan,' he added. In a significant escalation to the continuing series of cease-fire violations and infiltration attempts supported by the Pakistan Army, a group of their regular soldiers intruded across Line of Control in the Mendhar Sector on Tuesday. Pakistan Army troops, having taken advantage of thick fog and mist in the forested area, were moving towards Indian posts when an alert area domination patrol spotted and engaged the intruders. The firefight between Pakistan and Indian troops continued for approximately half an hour after which the intruders retreated back towards their side of LoC. Two soldiers Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh laid down their lives while fighting Pakistani troops.

war it will demoralise our soldiers and they won't be able to fight for the country," Raut said. Asserting that Pakistani cricketers and artistes must not be allowed to play or perform in India, Raut said, "You (Pakistan) play cricket matches here, go back and then kill our soldiers." We should put an end to the ongoing talks with Pakistan," he added.

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INTERNATIONAL & ECONOMY

China firm on sovereignty over territorial waters
BEIJING: China on Thursday said it will continue to oppose any infringement on the country's sovereignty over its territorial waters by Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, a news agency reported. "Faced with a sharper and more complicated situation, we will take more responsibilities to steadfastly maintain the country's maritime rights and interests," Liu Cigui, director of the State Oceanic Administration, was quoted as saying. He said China will continue to carry out regular patrol over its territorial waters off the Diaoyu islands and the South China Sea. China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are embroiled in a dispute in the South China Sea over territory, sovereignty and two island chains claimed in whole or in part by them, a news organisation said. China claims the largest portion of territory, saying its right to the area comes from 2,000 years of history. Vietnam hotly disputes China's account, saying Beijing never claimed sovereignty over the islands until the 1940s.The other major claimant is the Philippines. Malaysia and Brunei also lay claim to territory in the South China Sea that they say falls within their exclusive economic zones. Pakistan Peoples Party among 'poorest' political parties, says EC ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Election Commission data shows that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which is in power at present, was among the "poorest" political parties in the country during financial year of 2010-11. The Election Commission on Wednesday released details of assets of all political parties for the financial year 2010-11, a Pakistani daily reported. The PPP, registered under the name of PPPParliamentarians, had only Rs.435,397 in its account till June 30, 2010, with no immovable property anywhere in the country. The PPP said it spent only Rs 348 during the entire financial year. It is important to note that Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also leading the ruling party, is facing serious charges of corruption and the country's Supreme Court on many occasions asked the government to get details of money stashed by him in Swiss banks. For failing to abide by the court's directive, former Prime Minister Yousuf

7
Pakistan Peoples Party among 'poorest' political parties, says EC
Raza Gilani was convicted by the Apex Court after which he resigned as Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PMlQ) was among the richest parties. It had assets worth Rs.51.91 million, which included a house worth Rs.23 million in Islamabad. The PML-Q spent Rs.11.9 million during the financial year. The newspaper said that the PML-Nawaz also mentioned the same property among its assets worth Rs.33.5 million. The PML-N's party office in Karachi is worth Rs.50 million and it also has Rs.6.3 million in its bank accounts in Islamabad. The Awami National Party said it has a fixed asset of Rs.27.22 million while the Jamaat-i-Islami showed a bank balance of Rs.5.4 million. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf said it has immovable assets worth Rs.4 million and Rs.32.62 million in its bank account. Almost all the amount was contributed by Imran himself.

Panetta, Israeli Defence Minister hold talks over bilateral issues

WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has met his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak to discuss a wide range of bilateral and regional issues including Syria, Iran and Gaza. "The secretary and Barak discussed a range of issues and expressed their commitment to ensuring continued cooperation on many important regional issues -particularly Syria, Iran, and Gaza," Pentagon Press security and the strong USIsrael defense relationship. "The secretary commended Minister Barak on his tireless efforts in advancing the US-Israel strategic relationship," Little said. "Secretary Panetta thanked Minister Barak for his friendship and his continued commitment to the relationship," he said. This is for the eleventh time that the two have met since Panetta.

Secretary George Little said after the meeting between the two leaders on Wednesday.

During the meeting, Panetta reiterated the strong US commitment to Israel's

US asks its envoys in India, Pakistan to help defuse tension

WASHINGTON: Concerned over the rise in tension between India and Pakistan over the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers, the US said it has been counselling both governments to de-escalate the situation and has instructed its envoys there to work in this direction. "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked to our South Asia people about it on Tuesday and Wednesday", State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters. "She has instructed our Ambassadors to work with those governments, which they are doing." "There were calls made at the ambassadorial level in both countries," Nuland said, as she urged for calm between the two countries. "We are concerned about reports of violence along the Line of Control in Kashmir. It's our understanding that the governments of India and Pakistan are now talking and trying to work through these issues at a high level," Nuland high level that we understand are ongoing now. Violence is not the answer for either country," she said. Responding to a question, Nuland said that the US favours that the two countries should talk to each other to resolve their issues. "Our view is that India and Pakistan have made pretty good progress in recent years, in working through a number of difficult issues, including opening of the trade relations, etc, that they are now engaged at a high level on these recent incidents," Nuland said. "If they can work it out themselves, that's obviously best. If both parties were interested in support from the UN, we'd obviously support that as well. But at the moment, we're urging them to talk to each other," Nuland said. Earlier Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said, "We all hope that we can maintain peace and stability in the region. The Secretary (of Defence) has affirmed that on visits throughout that region, including to India." The issue of "tensions, historical tensions" between India and Pakistan, is one that Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, knows very well, he said in response to a question. His remarks came after Pakistani soldiers, in a "provocative" attack, crossed into Indian territory in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir and ambushed an Indian patrol killing two soldiers, one of whom was decapitated. "On the issue of terrorism, let me say that we stand with everyone in the world to include those in India and in Pakistan who take a very hard line against terrorists who want to kill civilians, whether it's Pakistani, Indian or American civilians," Little said.

Trial against Bo Xilai to start soon in China

BEIJING: China's disgraced Communist Party leader Bo Xilai, who was sacked over allegations of sex, sleaze and corruption, has been handed over to judicial authorities for the trial to commence. The discipline body of the ruling Communist Party of China, (CPC) told the media here today that Bo, 63 along with former Railways Minister Liu Zhijun, indicted for corruption have been handed over to judicial authorities, a news agency reported. A total of 4,698 county-level cadres or higher-level cadres were punished by CPC discipline watchdogs in 2012 and 961 cadres at county-level or above have been transferred to judicial organs, the Disciplinary Committee spokesperson Cui Shaopeng said. Bo's trial was expected to begin soon here. A former Commerce Minister and a "princeling", Bo, was sacked last year as the Party Chief of Chongqing, a city with 30 million people where he ran an iron fisted administration with campaigns against crime syndicates earning the reputation of highly dictatorial leader. A pro-Mao ideologue, he was due to contest for the top post of the Party in last November once-in-adecade leadership change conference where proreform leader Xi Jinping was elected as successor to Hu Jintao. Bo was expected to rally the hardliners and offer a stiff fight in the Party to get elected to the all powerful seven member-Standing Committee of the Politburo. But he fell from the grace after his wife Gu Kailai had got involved in the murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood.

said. The United States is urging both sides to take steps to end the violence, she said. "We continue to strongly support any efforts to improve relations between the two countries. We've also discussed these latest incidents with both governments, urged them to talk to each other and urged calm," she said. The US is counseling both countries to work to de-escalate tension, Nuland said. "We have been counseling both governments to de-escalate, to work through this issue, to continue the consultations between them at a

Israeli President confident Obama would strike Iran

WASHINGTON: Israeli President Shimon Peres is confident that American President Barack Obama would approve a military strike to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions if it came to that. Peres told in a press statement that the United States don't begin by shooting. They try all the other means first, such as economic sanctions, political pressure, negotiations, everything possible. He said that but in the end, if none of this works, then President Obama will use military power against Iran. And he is sure of it. According to Politico, the 89-yearold President also downplayed the reported rifts between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said that the problem is not between individuals, but between those individuals' policies. But he said Obama must be persuaded to believe that Israel wants to see peace in the region. He said that the problem is that Obama would like to reach peace in the Middle East and has to be convinced that Israel agrees with this, adding: of course, he's not convinced.

ECONOMY

India, China termed 'unfree' in economic freedom index

WASHINGTON: India and China are ranked 119th and 136th respectively and both termed "unfree" according to the 2013 Index of Economic Freedom published annually by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation. The Asia-Pacific region is home to the world's freest economy, and its most repressed, according to the index released here Thursday. For the 19th consecutive year, Hong Kong maintained its top position, while North Korea languishes at the bottom. However, the Asia Pacific region's "foundations for long-term economic development continue to be fragile in the absence of effectively functioning legal frameworks", the index's editors write. "Progress with marketoriented reforms has been uneven and has often backtracked under the influence of those with a political interest in maintaining the status quo". Singapore, Australia and New Zealand finished 23-4 respectively, while the US is ranked 10th in the index that evaluates countries in four broad areas of economic freedom -- rule of law, regulatory efficiency, limited government, and open markets. Based on its aggregate score, each of 177 countries graded in the 2013 index was classified as "free" (i.e. combined scores of 80 or higher), "mostly free" (70-79.9), "moderately free" (60-69.9), "mostly unfree" (50-59.9), or "repressed" (under 50). Europe, the second-freest region and the world's most improved, narrowed the gap with North America in the 2013 index. The scores of 32 countries improved, while just nine lost economic freedom. Switzerland continues to be the only "free" economy in the region, which has only two "repressed" economies that score below 50 -Ukraine and Belarus. North America continues to be the world's freest region, though Mexico was the only economy that improved its index score over the last year. The region boasts two "mostly free" economies (Canada and the US) and one "moderately free" economy (Mexico). It leads the world in terms of rule of law, regulatory efficiency and open markets, but is getting worse where government spending is concerned. The world average score of 59.6 was only one-tenth of a point above the 2012 average. Since reaching a global peak in 2008, the editors note, economic freedom has continued to stagnate. The overall trend for last year, however, was positive. Among the 177 countries ranked in the 2013 index, scores improved for 91 countries and declined for 78. "On the plus side, average government spending scores improved. Unfortunately, this was matched by a decline in regulatory efficiency, as a number of countries hiked minimum wages and tightened control of labour markets," the editors wrote. "The global advance toward economic freedom has ground to a halt," they concluded.

Vijay Mallya reveals Kingfisher revival plan to employees

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, JAN 10 : Kingfisher Airlines' chairman Vijay Mallya Thursday wrote to the employees, intimating them of a two-step plan submitted to the aviation regulator to re-start the cash-strapped passenger carrier. "We have submitted a detailed restart plan to the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) which is in two parts. The first part deals with a limited re-start utilising seven aircraft ramping up to 21 aircraft in four months," Mallya wrote in his letter. According to Mallya, the second part of the plan envisages a full scale rehabilitation of the airline by increasing the fleet size to 57 aircraft within 12 months of recapitalisation. "Both plans contain detailed information on key assumptions and funding requirements, including payment of outstanding salaries to employees," he said. Mallya added that the limited re-start plan is being targeted for the beginning of 2013 summer schedule and requires a funding of about Rs.650 crore, which will be provided by the UB (United Breweries) Group and associates. Mallya's letter came a day after employees of the cashstrapped airlines decided to move court, asking for disclosure of the passenger carrier's future plans of restating operations and payment of dues, failing which they will also demand the company's formal closure. The decision to move court was taken by members of one of the airline's unions Kingfisher Airlines Maintenance Engineers Association, who met in New Delhi Wednesday. According to the union's "The factual position is that the civil aviation regulations provide for a time period of up to two years to renew an airline's scheduled operating permit from the date of expiry. We are on safe "This additional availability of credit will cater to the credit needs of our economy and will also benefit employment oriented sectors, especially agriculture, micro and small enterprises, export,

Sensex falls 3 pts ahead of IIP Cabinet approves data, Infosys result two highway projects
MUMBAI, JAN 10:The BSE benchmark Sensex today closed three points down as investors refrained from creating fresh positions ahead of the release of factory output data and quarterly earnings season led by Infosys tomorrow. The Sensex ended 3.04 points lower to 19,663.55. It touched the day's high of 19,783.75. The index had lost 76 points in the previous session. Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty ended lower by 2.85 points to 5,968.65, before shuttling between 6,005.15 and 5,947.30. Brokers said investors refrained from creating fresh positions before the release of the industrial production (IIP) data and quarterly earnings season led by Infosys tomorrow. They said state-run oil company stocks were in demand on hopes of a hike in fuel prices to reduce the subsidy burden and bucked the weakening trend. A firming trend in overseas markets failed to influence the market sentiment as investors remained on sidelines before any major outcome of major events tomorrow, they added. In 30-BSE index kitty stocks, 23 stocks closed with losses. Reliance Industries lost by 0.23 per cent to Rs 849.55 and Infosys by 0.34 per cent to Rs 2,320.35. The downtrend was driven by stocks in power, healthcare, metals, capital goods and IT sectors, while a gain in bank, oil and gas and auto sectors saved the market from any major fall. NEW DELHI, JAN 10: The cabinet Thursday approved upgrading of two highway projects under various stages of the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) with a total outlay of Rs.5,652.03 crore. The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) approved the development of the Baharagora-Sambalpur section of National Highway 6 and the Patna-Gaya-Dobhi section on National Highway 83. The Baharagora-Sambalpur section will be developed as a four- and two-lane road on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis, with a total length of 368.20 km. It will cost Rs.3,636.43 crore. The Patna-Gaya-Dobhi section will be developed as a four-lane road with a total length of 127.20 km. According to a statement from CCEA, the project will cost Rs.2,015.60 crore and will be completed within three years after the contract is signed.

members, they have also sent their representation to the aviation regulator, the DGCA, informing it about the employees' decision to move court and to seek its intervention in the issue. The employees have not been paid for the last many months. Some cadres of employees are still to receive dues pending for the last eight months. Meanwhile, the airline's flying licence expired Dec 31, 2012, and a revival plan it submitted to the DGCA was rejected due to the lack of more "credible restart" details in the plan. The airline's licence was suspended on Oct 20 following a strike thar crippled the carrier's operations. The Mallya-promoted airline has two years to renew the licence to fly. "We have met with the DGCA and are in the process of submitting additional data and no-objection letters from key vendors as required by them," said Mallya.

ground here." The airline has a cumulative loss of Rs.8,000 crore and a debt of over Rs.7,000 crore from a consortium of banks. Cabinet okays Rs.12,517 crore infusion in PSU banks New Delhi, Jan 10: The union cabinet Thursday approved capital infusion of Rs.12,517 crore in public sector banks. According to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) which met here, the move will enable the banks to maintain a minimum tier-1 CRAR (capital to risk weighted assets ratio) at comfortable level under international bank capital adequacy standard norm BASEL-III. "This will ensure compliance to the regulatory norms on capital adequacy and will cater to the credit needs of productive sectors of the economy, as well as, to withstand the impact of stress in the economy," the CCEA said in a statement.

entrepreneurs." After the CCEA meeting, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said around 910 banks were likely to be recapitalised. PSU banks are plagued by rising non-performing assets (NPA) and write-offs. Chidambaram said the combined injection of capital would not exceed the Rs.15,000 crore provisioned in the budget for the fiscal year ending 2013. The CCEA said that the exact amount, mode of recapitalisation and other terms will be decided on an individual basis in consultation with each PSB. Last fiscal, the government provided Rs.12,000 crore for capital infusion in PSBs. According to the Economic Survey for 201112, the capital infusion had enabled PSBs to "maintain a minimum tier 1 CRAR at eight percent on 31st March, 2012, and also increased shareholding of the government in PSBs to 58 percent".

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MISC
SEOUL: World No. 3 shuttler Saina Nehwal reached the women's singles quarterfinals at the $1 million Korea Open Super Series Premier while compatriots PV Sindhu and Parupalli Kashyap faltered in the second round on Thursday. Saina defeated Mingtian Fu of Indonesia, for the fourth time in as many meetings, in straight games. The Hyderabadi won 21-16, 21-9 in 36 minutes at the SK Handball Stadium in the first and most expensive tournament of the season. Meanwhile, Sindhu lost to Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk 19-21, 1321 in 31 minutes. This was Sindhu's first loss to the Thai World No. 13 in three meetings. London Olympics quarterfinalist Kashyap lost to seventh seed Yun Hu of Hong Kong in a marathon match. Hu won the match 16-21, 2113, 21-17 in one hour and 10 minutes to extend his career head-to-head against Kashyap to 2-0. It was an easy outing for the 22-year-old Saina, who exuded class in the match, winning 42 of the 67 points played. The third seed dominated the match from the start taking an early lead of 83 in the first game. From there on, she did not look back and won the game on her first game-point. In the second game, Mingtian matched Saina early on. But from 6-4, the Indian won 15 points to the World No. 42's mere five. Saina's deceiving crosscourt smashes were effective as always, winning her six points to Mingtian's one. The Hyderabadi was also impeccable at the net as she won seven points to none of the Indonesian. In the last eight clash, the Indian will be up against World No. 26 Li Han of China, against whom Saina has a 2-0 head-to-head record.

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Kashyap reaches career-best ranking of 11

India, England first 1 day international Nehwal reaches quarterfinals of Korea Open of 5-match series to be played today
NEW DELHI:The first one day international of the 5match series between India and England will be played at the SCA Stadium in Rajkot on Jan 11. Fiery opener Virender Sehwag has been dropped from the Indian squad for the first three matches and inform batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is his replacement. While Indian Skipper MS Dhoni will look to regain some lost pride, England captain Alistair Cook, just like the recent Test series triumph, will eye an ODI series victory at the Indian soil after 28 years. India recently lost to

India vs England head-to-head for ODIs. Pakistan 1-2 in the 3-match ODI series, which saw the resumption of cricketing ties between the two sub-continent gaints after 5 years. Before the Pakistan series, England defeated India 2-1 in the 4-match Test series, while the 2-match Twenty-20 series ended square.

IABF ready with amendments to constitution

NEW DELHI: The suspended Indian Boxing Federation (IABF) claims to have taken the first step towards regaining recognition from the International Boxing Association by preparing the draft of an amended constitution which would be compliant with the AIBA statute. AIBA suspended IABF last year in December, citing the International Olympic Committee's ban on the Indian Olympic Association and "possible manipulation" in its elections. The international body had asked the IABF to hold a re-election and amend its Constitution to fulfill the criteria of getting the suspension revoked. "Some of the vice-presidents and senior officials of the IABF, including president of the suspended body, Abhishek Matoria, met in Chandigarh on January 6. They discussed the constitutional amendments that have been suggested by AIBA and also went through the AIBA statute," an IABF source said. "The draft is in accordance with the AIBA statute and will be sent to them soon for approval. Once AIBA approves it, the amendments will be incorporated into the constitution and the next step would be a re-election," he added. In the new draft prepared by the IABF officials, rules and provisions of AIBA Professional Boxing and the World Series of Boxing have been incorporated, as suggested by the world body. "In our previous Constitution, professional boxing was not touched upon but in the amended one, the rules and provisions would be elaborated. Besides, the previous Constitution merely stated that elections to IABF would be held every four years without laying down ground rules and eligibility criteria for it," said the official. "But in the amendments, the entire procedure will be laid down properly. This draft will be sent in a day or two and once we get the approval, things will become smooth," he added. "Even AIBA president Ching Kuo-Wu has made it clear that constitutional amendments were very important for getting the suspension revoked," the official said. Incidentally, the AIBA Statute puts a cap on the president's tenure at not more than three successive terms but there is no bar on the tenure and age of other office-bearers.

Tendulkar Randhir meets sports minister, discusses IOA's suspension thanks fans on NEW DELHI: IOC member "Randhir emphasised to ment's Sports Code and Facebook after Randhir Singh on Wednesday the minister that the athletes declared the polls null and besides the worst sufferers crossing nine met sports minister Jitendra wouldallbe efforts should be void,discharge also barring it to any official Singh to find a solution to get and India back into the Olympic made to lift the ban," a sports duties such as holding meetmillion followers
fold after the International O l y m p i c Committeesuspended it last December for government interference. Randhir met the minister and sports secretary P K Deb at the ministry and the meeting lasted for about an hour. It is learnt that Randhir and the sports minister discussed at length the suspension issue and its ramifications. They were particularly concerned that the stalemate will have an adverse impact on the athletes. ministry source said. "The meeting was very cordial and held in a positive atmosphere," the source said. Randhir, who was the IOA secretary general before the new dispensation took over, filed nomination for the post of the president before withdrawing his candidature just before the controversymarred polls held on December 5. Just a day before the elections, the IOC had suspended the national Olympic body for adhering to the governings till the issues were resolved. In an act of defiance, the IOA went ahead with the polls though the international parent body had refused to recognise Abhay Singh Chautala, who was elected unopposed as president, and his team of office bearers. Chautala had said after the election that a delegation of the IOA will meet the sports minister on the issue of suspension by the IOC and also to plead to drop the Sports Code.

NEW DELHI: Undoubtedly one of the most widely followed Indian celebrities on Facebook, Sachin Tendulkar's fan following on the social networking site has crossed nine million and it's still counting. "9 million thanks!!! Thank you for making me feel so special," Tendulkar posted on his facebook account. Tendulkar had joined Facebook last September and within hours, had a staggering four lakh likes to his name. The cricketer started his Facebook innings with a video message welcoming everyone to his official page.

NEW DELHI: London Olympics quarterfinalist Parupalli Kashyap achieved a new high as he was ranked World No.11 in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday. Kashyap, who was ranked a career-best 14th after winning the Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold in Lucknow in December, jumped another three places in the men`s singles rankings. "My aim was to be in the top-10 by 2013 and I am glad that I have got close to that right at the beginning of the year," Kashyap said.. Mumbai shuttler Ajay Jayaram also gained a place to be ranked 30th. In the women`s singles rankings, P.V. Sindhu gained two places to be ranked a career-best 17th..India`s ace Saina Nehwal retained her third place in the world rankings.

`Madrid strong candidate to host 2020 Olympics`

MADRID: Alejandro Blanco, the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, has expressed confidence over Madrid`s bid as the host city for the 2020 Olympic Games. Blanco, who also heads Madrid`s bid committee, said that Madrid will win the hosting rights after having failed on its past two attempts for the 2012 and the 2016 Games. Blanco`s comments came a day after the Madrid 2020 bid officially presented its dossier for the 2020 Games to the press. The Madrid bid is based on austerity, reflecting the current economic climate and will look to use venues that have already been constructed, such as the bullring in Las Ventas and the Caja Magica, which hosts the annual Madrid Masters Tennis tournament, as the site of many of the events. Madrid is competing against Tokyo and Istanbul, but Blanco is confident that Madrid will this time avoid the disappointment of missing out on the Games as happened in 2012 and 2016. The 2020 host city will be announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sept 7 in Buenos Aires. "We have to be prudent, because we have previously had two excellent projects and others have won, but I think we will win at the third attempt," said Blanco. "Madrid has a very solid project, very compact and in tune with reality and we have the sporting prestige in line with the success of our teams as well as with our organization," he said. Blanco insists that economic crisis, which will last at least till 2014, would not hinder the bid, given that much of the infrastructure was already in place. "The crisis won`t be a problem because there was a lot of investment made in the 2012 and 2016 bids. For the moment we will not invest more until we get the Games," he said. "It is financially worthwhile in economic terms and in terms of job creation and also socially, because at the moment there is no new project in Spain that would generate so much money or so many jobs," he said, adding that around 300,000 jobs would be created in a country with around 5 million people currently out of work. "Not just that, but for seven years Madrid would also be a reference point for all of the world," assured Blanco. Madrid`s bid is taking part in an atmosphere of increased nationalism in the Basque and Catalan regions of Spain and those apparent divisions could harm the unity of a Spanish bid, but Blanco insisted that was not the case. "Barcelona has given total support to Madrid`s candidacy, but the city and the local authority and the community have supported us and given us guarantees: we will not have any problems," he said, adding that the Madrid bid had a lot to learn from the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona. "It was a great exhibition of Spanish sport and the main reason it was a success is that nobody has been able to get so many citizens to participate. We need to do that," concluded Blanco.

Einstein's theory for expansion of the universe put to test

WASHINGTON: A research done by University of Arizona astronomy professor found that a popular alternative to Albert Einstein's theory for the acceleration of the expansion of the universe does not fit newly obtained data on a fundamental constant, the proton to electron mass ratio. Rodger Thompson's findings impact our understanding of the universe and point to a new direction for the further study of its accelerating expansion. To explain the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, astrophysicists have invoked dark energy-a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space. A popular theory of dark energy, however, does not fit new results on the value of the proton mass divided by the electron mass in the early universe. Thompson computed the predicted change in the ratio by the dark energy theory (generally referred to as rolling scalar fields) and found it did not fit the new data. UA alumnus Brian Schmidt, along with Saul Perlmutter and Adam Reiss, won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for showing that the expansion of the universe is accelerating rather than slowing down as previously thought. The acceleration can be explained by reinstating the

Tennis row: Ministry firm with its policy, Amritraj can't play for India
"cosmological constant" into Einstein's general theory of relativity. Einstein originally introduced the term to make the universe stand still. When it was later found that the universe was expanding, Einstein called the cosmological constant "his biggest blunder." The constant was reinstated with a different value that produces the observed acceleration of the universe's expansion. Physicists trying to calculate the value from known physics, however, get a number more than 10 to the power of 60 (one followed by 60 zeros) too large-a truly astronomical number. That's when physicists turned to new theories of dark energy to explain the acceleration. In his research, Thompson put the most popular of those theories to the test, targeting the value of a fundamental constant (not to be confused with the cosmological constant), the mass of the proton divided by the mass of the electron. A fundamental constant is a pure number with no units such as mass or length. The values of the fundamental constants determine the laws of physics. Change the number, and the laws of physics change. Change the fundamental constants by a large amount, and the universe becomes very different from what we observe. The new physics model of dark energy that Thompson tested predicts that the fundamental constants will change by a small amount. Thompson identified a method of measuring the proton to electron mass ratio in the early universe several years ago, but it is only recently that astronomical instruments became powerful enough to measure the effect. More recently, he determined the exact amount of change that many of the new theories predict. When Thompson put this new measurement into his calculations, he found that it excluded almost all of the dark energy models using the commonly expected values or parameters. If the parameter space or range of values is equated to a football field, then almost the whole field is out of bounds except for a single 2inch by 2-inch patch at one corner of the field. In fact, most of the allowed values are not even on the field. NEW DELHI: AITA's efforts to rope in US-based Prakash Amritraj in the Davis Cup squad to negate a boycott threat from the top players came to a nought with the Sports Ministry sticking to its policy that only Indian passport holders can represent the country. In the wake of revolt by eight top players, including Somdev Devvarman, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, the AITA was trying to bolster its line-up by including an in-form Amritraj in the squad for the South Korea tie, beginning February 1. In December 2008, the ministry had formulated a policy on the participation of sportsperson in international events under which it had decided that only Indian citizens were eligible to represent the country. That policy had rendered three Indian tennis players - Amritraj, Sunitha Rao and Neha Uberoi -- ineligible for national selection. "We have issued a clarification to all the National Sports Federations (NSFs), saying that anybody who has Indian passport is eligible to play for India otherwise not. If Prakash Amritraj has Indian passport, he can play," Sports Secretary P K Deb said. At that time, Prakash, son of legendary Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj, had opted to retain his American citizenship. Prakash, who is coming back to competitive tennis after an injury, is in good form as he won four matches at the just-concluded Chennai Open. His inclusion could have helped a beleaguered AITA, who will now be forced to field a depleted side if the eight players stuck its stand and remains unavailable. AITA does not see the Ministry's stance as a setback to their plans. "I would see it this way, that we will not be able to avail Prakash Amritraj's services. He is in form and in good shape. He is a much better player than he was two years ago and at the moment he's better than many who we were considering for selection," AITA CEO Hironmoy Chatterjee said.

'Microsoft to replace Messenger with Skype on March 15'

SYDNEY: Software giant Microsoft has announced that it will 'retire' its Messenger online chat feature on March 15 and replace it with the Skype internet telephony service. Microsoft, in an email, advised Messenger users to update to Skype using their same account information in advance of the deadline. The US-based firm had announced in November that it was shutting down Messenger in favour of merging users into Skype, the service it purchased in 2011 for 8.5 billion dollars. The transition began late last year with the release of Skype 6.0 software that lets people sign in to the online communication service using Microsoft accounts. According to the report, Messenger will be shut off in every country except China. Skype features include video calls and being able to call mobile phones from computers, as well as being able to connect with friends at leading social network Facebook.

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