The finance minister has done a commendable job in containing the deficit while simultaneously addressing the growth

imperatives.
Vol. 2 Issue 09
RNI Reg. No.: PUNMUL/2012/45041 Postal Reg. No. PB/JL-047/2013-15

10.00 24 Pages

SUNDAY 03 MARCH 2013

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- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

BUDGET 2013 End of a big Inning? Or Beginning of the end?

I think I can, I think I can
La a 201 ge R Ha 4 Me aaho i in Jee tna

National 4

International 6

Campus 10

Celebrity 14

Leisure 16

Business 20

Sports 22

Parliamentary panel to probe VVIP chopper deal

Page 4

Pope Benedict XVI resigned , but why ?

Apka Paisa Hamare Hath

Page 7

PSLV-C20 Launched with seven Satellites

Page 12

Kareena showstopper for LFW Summer/ Resort 2013

Petrol price up by Rs.1.40 a litre

New Delhi Petrol prices was hiked up by Rs.1.40 a litre, excluding taxes, from midnight Friday due to the depreciating rupee and a sharp increase in crude oil prices in global markets, the governmentrun oil marketing firms said Friday. This is the second hike in over two weeks after the Feb 15 increase in the price of the fuel by Rs.1.50. The countrys largest oil marketing firm, Indian Oil Corporation, said the prices have been revised upward due to the depreciation in the value of rupee and rise in international crude oil prices. The combined impact of these two factors has compelled the company to revise the prices. The Corporation does not have any other option but to pass on the increase in motor spirit prices to consumers as the Corporation has already suffered losses on sale of motor spirit during the year, IOC said in a statement. Taking into account local sales tax or value added tax (VAT), the effective hiked price for consumers will work out to Rs.70.74 in Delhi, Rs.78.34 in Kolkata, Rs.77.66 in Mumbai and Rs.73.95 in Chennai. The latest hike comes after the finance ministrys annual economic review tabled in parliament Wednesday highlighted how high oil and gold imports are impacting the countrys current account deficit, which has widened to 5.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal. Over the years, Indias energy prices have become misaligned and are now much lower than global prices for many products, the review said. The extent of misalignment was substantial leading to large untargeted subsidies. While the government had budgeted over Rs.43,000 crore towards oil subsidy for the current fiscal, it had sought parliament approval for an additional Rs.28,500 crore on the same account. The Indian basket crude oil on budget 2013 day traded at $108.44 per barrel. In June 2010, the government had deregulated the price of petrol and announced that oil companies were free to fix it periodically.

Page 15

India maintain lead in ICC ODI rankings

Page 22

OPINION
Budget 2013-14: Unrealistic and Amorphous
P Chidambaram presented a dream budget in 1997 under the United Front dispensation and now under UPA II he has presented what can at best be termed a dreaming budget. In a post crisis global economic scenario India is faced with slowing growth, depressed investor sentiment and massive inefficiencies in public service delivery. The budget 2013-14 instead of addressing these has sought to focus on maintaining the status quo in social sector spending while other heads of spending are explained away by optimistic estimation. The lethargic bent of the budget becomes evident in the manner in which the government expects a slowing growth to miraculously yield buoyant revenue figures, reduced allocations including capital expenditure are expected to boost investment and finally a rise in non tax revenue is predicted coupled with a decline in subsidy bill. A reading of even most elementary economics is sufficient enough to indicate a relation between declining revenues and slowing growth in absence of a hike in taxation rates or imposition of new taxes. Given the experience and expertise of the team that generates the document it is impossible to attribute such dichotomous policy proposition to oversight. It was no bodys case to suggest that Budget 2013-14 was going to be an easy exercise given competing political interests and complex economic landscape. In times of confusion and doldrums this budget was expected to clear the air and state the policy thrusts in a forthright manner. The budget has failed to convey clear cut growth impulses and it has certainly kept realism aside to create a document that worries more about pleasing all than convincing one.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

EDITORIAL DESK

Manu Sharma

LOUD & CLEAR

S.K. Sinha

Push that desire with action It is exam time once again . Oh ! what a stressful part of our lives . Preparations and fear often cause anxiety and damage to the body and as a result the performance on the day of the exam gets affected . But if we look at the whole system, all that we learn the whole year is ultimately aimed at the final examinations . So why the worry . It would be wise to do our bit , work hard and leave the rest to the almighty. The world knows that faith works and for a student it is very important to have that amount of faith. It helps him or her to work hard and not bother about the results .The real trouble starts the moment we start worrying about

The Forgotten Genocide

1971 witnessed a bloodied birth of Bangladesh, enveloped in genocide and grave human rights atrocities this small but populous nation paid a heavy price for its independence at the hands of then West Pakistans forces. To most external observers it seemed but a matter of time before the perpetrators of the ghastly rapes, pillage and murders of Bangla nationals were brought to swift justice. Unfortunately, twisted turn of domestic politics and influence of hard line extremists delayed the process of justice causing affront to the sacred memory of those who perished away.

Bit by bit delay tactics and political strawmen were deployed to cover up the tragic story of Bangladeshs birth. Today Jamat-E-Islami and BNP count many of the accused under International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh as their front line political leaders. The Tribunal was formed after due diligence and vetting by prominent jurists of Bangladesh and enjoyed credibility amongst masses, however sections of young Bangladeshis fear extraneous influence upon the tribunal. The recent protests in Bangladesh have reopened the wounds of 1971 and subverted the attempts to brush away the

deeds of Pakistani army and its lackeys. Shahbag protests in Bangladesh offer a heartening ray of hope against the suppression of justice by motivated groups in Bangladesh. The young generation of Bangladesh now being referred to as Projonmo Chottor has successfully highlighted the lenient treatment of Abdul Quader Mollah and others charged of abetting war crimes during the 1971 war of independence. Operation Searchlight, the code name for genocide perpetrated by West Pakistani forces brought darkness to the Sonar Bangla, its abettors should be brought to justice by all means.

the gains .Whenever we start towards a destination , we should enjoy the journey .It is important to be focused on the journey and not just on the destination alone . Let us enjoy what we do and results will follow by themselves.We must remember that action alone brings us nearer to the destination and not just the desire. So let us back our desires by actions and dispel all fear of failure. Best wishes to all you students Jai Hind

Kolkata continues to play with fire

By Anurag Dey While the city gets ravaged by recurring fire tragedies with successive governments hiding inadequacies behind committees and probes, experts feel flouting of safety norms has turned Kolkata into a tinder box. The fact that the city was struck by three major fires in as many years leading to the death of nearly 200 people and adding to it the countless numbers of minor fires, the blatant neglect of fire safety norms and the governments apathy towards them come to the fore. Kolkata continues to be an unplanned city. Buildings are mushrooming everywhere with least attention to fire safety. To compound the misery, there are shanties, illegal shops and encroachments eating away precious road space, fire service consultant Sunil Bhunia told IANS. He said most of the buildings in central and northern Kolkata were virtual tinder boxes waiting for a disaster to strike. The roads in the older part of the city are narrow; most buildings do not have fire exits and inexplicably have storehouses where a large number inflammable objects are kept at any given time, he said. The Wednesday fire in the cramped Surya Sen Market, which claimed 19 lives, and the March 23, 2010, fire at Stephen Court in Park Street which killed 43 people, happened in the central parts of the city. While the above two mishaps and the Dec 2011 AMRI Hopsital fire disaster which snuffed out 94 lives, brought to fore inadequacy of the governments fire fighting abilities, the administration on all the occasions promptly set up committees and ordered probes. We have taken the matter of illegal buildings and those flouting fire safety norms seriously and they will neither get trade licences nor no-objection certificates from our department, Fire Services Minister Javed Khan told IANS. However, experts are sceptical about the move. There are numerous buildings which are illegal and numerous commercial buildings which are running despite not having no-objection certificates or trade licences. All these government steps are eyewash. The government wakes up during a disaster only to go to sleep again, said another fire consultant. We had a probe committee after the Stephen Court fire, several committees after the AMRI disaster and now this new probe on yesterdays tragedy. But where are the results? said the consultant, who did not want to be named. Three years have passed since the Stephen Court tragedy and the iconic building is today bustling with life. But the residents are still apprehensive as the British-era structure has still not been equipped with adequate fire-fighting measures. We are looking into the matter, was Javed Khans reply. Rubbishing claims of committees not yielding results, the minister said: After AMRI, we ensured that all major business complexes and hospitals strictly adhere to fire safety norms and now it is the time for residential buildings. Ventilation expert Amitabh Sur however is not satisfied with the firefighting mechanism of hospitals and other commercial complexes. Most of the hospitals lack smoke management facilities. It was the toxic smoke that killed the victims at AMRI and not the fire. The need is to install smoke dampers and evacuation facilities to prevent an AMRI rerun, said Sur of Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. While Khan was reluctant to admit that his department lacked modern fire fighting techniques, he conceded that overhead wires and cables, illegal shops and rampant use of combustible objects such as polythene sheets have increased vulnerability of the buildings.

By Madhusree Chatterjee The flowers light up patches of the dense green forests in elegant huddles of yellow, ochre, mauve, powder blue and lemony green on slopes 5,000 feet above sea level. Described as the natural glory of the Himalayan state of Sikkim, the Cymbidium orchid is increasingly being projected as the states flori-sustenance - the heartbeat of its booming flower trade The Cymbidium is the most common species of orchids that survive extremes of nature to live longer as cut flowers (with nipped stalks) in the vase in Sikkim and other northeastern states, home to nearly 600 varieties of wild orchids. The global spotlight turned on the Cymbidium orchid - the theme of the Sikkim International Flower Show 2013 during Feb 23-27 in state capital Sikkim - with colourful showcases by orchid growers and international workshops on the species. Our flower power is the Cymbidium orchid. Most of the Cymbidium varieties that you see in the world today are the hybridized varieties of the flowers taken from this region by the

Sikkim cashes in on its unique orchids

British nearly 100 years ago, Sikkims horticulture secretary Shanta Pradhan told IANS. Unlike elsewhere in the world, the Cymbidium orchid and the related species in the region grow in natural habitats, the official said. It took a century for Sikkim and the northeastern region to realize the potential of Cymbidium, together with five other orchids - Dendrobium, Vanda, Cattleya, Phalaenopsis and Oncidium - as revenue earners, he said. Flowers became a commercial prospect for us 10 years ago. It is a late start but is turning out to be a promising sector, Pradhan said. Sikkim annually produces Rs 20 million worth of orchids on an average. A cut stalk (floret) costs between Rs.20 and Rs.150 depending on the quality. The state government has introduced a special package in 18 clusters under which 50 flori-farmers have been given 500 orchid plantings (saplings) each with necessary support for cultivation, training and marketing.We are also assisting 1,000 more farmers for growing orchids outside the scheme. Nearly 50 percent of the orchid farmers are women, the bureaucrat said. The state has to overcome several challenges to send the produce out to the national market, Pradhan said. The first hurdle is transportation to the nearest marketplace. An effective cold chain is another area of concern. We require refrigerated vans to the cold storages and then fly the flowers out. During monsoon, when the roads are blocked by landslides, transporting the flowers to markets in New Delhi and Kolkata becomes difficult, Pradhan said, adding that an airport by 2014-end in the state will ease the ferry-block. Orchids and other horticultural products are marketed by SIMFED - the governments national sales network. The demand is growing. In the last wedding season, we could not meet the demand. We need more marketing support, the official said. Veteran flower trader Andy Warren, managing director of the New Zealand-based company Bloomz, said that Sikkim and the northeastern states - the countrys traditional orchid hothouses - should concentrate on the domestic market and explore its optimal capacity for high returns instead of eyeing bigger export share globally. This region lacks post-harvest facilities like good packaging houses and cold storages. The summer gets too hot and logistics to move the harvested products are inadequate. Flowers like orchids wilt. The region needs to look at expanding markets in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. They fetch good prices. The critical thing is to ensure top quality in the market every day, Warren, who has been trading flowers with India for the last 20 years, told IANS at the Sikkim International Flower Show 2013. Going to the international market is a whole new ball game with its stringent set of standards, Warren said. India is a country of small land holdings - orchid growers in the region must recognise the fact and rework their stragtegies for markets close by, said the flower expert, who has been invited to assist the Sikkim government in consolidating floral trade in an advisory capacity. The National Research Centre for Orchids - a Sikkim government-aided facility at Pakyong, 12 km from Gangtok - has developed four new hybrid varieties of orchids from the tissues of the 2005-2006 crop to help the state compete with states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam and Orissa in the national market, its director, R.P. Medhi, said. Citing figures, Medhi said the research centre has since 1996 - when it opened - collected and preserved 850 species of the 1,300 orchids in the region. Our mandate now is to conserve orchids, catalogue their molecular characterisation, enrich cultivation and check bio-piracy, Medhi told IANS. Research in orchids across the country are being carried out in 12 projects of the National Research Centre for Orchids and five externally-funded projects.

Send your feedback and articles to editor@rajpandit.com

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

COVER STORY

Chidambaram Presents Last Budget Before Elections 2014

New Delhi Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented a please-all budget with a 30 percent hike in plan expenditure, lower deficit and a one-time tax on the rich, while focusing on three main constituencies that can vote his government back to power in the next general elections -- women, youth and poor. Youll have to shell out more for your smokes, the fuel-guzzling sports utility vehicles will cost more and the smart-phone will attract higher excise, but what will please the masses -- read voters given the impending elections -- is that outlays for virtually every welfare scheme, covering urban areas to the hinterland, have been vastly hiked. What also makes all this seem like a dream is that the finance minister also promises to refrain from profligacy with a fiscal deficit target set at 4.8 percent of Indias gross domestic product, against 5.2 percent in the current fiscal, without an across-the-board hike in direct and indirect tax rates or slabs. All flagship programmes have been fully and adequately funded, the finance minister said in his 105-minute speech, setting aside Rs.16.65 lakh crore (Rs.16.65 trillion or $300 billion) for the next fiscal towards plan and non-plan expenditure. The proposals were welcomed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Given the formidable challenges facing our economy, the finance minister has done a commendable job, the prime minister said of his cabinet colleague, once hailed for what has come to be known as a dream budget he presented in 1997. The finance minister has taken important steps to reverse pessimistic mood with regard to investment climate, with regard to the growth potential and the possibilities of our economy, the prime minister said, even as the opposi-

tion said it was a wasted opportunity. The small tax payer, earning between Rs.200,000 to Rs.500,000 per annum, gets a Rs.2,000 rebate, while the affluent will be imposed a super rich tax that amounts to a surcharge of 10 percent on an annual income of over Rs.10 crore. For average taxpayers, there are other take-aways: Additional rebate on home loans for first-time buyers, two-year extension of the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme for first-time investors with higher limit of Rs.1.2 million, and launch of inflation-indexed bonds. In the case of home loan deduction scheme, the benefit could be as much as Rs.30,000 for tax payers in the upper bracket. This apart, those returning from abroad can bring goods worth Rs.50,000 duty-free in the case of men and Rs.100,000 in the case of women. In a constrained economy, there is little room to raise tax rates or large amounts of additional tax revenues. Equally, there is little room to give away tax revenues or the tax base. It is time for prudence, restraint and patience, the finance minister said. Chidambaram, who now has eight budgets to his credit, equalling the track record of his predecessor Pranab Mukherjee, now the president, also made some specific remarks in his 105-minute speech, aimed at various constituencies, both within and outside India. For women, he promised an exclusive public sector bank to cater to them, with an initial corpus of Rs.1,000 crore ($180 million), as also a Nirbhaya Fund, named after the recent Delhi gang-rape victim, for those abused in one form or the other. A reward of Rs.10,000 under the skill development programme for the youth whom he called impatient and ambitious, representing the aspirations of the people, and a promise of a pan-In-

dia roll-out of the direct cash transfer scheme by next year for the poor. To investors, domestic and overseas, Chidambaram promised to remove any distrust on any undue regulatory or tax burden, along with an environment of quick decisions, since he held investments as the key to reviving the growth of an economy. Investment is an act of faith, he said, adding: Doing business in India must be seen as easy, friendly and mutuallybeneficial. He also said overseas borrowings and equity investments were the only options to finance the high current account deficit. That is why I have been at pains to state over and over again that India at the present juncture does not have the choice between welcoming and spurning foreign investment. If I may be frank, foreign investment is an imperative, he said. At the same time, the finance minister promised action on infrastructure development and said steps will be taken to invest the promised $1 trillion during the current Five Year Plan on roads, ports, highways, waterways, energy and industrial corridors. These proposals were praised by industry. The budget will revive manufacturing sector which had come under stress. The biggest take-away is the investment allowance, said the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Assocham). Overall, the direct and indirect tax proposals are expected to yield Rs.18,000 crore But the markets were none-too-pleased and the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) fell 1.5 percent with hikes in suscharge on corporate tax and dividend distribution tax seen as major dampeners. The finance minister also made several promises: A pilot programme to pro-

mote micro-nutrients, a National Livestock Mission, inflation-indexed bonds, a new corporate tax avoidance tax from 2016, a direct tax code and a new bill for a pan-India goods and services tax this session. The finance minister felt India, now faced with some serious chaqllenges, was already the worlds 10th largest economy, and had the potential to scale higher to the eighth or the seventh position by 2017. Any economist could tell that, he said. By 2025, we could become a $5 trillion economy, and among the top five in the world. What we will become depends on us and on the choices that we make.

Opposition Speaks
Budget will lead to further price rise: CPI-M

Kolkata Flaying the Congress-led UPA government over several issues including the budget, the CPI-M Friday said only the Left parties had alternative policies that were being propogated through the partys Sangharsh Sandesh Jathas (revolutionary message marches). The budget has once again proved that this government thinks only about the rich. Subsidy worth Rs.26,000 has been withdrawn from petroleum, which eventually will lead to further price rise, party general secretary Prakash Karat said here. The budget has no provision for employment, when there is so much unemployment in the country. People

of Tripura have shown the way, only the Left parties have the suitable policies, Karat said. The Left Front Thursday retained power in Tripura for the fifth consecutive time, sweeping 50 of 60 seats in the assembly. Karat was speaking at the launch of the parties Eastern Jatha (march), flagged off by former West Bengal chief minister and politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The Karat-led jatha will travel to various districts of the state before reaching Delhi via Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The purpose of the jathas is to highlight the problems faced by the people on account of price rise, unemployment, the problems faced by the farmers and the massive corruption. We are the only one to form alternative policies to the present ones being laid out by either the Congress or the BJP, Karat said. There are four main jathas, starting from Kanyakumari, Kolkata, Mumbai and Amritsar, and travelling through the length and breadth of the country, before converging at Delhi March 19, where a massive rally is scheduled. Apart from the Eastern jatha, which began Friday from here, the Kanyakumari jatha led by S. Ramachandran began its journey Feb 24; the Amritsar jatha led by Brinda Karat will begin March 4, while the Mumbai jatha led by Sitaram Yechuri will commence March 8. The focus areas that the marchers have decided to highlight are: Right to land and house-sites; curb of pricerise and the right to food; right to education and health; right to employment; social justice and the rights of women; and an end to corruption.

NATIONAL NEWS
New Delhi A joint parliamentary committee (JPC) will probe the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters, it was decided while Defence Minister A.K. Antony promised to punish the guilty for the alleged kickbacks. The opposition parties, however, walked out of the Rajya Sabha alleging inaction for over a year. The motion to set up the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) took the opposition by surprise, but was adopted by the Rajya Sabha despite oposition walk-out, including by the BJP. Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath moved the motion at the end of a short-duration discussion on the $750 million/Rs.3,600-crore deal for the helicopters with AgustaWestland by the defence ministry. The move to set up the JPC was opposed by several opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Telugu Desam Party, Janata DalUnited and Trinamool Congress. The Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party backed the decision on the JPC. Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley said the JPC will be an exercise in futility and its setting up was a diversionary tactic by the government. He said what was needed was a proper case and custodial interrogation of people to get to the truth and the JPC had none of these powers. Defending the governments decision, Kamal Nath said the JPC will monitor the investigations of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and accused the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance of running away from JPC. He said the JPC will have 30 members, including 10 from the Rajya Sabha and 20 from the Lok Sabha. He said the JPC will give its report within three months of its first sitting. He announced names of seven of 10 house members and said names of three others will be decided later. The opposition parties, including the BJP, staged a walk-out before the voice vote on the motion for setting up the JPC. The Rajya Sabha earlier saw a fierce debate with the BJP members accusing the government of inaction despite information about alleged kickbacks

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

Mamata is willing to set up NCTC, says Shinde

Parliamentary panel to probe VVIP chopper deal

Kolkata Claiming that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had a positive view on the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Monday said the central government was trying to break the deadlock over the proposed anti-terror hub. She (Banerjee) is willing. But other chief ministers are opposing it. We have to hold talks with them also, Shinde told reporters after holding a meeting with Banerjee at Bakkhali in South 24 Parganas district. We had earlier held talks about the NCTC. Banerjee had said that we would have to discuss together some clauses, he said. Shinde, who began a two-day tour of the state Sunday, held talks with Banerjee. The proposal to set up NCTC was put on hold after some states protested against its implementation, saying it would encroach on their rights. Banerjee, along with her Tamil Nadu and

Gujarat counterparts, J. Jayalalithaa and Narendra Modi, respectively, had opposed certain provisions of it.Shinde said the central government and all the states had to deal with terrorism together and the former was in the process of finding out a way to break the deadlock. We have to deal with terrorism together. We should not allow it in our territory. The chief ministers also have the same view. But all the chief ministers are saying that the centre should not encroach on the rights of the states. We are in the process of finding a way out, he said. Shinde also discussed coastal security with Banerjee during the meeting.Describing the chief minister as his sister, the minister said his discussion with Banerjee for allotting land for Border Security Force (BSF) outposts in Bengal was excellent.I earlier had urged the West Bengal government for land for BSF. We also discussed about it today. The discussion was excellent. I want to give thanks to the government, he added.

Aeromatrix Office in Chandigarh

Bhubaneswar India successfully tested indigenously-built multi-barrel rocket launcher Pinaka from a defence base in Odisha, an official said. The multi-barrel rocket launching system (MBRLS) was tested from the Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) in Chandipur-on-sea in Balasore district, around 230 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

India tests indigenous multi-barrel rocket launcher

Capable of firing 12 rockets in a single salvo with 1.2 tonnes of high explosives within 40 seconds, the Pinaka system has already been inducted into the armed forces and was used in the field during the 1999 Kargil war. It was a routine evaluation test. Three rounds of rockets were launched successfully, director of the test range M.V.K.V. Prasad told.

being in the public domain for almost a year. In his reply, Antony said the government will get to the root of scams involving public money and punish the guilty. Antony said he felt ashamed as a minister on any controversy surrounding the defence ministry. He said the ministry had acted on every complaint it received and there was no cover-up. He said the CBI team that went to Italy met the prosecutors and the judge in the case and were told of the secrecy clause. Antony said the Italian authorities will complete their inquiry in the coming months. The minister said AgustaWestland had denied any wrongdoings in its reply to the ministrys show cause notice but the defence ministry did not believe their reply. He said the government will take strongest action after getting a report from the CBI. I want to know the truth. I must pursue the case, Antony said, adding that however powerful the guilty may be, he would be found out. Rebutting Antony, Jaitley said the only remaining issue concerning the kickbacks was of knowing identity of bribe taker. The government of India places order.

The bribe-taker cannot be sitting elsewhere, Jaitley said and added that the bribes had travelled back to India. He said India could not ask for extradition of foreign middlemen without a first information report and cannot send letter regoratory. You waited for 365 days before registering preliminary enquiry (PE), Jaitley said and added that a preliminary enquiry was only an informal method to obtain information as it did not allow for raid and custodial interrogation. He sought registration of FIR by CBI. Jaitley asked the government if it was ready for a JPC headed by an opposition member. The PE was registered by the CBI Monday against 11 people, including former Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi and four companies. The firms named by the CBI in the PE included Italy-based Finmeccanica, its subsidiray AgustaWestland, IDS Infotech Ltd. (India) and Aeromatrix India. Asked about partys opposition to the JPC, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that an FIR had not been registered in the chopper deal case. He said the party had demanded a JPC probe into the 2G spectrum issue after an FIR had been registered and court was monitoring the investigation. A JPC without FIR, without court monitoring is humbug, he said.

Young India has clear advantage over ageing China, US: Tharoor
two decades, the average age in US will be 40, it will be 46 in Japan, 47 in Europe and almost 50 in China, but we will still be at 29, Tharoor said at the national conference on secondary education titled Is Secondary Education on Track? at the Indian Habitat Centre here.He emphasized that the country should translate the demographic advantage to yield productive results. Our youth are obviously our key national resource It needs to be cherished, nurtured and developed with vision, determination and engagement. And to achieve all this we need to get our education right. At the time when our neighbours China, Japan are facing demographic squeeze we have 516 million individuals under 25 years of age, 225 million between the ages of 10-19, and today the average age is 28 years to Chinas 38; so we will have a more youthful, dynamic workforce, when the rest of the world is ageing, the minister added. The former UN diplomat however cautioned that if the youth are not equipped with skills that 21st century offers, the results would be horrendous to con-

New Delhi In another seven years, India will overtake China with the youngest workforce in the 20-24 age bracket, positioning its demography as its strongest competitive advantage over developed nations, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor said .Speaking at a CII-sponsored event, Tharoor said the youth is Indias key national resource and their importance should be recognised. By 2020, India will have a 116 million strong workforce in the bracket of 20-24 years, while for China it will be just about 94 million at the same time. This could be the strongest competitive advantage India will have in the years to come. What is also striking is that within

template. We all know mobs, Maoists and insurrections are full of frustrated unemployed young men who feel they have no stake in society.Tharoor said that higher education holds the key to the countrys bright future for creating a knowledge-based society. Expressing worry at the high drop out rates at secondary education level, Tharoor noted that as the classes became senior, the drop out rates became greater.The minister said the government expenditure for education increased in last nine years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) from three per cent of GDP in 2002 to 4.8 percent currently. Our education system caters to about 600 million people, it is one of the highly capitalized sectors in India with an annual government spending of $30 billion, and an annual private spending of $43.2 billion. He sought more Private-Public Partnership (PPP) in education.Vijay Thadani, chairman CII national committee on school education, said that drop out rates at the secondary level can be tackled by introducing more vocational courses, partnerships and greater engagement with NGOs.

New Delhi Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani arrived here to urge India to play a greater role in ending Tehrans impasse with the West on its nuclear programme.His trip came as fresh negotiations began in Kazakhstan on Irans controversial nuclear programme. Larijani, who is expected to be the next Iranian president, will meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid. He will brief them on Irans stand on the crucial talks with the Security Council members that will decide the future course of action against Tehran. Iran feels that India should play an active role in bridging the gap between the West and Tehran on the nuclear issue. The US and the West have imposed fresh sanctions on Iran that has made it virtually impossible for it to export crude oil to India. India has already reduced dependence of crude oil on Iran and Saudi Arabia has expressed willingness to meet the Indian requirement. Larijani will hold detailed talks with

Iranian leader to discuss nuke issue with India

National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon. Besides the nuclear issue, they will also discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The Iranian speaker is also expected to meet his Indian counterpart Meira Kumar. There have been several high-level visits by Iranian officials to India after Manmohan Singh visited Iran last year. Manmohan Singh went to Iran to attend the non-aligned meet and also held talks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iranian National Security Advisor Saeed Jalili visited India in December.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

NATIONAL NEWS

UP set to distribute free laptops to 1.5 million school-leavers

Lucknow Theyll cost the Utttar Pradesh government a whopping Rs.2,800 crore and their distribution is set to begin, but each of the 1.5 million recipients of the free laptops being given to school-leavers will have no doubt where they came from - what with tamper-proof images of ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on their covers. The laptops were promised by the SP during last years assembly election campaign and in keeping with that, the images of the two Yadavs will be accompanied by the words Poore hote vaade (Fulfilling the promises) and the logo of the state government. Not only that, each time the system is booted out pops a screensaver with images of the two Yadavs. While the secondary education board has begun work on the modalities of distributing the laptops to all Class 12 pass-outs, highly placed sources told IANS that distribution would begin at the end of this month. Sources say that in the first phase 10,000 laptops would be distributed in Lucknow and Mainpuri, Mulayam Singh Yadavs parliamentary constituency. Officials of the secondary education department from these two districts underwent a day-long training module at Gomtinagar earlier this week when they were explained in detail the modalities of distribution, technicalities and other processes by the Uttar Pradesh Electronics Corporation. A senior official said that a prototype of the laptop was approved by Akhilesh Yadav last week. The first lot of laptops, in black and graphite grey, Hewlett Packard (HP) officials said, are being imported from its manufacturing unit in China and would then be customised at its unit in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. We are ready to meet the timelines set by the UP government and would like to deliver the whole lot of 1.5 million laptops ordered within the time given, The guidelines of the tender specifically say the selected bidder should permanently burn the logo of UP government and other information provided by the government, in the Bios and firmware. With 2-GB memory, expandable up to 4 GB, a 500 GB SATA hard disc drive, a 14-inch display screen, Urdu, Hindi and English language software, dual speakers, essential anti-virus, bluetooth and a webcam, each laptop will cost the state government Rs 19,058 including taxes and duty. The government will also give government logo-inscribed backpacks for the laptops. HP has been asked to use polyster fabric, branded zippers, sliders, a three compartment bag for text books, an adapter and a utility pocket. The laptops will also have traceability identification through customised bar codes. An education software pack has also been loaded into in the laptops, said Pravin Kumar, manager of the Uttar Pradesh Electronics Corporation. The laptops would also have free open source Ubuntu and Linux other than Windows 7 Home Basic, he added. After the distribution in the state capital and Mainpuri, the secondary education department is preparing a list of districts where the scheme would be launched in phases.

Indian baby under US foster care returns to Kolkata

Kolkata Nearly six months after being taken into custody by the United States Child Protection Services for alleged neglect by parents, one-and-a-half-year-old Indrashish, son on an Indian couple in the US, returned to the city Wednesday. The baby arrived at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport with his uncle Bhaskar Kundu and was handed over to Pragati Basak -- the childs maternal grandmother, who was granted his custody by a New Jersey court. We are so happy to have him back. There was no neglect on the part of his parents. We strongly feel the US authorities needlessly took away the child from his parents, said Basak. Indrashish was taken into protective custody by the US authorities after the child suffered a head injury Aug 9. Earlier this month, a court in New Jersey directed them to return the child to Basak. While allowing repatriation of Indrashish, the local court also dismissed the case filed against his parents by the New Jersey Child Protection Services. Nirmal Saha, grandfather of the child, said the repatriation of the child would never have been possible had the civil

rights activists and members of the Bengali community not come forward to help the parents of Indrashish. During his visit to the city, President Pranab Mukherjee had also assured help for the return of the child. India and the US have two different cultures and two different legal systems. Despite no mistake of the parents, it was a misunderstanding arising out of two cultures that had resulted in the child being taken away, said Congress party leader Om Prakash Mishra, who had earlier sought intervention of the external affairs ministry in the matter

Delhi gang-rape: Juveniles case begins March 6

New Delhi The Juvenile Justice Board decided to start from March 6 an inquiry against a minor accused in the Delhi gang-rape under charges of murder, gang-rape, kidnapping and robbery. The juvenile faces charges under the same 13 sections of the Indian Penal Code that were slapped on the other five accused whose trial is being held in a fast track court at Saket. A 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist was brutally gang-raped on a moving bus Dec 16, 2012. She died in a Singapore hospital Dec 29, 2012. The five accused, other than the juvenile, are: bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, fruit seller Pawan Gupta, gym instructor Vinay Sharma, and bus cleaner Akshay Thakur. The charges were framed against the five Feb 2 in the fast track court. They are currently in judicial custody.

India rebuts Hagels allegations of financing problems for Pakistan

New Delhi India sharply rebutted US Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagels allegations that it has over the years financed problems for Pakistan in Afghanistan, saying New Delhi has consistently received support and encouragement from Washington for its constructive role there. Hagel had suggested in a previously unreleased 2011 speech that India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan in Afghanistan. He made the remark during a 2011 address on Afghanistan at Oklahomas Cameron University, according to a video of the speech obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The video containing the remarks was uploaded by Washington Free Beacon, sparking a strong reaction from the India embassy. Our embassy in Washington DC has already responded at length on this subject. The government of India has close and frequent discussions with the United States on all issues of mutual interest including on Afghanistan, and we have consistently received support and encouragement from our US partners for our constructive role in Afghanistan, said an official source. In his 2011 speech, Hagel said: India for some time has always used Afghanistan as a second front, and India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan on that side of the border. And you can carry that into many dimensions, the point being [that] the tense, fragmented relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been there for many, many years. The Indian Embassy in Washington said the comments attributed to Hagel who has been a long-standing friend of India and a prominent votary of close India-US relations are contrary to the reality of Indias unbounded dedication to the welfare of Afghan people. Indias commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is unwavering and this is reflected in our significant assistance to Afghanistan in developing its economy, infrastructure and institutional capacities, the embassy said. Our opposition to terrorism and its safe havens in our neighborhood is firm and unshakeable. It said Indias development assistance has been deeply appreciated by the

Boy commits suicide over mobile phone

Patna A 12-year-old boy immolated himself in Bihar after his father snatched his mobile telephone that he had allegedly bought with stolen money, police said Thursday. Nitish Kumar alias Golu committed suicide in Pasewarh village in Siwan district, about 150 km from here, late Wednesday. The incident happened after his father asked him why he bought a second hand mobile phone after stealing Rs.500, police official Ramagya Rai said. The victim was a Class V student.

people and the government of Afghanistan, and by our friends around the world, including the United States. We do not view our engagement with Afghanistan as a zero sum game. The embassy said both India and the US have a shared perspective and a deep convergence of interests for ensuring peace and stability in AfghanistanWe will continue to work to help the Afghan people build a peaceful, prosperous, democratic and inclusive future for themselves in an environment free from terror and intimidation. Hagel is widely expected to be confirmed by the US Senate, more than a month after he was first nominated by President Barack Obama.

Abducted engineer released in Assam

Guwahati An engineer of the Power Grid Corporation Ltd. (PGCL), abducted by suspected militants and taken to their camp in Bhutan more than a week ago, was released, police said. S.P. Raju, hailing from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, arrived at Ghawra Chowk police station in Baksa district and informed the police about his release. Raju was reportedly abducted by four armed militants from a construction site of the Power Grid Corporation at Dhekipora in Baksa Feb 15 night. Confirming the release of Raju, police said he was held captive by the suspected cadres of anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), probably at its camp in Bhutan. One of his captors brought him to Kumarikata, a small township located along the India-Bhutan border in Baksa, late Tuesday night and released him, a police official said. Raju boarded a bus from Kumarikata today morning and reached Ghawra Chowk police station and informed us about his release, police said, while adding that his health was found to be alright. It is not known whether any ransom was paid to the militants for his release. had nabbed seven people for Rajus kidnapping.

Market inferno kills 19 in Kolkata

Kolkata At least 19 people were killed in a devastating blaze at a market complex in the eastern metropolis Wednesday. According to witnesses, the massive fire in the densely-populated Sealdah area began around 3:50 a.m. in the mezzanine floor of a multi-storey Surya Sen Market building and leapt up to the first and second floors where most of the victims were sleeping. Hinting at a probable sabotage, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered an inquiry into the tragedy. The steady stream of soot-smeared bodies being taken out of the fire-ravaged building bore an eerie resemblance to the AMRI Hospital fire tragedy Dec 9, 2011, where too a pre-dawn blaze choked to death 94 people, mostly critically ill patients. If Fire Services Minister Javed Khan put the blame of the fire on the illegal building constructed during erstwhile Left Front regime, Banerjee sniffed a conspiracy. Why has this incident happened? There are so many inflammable objects there (in the market) that if anybody intentionally lit a small fire, it could turn into a major fire. There could be (a) conspiracy, sabotage. The probe will look into all aspects, the chief minister said. Banerjee also announced a compensation of Rs.2 lakh each to the kin of the dead and Rs.50,000 for the injured. As 26 fire tenders battled to douse the flames, politicians got busy playing the blame game and pointing fingers at rivals. Why is the Trinamool (Congress) government blaming the former government? The tragedy has happened during their rule and they are responsible for it, Congress MP Deepa Dasmunsi said. Opposition Left Front too joined in, asking the state government not to indulge in blame game and try gaining mileage from the tragic incident. If rebel MP Kabir Suman accused the government of not learning lessons despite repeated tragedies, party legislator from Chowringhee Sikha Mitra claimed she had warned of an impending fire tragedy in the area but no one paid heed. The fire not only claimed breadwinners of 19 families but also snatched away livelihood of many. I had stocked medicines worth over Rs.25 lakh there. All that is gone now. Im completely ruined. My family has no other way but to beg now, said a chemist shop owner. Similar was the story of over 50 families who lost their livelihood in the blaze which took more than nine hours to be put out. Braving thick smoke and raging fire, many broke windowpanes and doors to save the trapped people and materials. Doctors at N.R.S. Medical College and Hospital and Calcutta Medical College where the fire victims were taken to, said most died due to suffocation. Some of them were charred to death, but a majority of them died due to suffocation, said a doctor. As the bodies were brought to a morgue after post-mortem, family members cried inconsolably while Banerjee ensured that the bodies were promptly handed over to the kin. While 15 of the dead have been identified, identity of four bodies is yet to be established. This is the third major fire in city in three years. On March 23, 2010, a blaze in the iconic Stephen Court building in Park Street snuffed out 43 lives

6 100,000 Bangladeshis seek death penalty for war crimes

Dhaka More than 100,000 people have signed a letter seeking death penalty for Bangladeshi war criminals, a media report said. The mass signature campaign, which began Feb 22, demands death penalty for war criminals. People who collaborated with the Pakistan government during the 1971 freedom movement are called war criminals in Bangladesh. Till Monday night, signatures of more than one lakh people were collected, reported dailystar.net. The youth have been demonstrating for the last 22 days at Shahbagh intersection, popularly known as Projonmo Chattar. The movement began Feb 5, soon after Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general Abdul Quader Mollah was sentenced to life in prison for rape, killing and genocide in 1971 during countrys liberation war. People became angry on seeing the image of Mollah smiling and holding up two fingers in a V sign as he was led from the court. Bloggers and Online Activist Network initiated the protest that soon turned into a mass movement. The demonstrators plan to stage a demonstration outside the home ministry demanding arrest of Mahmudur Rahman, acting editor of Bangla daily Amar Desh. Rahman has been sued for instigating militancy and fanaticism and spreading false information to create anarchy across the country, said a media report. People from different walks of life began to throng the Shahbagh intersection since Tuesday morning. They chanted revolutionary slogans. Demonstrators Sunday took out a procession in the capital to protest the countrywide daylong shutdown called by eight Islamist parties. Black flags were hoisted Feb 18 in memory of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider, an activist of ongoing Shahbagh movement as the current wave of demonsterations is called, who was stabbed to death Feb 15. On March 26, 1971, the people of then East Pakistan began a military campaign against Pakistani armed forces following largescale killings of civilians opposed to strong-arm rule of Islamabad. The civil war led to the eventual IndiaPakistan war in December 1971, leading to the break-up of Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh.

INTERNATIONAL
every Tamil man and woman arrested for suspected LTTE involvement at serious risk, he said. Most rape victims spoke outside of Sri Lanka, and corroborated their accounts with medical and legal reports. Because HRW was not able to openly conduct research in Sri Lanka or interview people still in custody, these cases probably represent only a tiny fraction of custodial rape in political cases, it said.Many cases followed a pattern of an individual being abducted from home by unidentified men, taken to a detention centre, and abusively interrogated about alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A 23-year-old man who returned from abroad said he was abducted, held without charge, and raped on three consecutive days until he signed a confession.A 32-year-old woman said she was detained by two plainclothes men who stripped and photographed her naked. They told me to confess about everything. I refused to confess as I thought they would kill me. I was beaten up and tortured. On the second day, a man came to my room and raped me. I was raped by different men on at least three days. I cant remember how many times, she was quoted as saying.Rape and other sexual violence of detained men and women by the security forces during and ever since the armed conflict suggest that sexual abuse has been a key element of the broader use of torture and ill-treatment

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

Sri Lankan military charged with raping Tamils

South Koreas first female president takes office

London Sri Lankan security forces have used rape and other forms of sexual violence to torture suspected members or supporters of the Tamil Tigers, Human Rights Watch ((HRW) said . While widespread rape in custody occurred during the armed conflict that ended in 2009, HRW found that politically motivated sexual violence by the military and police continues to the present.A 140-page report, We Will Teach You a Lesson: Sexual Violence against Tamils by Sri Lankan Security Forces, provides detailed accounts of 75 cases of alleged rape and sexual abuse during 2006-12 in both official and secret detention centres in Sri Lanka. In the cases documented by HRW, men and women reported being raped on multiple days, often by several people, with the army, police and pro-government paramilitary groups frequently participating. The Sri Lankan security forces have committed untold numbers of rapes of Tamil men and women in custody, said Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW.These are not just wartime atrocities but continue to the present, putting

against suspected LTTE members and supporters, HRW said. The torture is intended to obtain confessions of involvement in LTTE activities, information on others including spouses and relatives and to instil terror in the Tamil population to discourage involvement with the LTTE.The victims also described being beaten, hung by their arms, partially asphyxiated, and burned with cigarettes. None of those who spoke to HRW had access to legal counsel, family members, or doctors while they were detained. Most said they signed a confession in the hope that the abuse would stop, though the torture, including rape, often continued. The individuals interviewed were not formally released but rather allowed to escape after a relative paid the authorities a bribe.Women and men who alleged rape said they had generally kept silent about their abuse, fearing social stigmatization and reprisals from perpetrators if they reported the crime. The reluctance to report sexual abuse also stems from institutional barriers imposed by the Sri Lankan government to block effective reporting and investigation of rape cases.No member of the security forces has been prosecuted, let alone convicted, for rape in custody in the final years of the conflict or since the wars end.Interviewees told HRW that military and police personnel seldom made any effort to disguise being members of state security forces. These included the military, military intelligence and the police, including specialized units such as the Criminal Investigation Department and Terrorism Investigation Department.

US visa delays likely in India, China, Brazil

UAE, Argentina hold talks

Seoul Park Geun-hye was sworn in as South Koreas first female president Monday, pledging economic revival and educational system overhaul and urging North Korea to rid itself of its nuclear programme. The new administration will usher in a new era of hope premised on a revitalizing economy, the happiness of our people, and the blossoming of our culture, Park said in an inauguration speech delivered to some 70,000 people gathered in front of the countrys parliament for the ceremony. The 61-year-old vowed to root out unfair practices that stifled the growth of small and medium-sized businesses, reform the educational system to allow more room for creativity and bring about flourishing culture, reported Xinhua. Park, whose inauguration came on the heels of a widely condemned nuclear test by North Korea, also sent a warning message to the unpredictable northern neighbour. North Koreas recent nuclear test is a challenge to the survival and future of the Korean people, and there should be no mistake that the biggest victim will be none other than North Korea itself, Park said. I urge North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions without delay and embark on the path to peace and shared development. At the same time, she reaffirmed her

pledge to seek a so-called trust-building process between the two Koreas to lay the groundwork for an era of harmonious unification. Trust can be built through dialogue and by honouring promises that have already been made. It is my hope that North Korea will abide by international norms and make the right choice so that the trust-building process on the Korean Peninsula can move forward, Park said. Her first call after beginning her fiveyear term midnight Sunday was to Gen. Jung Seung-jo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a move designed to highlight her commitment to border security. The 61-year-old daughter of late military strongman Park Chung-hee won the Dec 19 presidential election, becoming the first-ever president to earn a majority of the popular vote since democratic elections were introduced here in 1987. Park, a political veteran with the moniker queen of elections, acted as the de facto first lady to her father after her mother was assassinated by a North Korean agent and is credited with reviving the ruling party mired in corruption scandals. She remains widely popular among older people nostalgic for rapid economic growth under the senior Parks 18-year authoritarian rule, while critics point to ruthless suppression of dissidents during his reign.

Washington US officials have expressed concern that the impending spending cuts may increase wait times in issuing US visas particularly in countries like India, China, and Brazil. The sequestration would cut all State Department budget by a fair percentage point, spokesperson Patrick Ventrell told reporters Wednesday in response to question about the impact of sequestration - $85 billion in cuts this year and $1.2 trillion through fiscal 2021 . Part of a 2011 deal to increase Americas debt limit, the cuts, half in defence and half in non-defence programmes, were deliberately designed to be painful to make the Congress act on the nations mounting deficit. But one of the things we are very concerned about is weve had a huge influx of hiring of new consulate officers we sent out to hotspots like India, China, Brazil, where you have lots of middle class folks who are trying to come to the US for the first time and visit and spend their money, Ventrell said. Its good for the American economy. And so we are concerned that if sequestration happens, we could have major

setbacks in really the herculean effort weve made to reduce wait times, he said. The spokesperson said the wait times in India Brazil and China have gone from hundreds of days down to a couple of days for people to come visit the US. And every one of those folks is coming to spend their money here in our economy, and so we do have some significant concerns, he said. While its impossible to say exactly how it would impact in each individual country, Ventrell said, theres no doubt in my mind and those who look at this closely that one of the areas that therell be an impact on, obviously, is our ability provide consular services. And so were concerned about that and it took a lot of effort to get us to reduce those wait times, and a lot of new hiring, a lot of new staff, he added. With positions hardened on both sides, expectations were low that a White House meeting on Friday between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders, including opposition Republican, would produce any deal to avoid the cuts.

Abu Dhabi The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Argentina have held discussions over expanding investment and trade between them. The meet was held between Argentias Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Norberto Yauhar and UAEs Minister for Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi. During the meet Yauhar, who is leading an Argentinean delegation to GULFOOD 2013 in Dubai, said that his country is working on establishing branches for Argentinean companies across a multitude of sectors in the UAEs free zones. Argentinean minister also revealed that there were strategic plans in place to increase his countrys exports to the UAE, which enjoys a unique geographic location that would enable their entry into the markets of other neighbouring countries.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

INTERNATIONAL
Pope Benedict XVI resigned , but why ?
cation, which aims to achieve universal primary education for boys and girls by the year 2015. Much progress has been made to reach the 2015 education goals but many countries are still not on track, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said at the opening session of the Summit. In this respect, the digital divide continues to be a development divide. The ongoing mobile and internet revolutions provide all countries, especially developing and least developed ones, with unprecedented opportunities. In contrast, only 3 per cent of schools have Internet access in Kenya, and the ratio of computers is one for every 150 schoolchildren in most African countries. The report calls on policymakers to boost efforts that ensure equitable access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) for all their citizens, especially women and girls and marginalized groups. It also encourages governments to provide incentives to support the adoption of ICTs and include digital skills as part of their public education programmes. In addition, the report calls for supporting the creation of online educational applications and services in local content and local languages, which is many times missing from established hardware. Set up by the ITU and UNESCO in 2010, the Broadband Commission for Digital Development aims to boost the importance of broadband on the international policy agenda and believes that expanding broadband access in every country is key to accelerating progress towards the achieving all MDGs.

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orientation. It added that some Vatican officials had been subjected to external influence from laymen with whom they had links of a worldly nature. La Republica said this was a clear reference to blackmail. Reports also identified a series of meeting places [for the clergymen] in and around Rome. They included a villa outside the Italian capital, a sauna in a Rome suburb, a beauty parlour in the centre, and a former university residence that was in use by a provincial Italian archbishop. This isnt the Vaticans first run-in with homosexual members.In 2007 a senior official was suspended from the congregation, or department, for the priesthood, after he was filmed in a sting organised by an Italian television programme while apparently making sexual overtures to a younger man in 2010 a chorister was dismissed for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting. A few months later a weekly news magazine used hidden cameras to record priests visiting gay clubs and bars and having sex. The Vatican secretariat of state issued a statement about the report: It is deplorable that as we draw closer to the time of the beginning of the conclave that there be a widespread distribution of often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories that cause serious damage to persons and institutions.

Broadband access can help bridge educational divides, empower students

Broadband connectivity has the potential to transform education by giving teachers and students access to learning resources and technologies that will allow them to improve their skills in the context of a globalized economy, according to a United Nations report released. The report, Technology, Broadband and Education: Advancing the Education for All Agenda, argues that access to highspeed technologies over fixed and mobile platforms can help students acquire the digital skills required to participate in the global economy and contribute to ensure their employability once they finish their studies. The ability of broadband to improve and enhance education, as well as students experience of education, is undisputed, said the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Hamadoun Tour, adding that online access widens education and employment prospects for students all over the world. A student in a developing country can now access the library of a prestigious university anywhere in the world; an unemployed person can retrain and improve their job prospects in other fields; teachers can gain inspiration and advice from the resources and experiences of others. With each of these achievements, the online world brings about another real-world victory for education, dialogue, and better understanding between peoples. The report, released by the Broadband Commission for Digital Development during the World Summit on the Information Society +10 in Paris, emphasizes the importance of broadband access as a way to accelerate the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) pertaining edu-

The Sixth Commandment, Thou shall not commit adultery, is used by the Vatican to refer to homosexuality rather than infidelity.
Pope Benedict spoke of evil, suffering and corruption in the world as he prepares to step down. When Pope Benedict XVI announced earlier this month that he would resign on February 28th, there was a lot of shock and confusion around the world. Pope said will simply be a pilgrim starting his last journey on earth.The 85-year-old pontiff was earlier flown by helicopter from the Vatican to his retreat at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. The college of cardinals, headed by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, is now in charge of the worlds 1.2 billion Roman Catholics until a new pope is elected, BBC reported. Benedict vowed unconditional obedience and reverence to his successor.He stepped down after nearly eight years in office - the first pontiff to do so in 600 years. Benedict, in his days in retirement, will now wear a simple white cassock rather than his papal clothes, and swap his famous red shoes - the colour symbolic of the blood of the early Christian martyrs - for brown. The Vatican has reacted strongly to reports in the Italian media linking Pope Benedict XVIs resignation to allegations discovery of a network of gay cardinals.Pope Benedict spoke on Saturday at the end of a week-long spiritual retreat coinciding with Lent, the period of 40 days leading up to Easter. For the past week, Italian cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi has led the Vatican on meditations.The pontiffs speech follows a report that the network of gay prelates in the Vatican, have reportedly been targeted by blackmailers.The Italian daily newspaper La Republica said the pope decided to resign on 17 December the day he received a dossier compiled by three cardinals delegated to look into the so-called Vatileaks affair.Last May Pope Benedicts butler, Paolo Gabriele, was arrested and charged with stealing leaked papal correspondence that depicted the Vatican as a seething hotbed of intrigue and infighting.The newspaper said the cardinals described a number of factions, including one whose members were united by sexual

International aid now critical to help malians rebuild their lives, UN official says
After a period of brutal violence and economic collapse in Mali, access was now stable enough so that aid, if adequately funded, could help hundreds of thousands rebuild their lives, a top United Nations humanitarian official said today after a visit to the West African country. The people of Mali have suffered appallingly. Now is the time for us to help, John Ging, Director of Operations for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told correspondents in New York. The latest humanitarian appeal for Mali seeks $373 million, including $153 million for the most urgent interventions in the next six months. However, only $17 million has been received so far, Mr. Ging said. Northern Mali was occupied by radical Islamists after fighting broke out in January 2012 between Government forces and Tuareg rebels. The conflict prompted the Malian Government to request assistance from France to stop the military advance of extremist groups. Mr. Ging said that since the conflict began in January 2012, more than 430,000 people have been displaced more than 260,000 internally and more than 170,000 having fled as refugees to neighbouring countries. In addition to disrupting the lives of those who fled, this has left health clinics short of doctors, schools without teachers and electricity plants without engineers, he said. During his four-day visit, during which he visited the historic city of Timbuktu and the central town of Mopti in the north, Mr. Ging said community representatives emphasized to him that they

did not want to become dependent on international aid but were seeking basic support. These are dignified people who are not asking for much, said Mr. Ging, specifying that, in the North, people wanted security, schooling for their children, health services, reopened markets and to be able to sow their crops on time. Conveying his impression that much of the population was traumatized by events of the past year, as well as reports of rape and brutalities against children, he said that education seemed to be a huge priority for most people. This is the issue that energized and caused the most animation in everybody we met, he said, pointing out that 700,000 children were affected by the crisis and that 200,000 had not had any schooling in the past year. Describing his visits to two hospitals, he confirmed shortages of supplies and services. He also said that restoration of livelihoods was a priority as Mali suffered from the long-term food and nutritional crisis that was afflicting much of the Sahel region of Africa, with 585,000 people in need of immediate food assistance and a million more at risk. Also today, the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) appealed for $45 million in urgent funding to address the basic needs of women and children affected by the crisis, for the next three months, underlining the vulnerability of those two parts of the population. Without funding, UNICEF will be unable to continue its support to lifesaving interventions for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host families and communities, as well as refugees, it said.

UN human rights council opens with call to strengthen international justice system
As the main United Nations human rights body began its work today, senior UN officials stressed the importance of strengthening international processes that will monitor and prevent rights violations around the world as well as hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes. Addressing the opening of the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that despite significant progress over the past two decades on issues such as the elimination of violence against women and tackling impunity for international crimes, there continue to be systematic human rights violations around the world. The promise of respecting all human rights for all people is still a dream for too many, Ms. Pillay said. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Palestinian territories are still occupied; massive violations have occurred in Iraq and Sri Lanka; and war crimes continue to be committed in numerous internal conflicts, including those continuing in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Sudan and Syria. In particular, Ms. Pillay said this had not happened in the case of Syria, where there have been constant allegations of human right violations committed by the Government forces and the opposition since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011. Two important situations Darfur in 2008 and Libya in 2011 have been referred, but the Security Council has so far failed with regard to Syria, despite the repeated reports of widespread or systematic crimes and violations by my office, the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, civil society organizations and Special Procedures, she said. In September, Ms. Pillay urged the Security Council to refer the case of Syria to the ICC. Since then, the High Commissioner has repeated this call, warning that possibly up to 70,000 people have been killed, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and over 4 million people have been affected by the violence and are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Again, despite the truly inspiring advances in combating impunity and ensuring accountability both at the international and national levels, including through transitional justice processes, there are still far too many people with command responsibility who escape justice for serious crimes and gross human rights violations, Ms. Pillay said. The President of the General Assembly, Vuk Jeremic, told the Council that, like Ms. Pillay, he was gravely concerned with the situation in Syria, and emphasized the need to act immediately to achieve a political solution. For close to two years, the international community has failed to put a stop to the carnage, he said. The immediate cessation of hostilities should be our foremost priority. Mr. Jeremic appealed to all sides to cease the violence, and warned that without a political solution the consequences would be devastating for the country and the international community as a whole. There is a manifest danger that the violence will simply be allowed to run its course a scenario that would continue to disproportionately affect the civilian population. In her address to the Council, Ms. Pillay also noted that while the increased involvement of civil society in defending human rights is a welcome development, there have been an alarming number of reports of governments persecuting human rights defenders because of the nature of their work. I continue to hear of brave human rights defenders, journalists or bloggers who have been threatened, harassed, arrested or killed because of their work on behalf of the human rights of others, Ms. Pillay said. Such intimidation has sometimes even occurred during the proceedings of this Council. We must never tolerate such pressure, or reprisals against those who rightly seek to engage the international human rights system. Ms. Pillay also urged Member States to continue to support the work of her office (OHCHR) by providing the necessary resources it requires to fulfil its mandate to promote and protect the human rights of everyone everywhere.

POLITICS
QUOTE FIRE

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

Gopinath Munde, BJP Deputy leader This is not rail budget but Rae Bareli budget. This budget has not been prepared keeping in mind the whole country and this is the reason one could see an attempt to disrupt the budget presentation due to unrest among the MPs,

Yashwant Sinha , BJP The rail minister acknowledged that railway finances were not properly handled during the previous years which led to the present situation. The PM was listening. This PM had earlier said that the Budget is good, this year also he is saying the same thing irrespective of who the rail minister is,

Mayawati, Bahujan Samaj Party Government says it will review the fares twice a year. A review only means an increase in fares. The government will never decrease fares. This will affect the poor and the middle class. It will also affect prices of commodities as they are transported on rail,

Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) leader The Railway Budget appears to be populist, but it is not one. In real terms, there is hike in all accessory charges and passengers fares will go up. In practical terms, there is a hike which is camouflaged,

Nitish Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister Backward states like Bihar have been ignored. It has the highest number of passengers but there is no new train. We have some good projects in our state but funds have not been allocated to us.

Sharad Yadav, Senior JD(U) leader There is no relief to farmers, middle class and workers. This budget has failed to address all the ills afflicting the country. No tax has been imposed on malls and hotels which consume diesel. Had this been done, farmers would have got subsidy.

Gurudas Dasgupta, CPI leader This is a lollypop election budget with minor additional investment and full of tokenism. Uproar is more but reality is different.

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POLITICAL CAMP NEWS

New Delhi To woo ambitious women, impatient youth and the poor, the Congress-led UPA government promised them more schemes and programmes as they represent the vast majority of the people of India...before I close this part of my speech, I wish to draw a picture of three faces that represent the vast majority of the people of India, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said. The first if the face of the woman. She is the girl child, the young student, the sportswoman, the homemaker, the working women, and the mother. The second is the face of the youth. He is impatient, she is ambitious, and both represent the aspirations of a new generation. The third is the face of the poor who look to the government for a little help, a scholarship or an allowance or a subsidy or a pension. He said the United Progressive

Government focuses on women, youth, poor in budget

Alliance (UPA) government on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the chairperson of the UPA Sonia Gandhi has made these promises to these three groups in the budget. Chidambaram then announced a special Rs.1,000 crore (Rs.10 billion/$181 million) corpus named Nirbhaya Fund for the safety of the women.The fund has been announced in memory of the young woman who passed away on Dec 29 last year, two weeks after she had been brutally gang-raped in a moving bus in the Indian capital. We have a collective responsibility to ensure the dignity and safety of women. Recent incidents have cast a long, dark shadow on our liberal and progressive credentials. As more women enter public spaces - for education or work or access to services or leisure - there are more reports of violence against them, Chidambaram said.

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New Delhi The Bharatiya Janata Partys national executive committee will meet and the national council on the next two days to discuss the preparations for assembly polls later this year and galvanise workers for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled in 2014. Party sources said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be in the limelight at the meeting with voices having already risen for declaring him as prime ministerial candidate for the the general elec-

BJP executive, council meeting to discuss coming state polls

tions. It will be first meeting of national council after Modis third successive win in the assembly polls in Gujarat. Party sources said he could be made chief of the campaign committee for the Lok Sabha polls but an announcement was unlikely to be be made at the national council meeting. The meeting, being held amid the budget session of parliament, will discuss the partys strategy against the United Progressive Alliance government on the issues of price rise, corruption and internal security. The Lok Sabha Sabha polls could be held early. We want our workers to remain prepared, a party leader told .Party sources said the leadership will deliberate on the strategy for the assembly polls beginning with Karnataka where the party will have to contend with the challenge of its own former leader B. S. Yeddyurappa besides the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular. Karnataka is the only southern state where BJP is in power. The term of state assembly will end in June this year. The party has begun preparations for assembly polls later this year in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. The national executive meeting will start with the address of Rajnath Singh.

Agartala Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, set to assume office for a fourth time after leading the Left to a huge electoral win, is the son of a tailor who still washes his own clothes.An unassuming man, the 64-year-old got down to work no soon than he was declared the winner from Dhanpur constituency. He met CPI-M leaders and activists at Sonamura, 60 km from here. The Communist Party of IndiaMarxist bagged 49 of the 60 seats

Sarkar, son of tailor, to be Tripura CM again

while its ally Communist Party of India won one seat. The Congress finished with only 10 seats. It was the best result for the Left since 1978 when the legendary Nripen Chakraborty-led CPI-M swept 56 seats. This time, Sarkar helped the Left Front increase its 2008 tally by one seat. Undoubtedly the poorest chief minister in India, Sarkar, according to documents filed with the Election Commission, has Rs.10,800 in cash. He does not even have a mobile phone and has never used the red beacon on his official car. Sarkars wife Panchali Bhattacharjee, 62, who retired as a government employee in 2010, has Rs.22,015 in cash and Rs.24,52,395 as savings. The couple has no children.She said her husband still washed his clothes every morning. My wifes pension can sustain us. My expenses are a small pot of

snuff and a cigarette a day, Sarkar told . After the death of his mother in 2009, Sarkar inherited a small house worth Rs.200,000 in Agartala. He donated it to his younger sister. Sarkars father Amulya was a tailor and mother Anjali was an employee of the state health department. Sarkar joined politics in 1967 and was elected secretary of the CPIMs Tripura unit in 1993.

NCP, MNS activists turn to violence in Maharashtra

Mumbai Tension erupted between NCP and MNS activists in Mumbai and other parts of the state following a Tuesday rally addressed by Raj Thackeray in Ahmednagar. Angry NCP activists pelted stones at vehicles in Raj Thackerays convoy early in Mumbai and waved black flags at the MNS chief when his vehicle passed by last night. In retaliation, activists of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) targeted Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) offices in south Mumbai and suburbs, as well as Ahmednagar, Nanded, Akola, Yavatmal, Parbhani, Thane and damaged private and public vehicles. The provocation behind the violence is believed to be Thackerays political rallies in which he has targeted NCP and its top leaders like Sharad Pawar, his nephew Ajit Pawar and Home Minister R.R. Patil. In democratic politics, anybody is free to criticize anybody. But, how will activists digest the kind of abusive language used by him (Raj Thackeray)? This is absolutely deplorable, an agitated NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik told IANS. If anybody takes the law in their hands, the police and government shall deal with them appropriately, Malik warned, adding that details of attacks on NCP offices, workers and other places were being collected. According to reports, stones were pelted at NCP offices in Thane, Mumbai, Bandra, Ahmednagar, Parbhani while public buses were attacked in Yavatmal, Akola and Nanded early Tuesday. Police have tightened security and the situation is stated to be under control. Virtually shifting into poll mode for next years Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly elections, Thackeray has been attacking top NCP leaders at wellattended rallies as part of his ongoing state tour. To the discomfiture of the NCP, he has also raised uncomfortable issues and questions pertaining to various departments handled by the NCP in the state government.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

POLITICS
power in Tripura for the fifth consecutive time, sweeping 50 of the 60 seats and leaving the Congress badly bruised with just 10 seats. Hundreds of Left activists, mainly from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), celebrated here and across the state as election results left the Congress in gloom. The CPI-M bagged 49 seats while the Communist Party of India (CPI) won one seat. It was the best result for the Left since 1978, when it won a record 56 seats. It increased its 2008 tally by one seat. This is a verdict in favour of development, peace and stability besides good governance, a beaming Chief Minister Manik Sarkar told IANS. People voted and supported the Left Front for taking up development work and for curbing militancy, Sarkar told IANS. Sarkar, 64, who retained his Dhanpur seat in west Tripura, is the only political leader to be chief minister for a record fourth term in Tripura, a Marxist bastion. It was Sarkars sixth electoral win. While the Congress managed to retain its 2008 tally of 10 seats, its ally the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura The Trinamool Congress, which fielded 22 candidates in 2008, did not contest this time to prevent a split in non-Left votes. But even that did not help the Congress. The Left Front wrested four seats from the Congress-INPT-NCT (Nationalist Conference of Tripura) coalition. The Congress snatched three seats from the Left. Left Front candidates have increased their winning margin in most seats, an Election Commission official said. The CPI-Ms 49 seats is three more than what it got in 2008. The CPI won one seat and lost another. The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Forward Bloc lost the two and one seats they contested. Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury posted the highest winning margin of 12,450 votes. Teacher-turned-politician Anil Sarkar, 75, who is also a poet and writer, was re-elected on CPI-M ticket from Pratapgarh in western Tripura for a record ninth time. Congress leader Ratan Lal Nath won from Mohanpur for the fifth time while state Congress president Sudip Roy Barman retained his Agartala seat for

Union Budget Directionless and Left Front retains power in Tripura Agartala (INPT) drew blank. It had won one seat Inflationary: Kalia The Left Front Thursday retained five years ago.

Tripura made history when a record 93.57 percent of the 2.3 million voters exercised their franchise Feb 14. There were 249 candidates. the fourth time. Former Tripura assembly speaker Jitendra Sarkar, who this time contested on Congress ticket, wrested Barjala seat from the CPI-M. He won by 254 votes. CPI-Ms Ratan Das wrested Ramnagar after a gap of 25 years. He defeated former state Congress chief Surajit Datta by just 15 votes. Notable Congress losers included former chief minister Samir Ranjan Barma, party leader Subal Bhowmik and INPT president and former militant leader Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl. The Left has ruled Tripura since 1978 barring one term (1988-93).

Jalandhar Commenting on Union General Budget 2013-14 tabled in the Parliament by Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Senior BJP Leader Mr Manoranjan Kalia termed it as directionless, inflationary and employment stifling. In a statement issued to media, Kalia conveyed deep dissatisfaction on behalf of general public. Pointing out the precipitous decline in the value of currency due to inflation and exchange rate fluctuations he condemned lack of some new relief to taxpayers in the form of changes in income tax slabs. Kalia stated that Union

Budget was devoid of any new initiatives or innovations to boost the growth rate of economy. He also dwelled upon the track record of NDA government in restoring India to a high growth trajectory between 2001 and 2003. Comparing those times to the current economic climate he averred that a decisive leadership is reflected in its policy moves and not statements. The Union Budget is not only an opportunity missed but also an exercise to keep everyone in good humour as a short term measure while turning a Nelsons eye to impending stagnation of economic dynamism.

NPF wins absolute majority in Nagaland

Kamal Nath Congress largest party in defends Kurien Meghalaya house in parliament Shillong
The Congress emerged as the single largest party in Meghalaya by securing 29 seats in the 60-member assembly, with Chief Minister Mukul Sangma set for a second term. The people have responded to us for good governance and development, a jubilant Sangma, 47, told IANS by phone from Tura, the district headquarters of West Garo Hills. Sangma retained his Ampati constituency for the fifth successive term, defeating his nearest National Peoples Party (NPP) rival by more than 9,000 votes. His wife Dikkachi D. Shira and his brother Zenith M. Sangma were victorious from Mahendraganj and Rangsakona constituency. The Congress won four more seats than in 2008. I am glad that the people of Meghalaya reposed faith in the Congress, Sangma said. There were celebrations across Meghalaya in the Congress camp with victory processions being taken out and jubilant supporters and candidates bursting crackers and distributing sweets. Of the 122 Independents, 13, including two former Congress legislators - Saleng A. Sangma and Samuel Sangma - who were denied Congress tickets also won. The electoral battle proved fatal for former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangmas NPP as only two of its 32 candidates won. James Sangma, the eldest son of the former Lok Sabha speaker, and Nihim D. Shira were the only NPP candidates who managed to retain their seats in the assembly. If it is the peoples mandate, we have to accepted it, Leader of Opposition Conrad K. Sangma, who lost his Selsella seat to Congress rival Clement Marak by a margin of 2,000 votes, told IANS. The United Democratic Party, a key ally in the outgoing Congressled coalition government, climbed

The Nagaland Peoples Front (NPF) Thursday swept back to power in the northeastern hill state for its third consecutive term, winning 37 seats in the 60-member assembly. Kohima The NPF, the main constituent of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN), saw its tally go up by 11 from the 26 won in the 2008 polls, while coalition partners Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-United won a seat each, election officials here said. Congress. the main opposition party, won only eight seats, falling almost two-thirds from its tally of 23 in the outgoing assembly. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) increased its tally by securing four seats, up from the two it won in 2008. Besides, there are eight Independents who also made it to the assembly this time. A total of 188 candidates were in the fray. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio won the Northern Angami II seat by defeating his nearest Congress rival Kevise Sogotsu by 12,671 votes, which is also the highest margin this time

in Nagaland. People have voted us to power once again as they are convinced that the DAN government has brought peace and development to the state. I thank people of Nagaland for reposing their faith in our government, NPF general secretary Kru Zakie told IANS. Rio was, however, not available for comments. Senior Congress leader and former chief minister S.C. Jamir attributed his partys debacle to money power of the NPF. It is very sad but the NPF has spoilt the Nagas totally. There is no point having a public meeting in Nagaland these days. Anybody can be bought by money. NPF pumped in huge money to win the elections. The NPF can afford to spend money as they have accumulated a huge sum during the last ten years, said Jamir. While the NPF had a pre-poll alliance with the BJP and JD-U, the Congress had hoped to woo likeminded parties and Independents to make it to power this time. In 2008, the NPF secured 26 seats and the Congress 23. The BJP and NCP won two seats each. Seven Independents also won in 2008.

New Delhi The government came out in defence of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien in the 1996 Suryanelli rape case with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath asserting that inquiries had cleared him of charges.The minister said the allegations against Kurien might be politically motivated.A section of media and some political members have sought to drag Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Kurien into a rape case. It has emphatically been stated that he has never been an accused in the Suryanelli rape case, Kamal Nath said, making a statement in the Rajya Sabha -- the upper house of parliament. As soon as the minister stood up to defend Kurien, Communist Party of India-Marxist member Sitaram Yechury said it would be unfair for the government to defend the deputy chairman since it would affect independence of legislature. The objection was overruled by Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Hamid Ansari, after which Kamal Nath gave details of the series of events and said it was proved that Kurien could not have been physically present at the place of the incident. Either it was a genuine mistake on the part of the victim or she was being used by a political rival, Kamal Nath said. The sex scandal took place in Suryanelli in Idukki district in January 1996, when a 16-year-old girl was threatened, abducted and abused by a bus conductor and later confined and sexually assaulted by 42 men for 45 days.

down to eight seats from the 11 it won in 2008. The result is shocking and unbelievable. We were expecting 16 seats, but we got only eight, former chief minister and UDP chief Donkupar Roy told IANS. Roy, who retained his Shella seat for the sixth time, blamed the the use of money power by rivals for his partys poor performance. The Hill State Peoples Democratic Party (HSPDP), the oldest regional party in Meghalaya, increased its tally from two to four. Hoping Stone Lyngdoh, the HSPDP supremo, retained his Nongstoin seat for the eighth time, defeating Adviser Pariong. Prominent Congress candidates who won included Deputy Chief Minister Rowell Lyngdoh, Home Minister H.D.R. Lyngdoh, Forests and Environment Minister Prestone Tynsong, Urban Affairs Minister Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh, Ronnie V. Lyngdoh and P.N. Syiem. Veteran Congress leaders and former chief minister S.C. Marak and D.D. Lapang also won from Resubelpara and Nongpoh constituencies. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also won two seats. Deputy Speaker Sanbor Shullai of the NCP retained his South Shillong seat. Speaker Charles Pyngrope was defeated by UDP candidate Jemino Mawthoh by 1,019 votes in the Nongthymmai constituency. Congress minister Shitlang Pale, UDP leaders Bindo M. Lanong and J.A. Lyngdoh were among the prominent losers.

Former Lok Sabha speaker Purno A. Sangma suffered a major blow when his National Peoples Party (NPP) won only two of the 32 seats it contested in Meghalaya.

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CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

Whether it is a student, women, an employee or senior citizen, everyone had a lot of expectation from this years budget. For some the budgets should raise the income tax exemption while for women this budget should be made kitchen friendly.

Views before the budget Views after the budget

Mixed Reponses have been evoked from the people on the budget. Although the budget termed as a growth oriented but on other side it has also ignored the common man needs.

SPEAK OUT

Panchkula girls clinch Ball Badminton trophy

Education a priority area: Chidambaram

Vaibhav Bhardwaj Mechanical engineer student says, Budget should be made in such a way that it should be favorable for every class.

Ajay Thakur Student of Master in Social Works says, I am not satisfied with the budget as nothing has been given to the education sector. But yes, the good part of this budget is that now branded items are cheaper.

Kamal Pandit business executive said, As the major part of Indian population are middle class people so I wish that financial budget for year 2013-14 will be made considering them as the center point and it may bring happiness on the face of every Indian citizen.

Shruti Training student of Pet Clinic Shimla says, Proposal to set up the first women bank is a good decision while there are several banks in public and private sector.

Government P.G College, Panchkula girls team won the Ball-Badminton Championship recently held at Ladpur, Jhajjar. A total of twenty teams participated in the three day tournament from 22nd to 25th Feb. Karnal team won the championship by defeating the Kendriya Vidyalaya Pundri team in the finals. The winning team consisting of 7 playersCaptain Sheetal Negi , Mamta Bisla, Seema,Jyoti, Anju,Mamta Bibya and Seema was honored with a trophy and the cash prize of Rs. 21, 000/-. Mamta Bisla from the winning team won the Best Player award cash prize of Rs 500. Ball badminton which is a sport native

to India, was played as early as 1856 by the royal family in Tanjore(capital of Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu). It enjoys the greatest popularity in India. The game is a fast-paced game. It demands skill, quick reflexes, good judgment, agility, and the ability to control the ball with ones wrist. The BBF was among the first three sports federationsalong with the Indian Athletic Federation and the Indian Hockey Federationto form the Indian Olympic Association in 1961. Ball badminton eventually spread to Andhra Pradesh, and the first national championship was conducted at Hyderabad in 1956.

New Delhi Calling education an area of priority, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday announced an increase of 17 percent in the budget allocated to this sector, to Rs.65,867 crore (over Rs.650 billion). My idea is to provide opportunities for youth to acquire education, skills, decent jobs and live with their families in a safe environment, the finance minister said. The flagship midday meal scheme at government schools got an allocation of Rs.13,215 crore (over Rs.130 billion). He added that thousands of scholarships would be given to girl students, and those belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Indian IT students design apps for Windows 8

New Delhi Over 10,000 students across India joined forces to unleash their creativity at the Microsoft Student AppFest, a unique coding event enabling students from colleges to develop their dream app ideas alongside professionals using the latest Microsoft technologies. The AppFest, an initiative by Microsoft India, was a platform for college students to design applications for Windows 8 operating system. For the students it was an opportunity to apprise themselves of the know-how of applications designing and also find a place to share their ideas with others. The students landed in 54 key hubs in 45 major cities across 18 states of India, and the reverberations of the day-long coding fest were felt across the country with each state hosting a hands-on workshop run by a total of 150 Microsoft Student Partners oncall to give students a first-hand app development experience. An average of 250 students from each college contributed to the total number of 10,000 participating students. The tremendous response amounts to over 60,000 collective hours of coding. An estimated total number of 3,000 full apps were imagined and created during the one-day code-a-thon, a Microsoft statement said. The goal of the event was to ignite the imagination of students from colleges representing the full spectra of Indian academia by offering the chance to design the perfect app with guidance from professional developers. Microsoft International president Jean-Philippe Courtois inaugurated the Appfest at Saroj Sadan, University of Mumbai, Kalina. AICTE chairman S.S. Mantha said on the occasion: Opportunities like these are the game changers in todays world. These are the skills that the future generations need to understand and learn in a globally collaborative

Manisha BSC student RKMV says, Transportation cost should be reduced and also education should be made cheap.

Ashok Local shopkeeper said, I am satisfied with this budget as the cut in factory gate duty on trucks has decreased from 14% to 13%.

Renu Sharma House wife said budget should be according to the needs of poor people. The subsidiary should not be cut off while education should be cheap.

Needhi Prashar House wife says, Rs 1000 crore for the Nirbhaya fund is a good decision taken by the government.

Harry Dutt Son of Ganesh Dutt BJP spokesman, working at Holcim said, The limit of income tax exemption must be raised to 3 lakhs while some sort of policy must be framed to control the inflation.

Padam Dev Sharma Retired government employee, I am not satisfied with this budget as no relief in the tax slab has been given. While no concession on the daily needs has been provided. It seems that in this budget the common man has been totally ignored

world. In Delhi and NCR, the fest was held at Delhi Technological University and G.L. Bajaj Institute of Technology, Greater Noida. This fest gives us hands-on experience to develop applications for Windows, said 20-year-old Vijay Prakash, a first-year student of B. Tech (IT) in DTU. He is designing an application for news feeds titled NewsApp. Another student, Arpit Aggarwal of IIT Jodhpur says he wants to make an application on Poker, a popular game. His application, if approved, will enable people sitting at different places to play the game online. The selected applications will be filtered by a rigorous process after which they will be uploaded on the Windows 8 Store Applications for public usage and downloads. Pallavi Dwivedi, 20, is a student whose application was approved by the Microsoft panel two years ago. Currently in her final year of B.E., this Mumbai University student designed

an application that calculates the current network speed of service providers. Many service providers fool customers bragging about their network speed. However, what people get in return is far from what they promise. Though many websites offer this service of calculating the network speed, Windows Phone was devoid of the same. Hence I decided to make an application for Windows Phone, an exultant Dwivedi told IANS. Her application has 30,000 plus downloads so far. She is also a part of Microsofts Student Partner Programme since three years. To boost the efforts of the students, Microsoft has developed AppLabs where students can walk-in with their designed apps and get them vetted for quality and design checks. The AppLabs has centres in Mumbai and Bangalore. For students residing in other places, Microsoft provides remote support as well, wherein students can submit their applications online.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

REGION
lenged the government action in the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which has directed the government to maintain status quo on the land. A division bench of Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Kuldip Singh, while listing the matter for next hearing April 24, Wednesday restrained the state from demolishing the construction, which has already been raised, or changing the nature or possession of the land until the case is disposed of. The matter is now in the court. The government is on strong footing, Virbhadra Singh added. The land in dispute originally belonged to the erstwhile royal family of Patiala, to which Congress leader and former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh belongs. The government said it was donated by Amarinder Singhs family in 1956 for setting up the Indira Holiday Home for Children. The land, valued around Rs.3540 crore, was allotted to the yoga guru for a one-time lease payment of Rs.17 lakh for 99 years at a token annual fee of Re.1. Its located mid-way between Kandaghat town and the hill resort of Chail, 50 km from here.
Srinagar The Jammu and Kashmir assembly was adjourned Friday after uproarious scenes over the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demand to discuss parliament attack convict Afzal Gurus hanging. Members of the ruling National Conference (NC), as also the lone Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) member, too joined the demand. The PDP started shouting slogans demanding the adjournment motion. PDP legislators were led by the party president Mehbooba Mufti, who said: We want an adjournment motion on this important issue. NC leader Nasir Aslam Wani, along with veteran CPI-M leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, too joined the demand. Despite Speaker Mubarak Guls attempt to bring order, the opposition continued to disrupt the proceedings. The speaker then adjourned the house for one hour. The PDP tabled its demand Thursday,

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No Sonia role in revoking Ramdevs land lease: Uproar in J&K assembly over Gurus hanging Virbadhra Patanjali Yogpeeth has chalthe first day of the budget session. The PDP said: It is the failure and inability of the state government to protect rights of the citizen of Jammu and Kashmir - Mohammad Afzal Guru, who was hanged by depriving him of his proper legal rights. Why was Afzal Guru, who was at serial number 28 in the queue of those facing death sentence, picked up and sent to the gallows without giving an opportunity to approach the Supreme Court, the party asked. After rejection of the mercy petition of Afzal Guru, he should have been given the opportunity to approach the Supreme Court for final petition but he was not given this opportunity. Afzal Guru was deprived of his legal right and hanged secretly in unholy manner, the PDP said. Party legislators were also demanding that mortal remains of Afzal Guru be given to his family members for proper burial and last rites.

Shimla Denying any role of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in revoking the land lease of yoga guru Baba Ramdev in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Thursday said it was the states decision taken after due deliberation. The land lease of Baba Ramdevs Patanjali Yogpeeth was revoked as there were violations of statutory provisions, he told reporters here. He clarified that the state took the decision on its own and Gandhi has nothing to do with the land cancellation. The yoga guru Wednesday slammed Gandhi for forcing the state government to take over the land allotted to him for setting Patanjali Yogpeeth near

Sadhupul in Solan district. At a public rally in Solan town, Baba Ramdev described the chief minister as a decent man, who had invited him in the past and attended his yoga camp. In response, Virbhadra Singh said: I had attended his camp when he was a yoga guru. I wanted to promote yoga as it is an ancient method of curing diseases. He is now a political leader. I have nothing to do with him. The government Friday took possession of 96.5 bighas of land allotted to Patanjali Yogpeeth by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2010. Ramdevs organisation has constructed an ayurveda hospitalcum-yoga shivir hall on the land.

Budget good for hill states, feels Virbhadra

Shimla Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Thursday hailed the 201314 annual budget as being pro-hilly states while the opposition BJP dismissed it as disappointing. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has earmarked Rs.80,194 crore for the development of rural areas which would certainly help states like Himachal in overall development, Virbhadra Singh said here. It will also bridge the gap between the urban and the rural areas, thereby helping in checking exodus to cities, said an official statement quoting the chief minister. Virbhadra Singh said Rs.500 crore allocated for crop diversification programme would help in promoting cultivation of off-season vegetables in the state. On the proposal to procure 10,000 bus-

INLD legislators suspended from Haryana assembly

legislator Sampat Singh, who was once a close confidant of Chautala. Sampat Singh, who was the state finance minister in Chautalas ministry (1999-2005) but is now with the Congress, moved the adjournment motion under Rule 66 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Haryana assembly. He sought the removal of Chautala as member of the assembly (MLA) and also as leader of opposition. In his motion, Sampat Singh said that Chautala had been convicted and sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment in the JBT teachers recruitment scam by a CBI court recently. Om Prakash Chautala has no moral right to continue as member of the legislative assembly of Haryana and also the leader of opposition in such circumstances, Sampat Singhs motion read. Chautala and his legislator son Ajay were sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment in the JBT teachers scam by a CBI court in Rohini, New Delhi, last month. Fifty-three others, including INLD legislator Sher Singh Badshami and two bureaucrats, were also convicted. The scam related to the recruitment of over 3,200 teachers in Haryanas government schools, allegedly by replacing the list of candidates originally selected with one that was presented by those in power at the time. The recruitments were made in the year 2000.

Fire breaks out in Manesar factory

es under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and to provide to the hilly states, the chief minister said: This would help us in providing better transportation facilities to the people, especially in Shimla. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, however, described the budget as directionless. Its just a jugglery of figures. It was unfortunate that despite three renowned economists, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh, the GDP has come down from 8.9 to 7.6 percent, Dhumal said. BJPs national vice-president Shanta Kumar, who belongs to the hill state, also described the budget as disappointing.

Akali Dal wins Punjab by-election

poll. Jain had quit the Congress party and the Moga assembly seat December last year and joined the Akali Dal. He had been elected from the Moga cosntituency in the January 2012 assembly elections on a Congress ticket. Moga was generally considered a Congress stronghold. The Congress, led by former chief minister Amarinder Singh, had campaigned hard for Sathi but the party lost. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal described the victory in the Moga by-poll as a forceful mandate for the agenda of peace, development and communal harmony, and a victory of clean politics over negative tactics such as mudslinging, character assassination and issue-less policies. The problem with the Congress is that it has no agenda except Akali bashing. They are refusing to learn that people want results and they want to hear about policies and programmes on development and progress of the state, and not about our personal ego clashes. People have repeatedly rejected the politics of hate and mudslinging and voted for development, Badal said.

Chandigarh Legislators of the opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) were suspended from the Haryana assembly by the speaker Wednesday for disrupting the house. Chaos prevailed inside the house following an adjournment motion brought in the assembly on the issue of conviction and sentencing of Leader of Opposition and INLD president Om Prakash Chautala by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in the Junior Basic Teachers (JBT) recruitment scam recently. INLD legislators entered the well of the house and shouted slogans against the adjournment motion. They said that Chautala had appealed against the conviction and that the matter was now sub-judice. A lone Shiromani Akali Dal legislator was also suspended by the speaker along with the 27 INLD members. Speaker Kuldeep Sharma had to adjourn the house twice for 15 minutes each after the INLD legislators created a ruckus. The motion was moved by Congress

Moga Gurgaon, Feb 28 (IANS) A fire broke out Thursday at a factory in the Manesar industrial township of Haryana near here. No one was injured in the incident, an official said. The fire broke out in Nippon Audiotronix Ltd. in Sector 8 of Manesar around 2 p.m. The company manufactures audio systems, and car security systems for Maruti Suzuki. Five fire tenders were pressed into service to control the blaze, senior fireman Narender Singh Yadav said. The packing materials that was kept under the stairs of basement caught fire but the blaze was brought under control within half an hour. The cause behind the fire was yet to be ascertained. The company has its own fire fighter system but it failed as the company has not appointed firemen, Yadav added.

Moga The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal Thursday won the Moga assembly seat by-election in Punjab. Akali Dal candidate Joginder Pal Jain defeated his Congress rival Vijay Kumar Sathi by 18,845 votes. Jain polled 69,265 votes against 50,420 polled by Sathi. Jain led in all rounds of counting Thursday. Over 71 percent electorate of the Moga constituency cast their franchise in Feb 23

12

SPECIAL

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

PSLV-C20 Launched with seven Satellites

The Satellite with ARGOS and ALTIKA (SARAL) is a joint Indo-French satellite mission for oceanographic studies. SARAL will perform altimetric measurements designed to study ocean circulation and sea surface elevation. The payloads of SARAL are: Ka band Altimeter, ALTIKA- built by the French National Space Agency CNES. The payload is intended for oceanographic applications, operates at 35.75 Giga Hertz. ARGOS Data Collection System- built by the French National Space Agency CNES. ARGOS contributes to the development and operational implementation of the global ARGOS Data Collection System. It will collect a variety of data from ocean buoys to transmit the same to the ARGOS Ground Segment for subsequent processing and distribution. Solid State C-band Transponder (SCBT) is from ISRO and intended for ground RADAR calibration. It is a continuation of such suppport provided by C-Band Transponders flown in the earlier IRS-P3 and IRS-P5 missions. The payloads of SARAL are accommodated in the Indian Mini Satellite-2 bus, which is built by ISRO.

SARAL Applications
SARAL data products will be useful for operational as well as research user communities in many fields like Marine meteorology and sea state forecasting Operational oceanography Seasonal forecasting Climate monitoring Ocean, earth system and climate research Continental ice studies Protection of biodiversity Managment and protection of marine ecosystem Environmental monitoring Improvement of maritime security

ISROs Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C20, successfully launched the joint Indo-French Satellite, SARAL, today (February 25, 2013) in its twenty third flight from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. Six other satellites, namely, UNIBRITE (NLS 8.1) and BRITE (NLS 8.2) from Austria, SAPPHIRE and NEOSSAT from Canada, AAUSAT-3 (NLS 8.3) from Denmark; and STRaND-1 from the United Kingdom, have also been launched into their planned orbits along with SARAL. Honourable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee along with the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Shri E. S. L. Narasimhan, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Minister of State (Prime Ministers Office), Shri V Narayanasamy and other dignitaries from the Government of Andhra Pradesh witnessed the launch from the state-of-the-art Mission Control Centre of SDSC. Honourable President, in his post launch remarks, congratulated the scientists and engineers of ISRO for the successful launch. At the completion of the countdown, PSLV-C20 lifted off from the First Launch Pad at SDSC SHAR, at 1801 hrs (IST) with the ignition of the first stage of the launch vehicle. The important flight events, namely, stage ignitions, heat-shield separation, stage separations and satellite injections took place exactly as planned. After a flight of 17 minutes 55 seconds, the main payload, SARAL, weighing 407 kg was injected to an orbit very close to the intended orbit. Following

this, the six auxiliary satellites were also successfully injected. This has been the twenty second successive successful launch of ISROs workhorse launch vehicle PSLV. Since its first successful launch in 1994, PSLV has launched 27 Indian satellites and 35 satellites for customers from abroad, including the satellites launched today. It has also launched Indias geosynchronous satellites, Kalpana-1 and GSAT-12, thereby proving its versatility. PSLV also launched Indias first spacecraft mission to moon, Chandrayaan-1, in 2008. It is scheduled to launch Indias first interplanetary mission, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft, by the end of this year. Satellite with Argos and Altika (SARAL) is an oceanographic satellite jointly developed by ISRO and the French Space Agency CNES. The satellite is built by ISRO, whereas CNES contributed the ARGOS and ALTIKA payloads. Data from SARAL will be useful for researchers besides having many practical applications like marine meteorology and sea state forecasting, climate monitoring, continental ice studies, environmental monitoring, protection of biodiversity and improvement in maritime security. ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore took over the SARALs monitoring and control operations immediately after its injection. Following the automatic deployment of SARALs solar panels, shortly after reaching orbit, all the subsequent operations are proceeding normally.

Lift-off Mass Orbit Sensors

407 kg 781 km polar Sun synchronous 4 PI sun sensors, magnetometer, star sensors and miniaturised gyro based Inertial Reference Unit 98.538o

Orbit Inclination Local 18:00 hours Time of crossing Equator Power Solar Array generating 906 W and 46.8 Ampere-hour Lithium-ion battery Onboard 32 Gb data storage Attitude and Orbit Control 3-axis stabilisation with reaction wheels, Hydrazine Control System based thrusters 5 years Feb 25, 2013 SDSC SHAR Centre, Sriharikota, India PSLV - C20

Mission Life Launch date Launch site Launch vehicle

Saral

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

SPECIAL

13

Sirf Hangama Khada Karna Mera Maksad Nahi, Yeh Surat Badalni Chaiye

Navigating Indian Economy Though A Crisis

Railway budget highlights 2013-14

Highlights of the railway budget presented in the Lok Sabha by Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal: No hike in passenger fares Superfast and Tatkal charges to rise Annual plan for 2013-14 set at Rs.63,363 crore Losses up from Rs.22,500 crore in 2011-12 to Rs.24,600 crore in 201213 Accidents per million km down from .41 to .13 Raised four companies of women RPF personnel; another eight to be raised for womens safety 67 new Express and 26 new passenger trains to run; 8 DEMU services and 5 MEMU services to be introduced; run of 57 trains to be extended; frequency of 24 trains to increase 22 new rail lines to be taken up in 2013-14 New debt service fund to be set up Will close fiscal 2012-13 with fund balance against previous deficit; need to build fund balance to Rs.30,000 crore by end of 12th Plan Operating ratio of 88.8 percent achieved Dividend reduced from 5 to 4 percent Electrification of 1,200 km to be completed this year 72 additional suburban services in Mumbai and 18 in Kolkata Rs.6,600 crore increase in earnings from fare adjustment in January Rs.63,000 crore investment in 201314 1,047 million tonnes freight loading estimated during 2013-14 Passenger earnings of Rs.42,000 crore estimated in 2013-14 Indian Railways Institute of Financial Management to be set up at Secunderabad Chair at Delhi to promote research in reducing carbon footprint Winners of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Dhyan Chand awards to get free first class passes Complementary first class passes for parents of unmarried posthumous awardees of Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra Complementary passes of freedom fighters to be renewed every three years instead of annually New forged wheel factory at Rae Bareli in collaboration with Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd Greenfield Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMU) manufacturing facility at Bhilwara along with Rajasthan government and BHEL Coach making unit at Sonepat in collaboration with Haryana government Midlife rehabilitation workshop at Kurnool along with Andhra Pradesh government. Railway energy management company to be set up to harness solar and wind energy 1,000 crossings to be energised by solar power 1.51 lakh vacancies to be filled up Locomotive cabs to be air-conditioned Azadi Express for travel to places associated with freedom struggle India in 1 billion tonne freight club By end of 2013-14, 1,500 km of contracts to be awarded for two dedicated rail corridors Rs.1 lakh crore target set for publicprivate-partnership route Free Wi-Fi to be provided on some trains Rs.100 crore for improving stations in New Delhi 179 escalators and 400 lifts at A 1 and other select stations E-ticketing through mobile phones SMS alerts for passengers on reservation status Next generation e-ticketing system by end of 2013 Seventeen bridges identified for repair Smoke and fire detection system envisaged Fire extinguishers to be kept in guard vans Making corporate Safety Plan for a 10 year period (2014-24) Introduction of Train Protection Warning System on Automatic Signalling Systems Rigorous trials of indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System Introduction of 160/200 kmph Self Propelled Accident Relief Trains Elimination of 10,797 level crossings during the 12th Plan and no addition of such crossings Six more Rail Neer bottling plants to be set up

Highlights of the budget for 2013-14

to 500,000 . No revision of personal income tax slabs; relief in first bracket through tax credit of 2,000 for earnings up Ten percent surcharge on income exceeding 1 crore a year; only 42,800 people have declared such income Defence allocated 203,672 crore, an increase of five percent. Excise duty on cigarettes to be increased 18 percent Textile ministry allocated 50 crore for establishing apparel parks 800 crore provided to promoting wind energy 10,000 crore allocated for initial expenditure on implementation food security bill. Drinking water and sanitation ministry allocated 15,260 crore

Two new ports to be set up in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh to add 100 million tonnes handling capacity Gas handling terminal at Dabhol in Maharashtra to be fully operational during 2013-14

Human resource development ministry to get 65,867 crore 13,250 crore allocated for midday meals scheme

National Livestock Mission to be launched with allocation of 307 crore.

Service tax on all air conditioned restaurants regardless of whether or not they serve alcohol

Collective responsibility to ensure dignity and safety of women; recent incidents have cast a dark shadow; stand in solidarity with our girl children and women; will keep them safe and secure 1,000 crore allocated for establishing Nirbhaya Fund 97,000 crore for womens development Import duty on high-end vehicles raised from 75 percent to 100 percent No change in service tax of 12 percent No service tax on vocational courses run by institutes affiliated to state governments No service tax on agricultural testing procedures 9,000 crore allocated for compensating state for differential in central sales tax and GST Concessions for encouraging MRO (maintenance repair overhaul) sector No change in customs duty on non-agricultural products Modified law to prevent tax avoidance to come into effect April 1, 2016 100 percent tax deduction for

contributions to National Childrens Fund Education cess to continue at 3 percent 11 lakh people have benefited from direct cash transfers. TDS of one percent where property transactions exceeds 50 lakh Tax on mutual fund redemptions reduced from .25 percent to .001 percent Tax Administrative Reforms Commission to be set up Cities to be encouraged to promote waste to energy projects Low interest funds to be provided for promoting clean energy State governments urged to sign restructuring plans with electricity discoms Tax-free infrastructure bonds of 50,000 crore to be issued Handloom sector allocated 96 crore to benefit 150,000 weavers Infrastructure debt funds to be encouraged Regulator to be appointed for road projects; 3,000 km of road projects to be awarded in first six months of 2013-14 Incentive allowance of 15 percent over and above permitted depreciation to those investing over 100

crore in infrastructure projects Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme to be liberalised Seven new cities identified along Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Preliminary work begun on Bangalore-Mumbai Industrial corridor Foodgrain production during 2013-13 estimated at 250 million tones 500 crore allocated for promoting crop diversification 200 crore allocated for promoting nutrient-rich crops 50 crore allocated for farmer-producer organisations 17,700 crore allocated for Integrated Child Development Scheme Allocation of rural development ministry allocation raised by 46 percent to 80,294 crore; 33,000 crore for rural jobs scheme Budget expenditure for 2013-14 at 16 lakh 65,297 crore; plan expenditure at 5 lakh 55,224 crore 41,000 crore for Scheduled Caste plan 110 crore for department of disabilities 37,330 crore for health ministry

14

CELEB
New Delhi Designer Nida Mahmood, known for her flair for creative and dramatic creations, will showcase an amalgamation of textiles from various regions of the country at the autumn-winter edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW), starting March 13. The collection is a melange of textiles from various regions of India. Beautiful weaves from Narayanpet in Andhra Pradesh, rich tussars from Bhagalpur, exotic silks and some modern fabrics form the backbone of the collection, Mahmood told IANS. The designer has also used modern interpretation of various old-age techniques. Techniques used are Kantha from Bengal, Daboo printing from Rajasthan and some modern interpretations of these techniques garnished with the quirks of India. Prints take an interesting turn marrying the softness of Indian imagery in a steampunk fashion, she added. Her line is called The Adventures of Capt. Must! Qalandar. Sharing the idea behind the unique name, Mahmood said the collection revolves around the traveler who travels through time and space on his time machine called VDO GAGA. Capt. Must! Qalandar is a very inter-

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

Elvis Presleys Scherzinger honoured by personal notes Harvard University up for grabs

Nida Mahmoods WIFW focus - textiles

Los Angeles A collection of personal notes and poetry written by rock n roll legend Elvis Presley is set to go under the hammer. The handwritten messages include a poem in which the Elvis describes smashing a robin perched on his windowsill, reports contactmusic.com. It reads, He sang his sweet song so sweetly and paused for a moments lull/ I gently raised the window and crushed his f**king skull. Presleys copy of Kahlil Gibrans book The Prophet will also go under the hammer at the Omega Auctions sale in Stockport, England, March 9.

Los Angeles Pop singer Nicole Scherzinger has been honoured with artist of the year prize by Harvard University. The former Pussycat Dolls singer was selected for the honour in recognition of her music career and philanthropic efforts for women and those with special needs, reports dailystar.co.uk. Her contributions to the performing arts, as well as her support for breast cancer research and initiatives for

adults and children with special needs, are commendable and set an excellent example for our students, said S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation. Scherzinger took to her Twitter.com page to share snaps from the event, including a photo of herself with a student band member and another with U.S. Treasurer Rosa Gumataotao Rios. She tweeted, What an inspiration for women!

esting character, also the muse for the season. He is a motorised flying ant, who is the re-incarnation of an old vintage bike. The collection revolves around the adventures he has traveling around on VDO GAGA (a special installation of which will be unveiled at WIFW), she said. The silhouettes will comprise biker jackets, slouchy pants in various silhouttes, easy shirts and bohemian tops, loose kurtas and dresses. The designer has used different varieties of silk, georgette and handloom textiles in shades of blue, green, orange, yellow, grey and red.

Sonu Nigam humiliated by organiser after UP concert

when I said my mom is unwell and I had to leave, he started saying he had spent Rs.50 lakh for the show and would not let him (Nigam) leave till he clicked pictures with everyone, he added. Jain is the group vice chairman of Teerthanker Mahaveer University where Nigam performed. Nigam, who patiently continued to click pictures with everyone till 1.25 a.m., said he was ex-

Amrita Raos big moment: Sharing screen with Big B

Mumbai Prakash Jha has roped in Amrita Rao for Satyagraha and the actress is extremely joyous as most of her scenes are with none other than Amitabh Bachchan, whose role in the film is reportedly modelled on activist Anna Hazare. We are shooting in Bhopal and I am feeling so blessed that all my scenes in Satyagraha are with Amitabh Bachchan. In fact, I can say 99 percent of my scenes are with him. Its like a dream come true for me, Amrita told IANS. After Main Hoon Na and Vivah, the 31-year-olds last memorable role was in 2008 Welcome to Sajjanpur. After that, most of her films, like Shortkut - The Con Is On, bombed at the box office. Her role in Satyagraha could be a turning point in her career, but she didnt seem keen to reveal anything about it and said: I am not allowed to talk much about the film and about the role. All I can say is that its a fantastic role and we have shot around 10 days over here and now have 55 more days to go. Satyagraha also features Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpayee besides Kareena Kapoor, who plays a journalist in it.

Mumbai Singer Sonu Nigam, who was at a show at a college in Uttar Pradeshs Moradabad city Saturday night, is upset after the organiser, the college owner humiliated him post concert by not letting him leave to catch his flight from Delhi despite repeated requests. I was not supposed to go for the show as my mom was in a critical condition and despite that I went and performed for three hours as I had given a commitment but I was completely zapped with the behavior of Manish Jain who is the college owner, the singer told reporters here Monday. After the concert I had to leave for Delhi to catch the 4 a.m. flight and he (Jain) was just not letting us go as he was getting his friends and family to click the pictures with me. I patiently clicked the pictures and

tremely upset. He said people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar need to change their mind set and this is one of the reasons why artistes avoid concerts in these states. Police there were helpless and I could see sorry in the eyes of policemen. I am from UP myself and I dont have anything against anybody but mindset of people over there needs to be changed. Why do you think there are no shows happening in Bihar, he said Despite this entire incident, Nigam says he is no mood to lodge a case. I did not overreact that time but had things gone worse there, then I would have gone ahead. The idea is that I want people to know how artistes are treated at times. My intention is that artistes should be respected because we are here to entertain you, said the 39-year-old.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

CELEB
he is keeping his fingers crossed. A good dancer himself, the 30-year-old proved his skills in songs like Bachna ae haseeno and Main tera dhadkan teri and it would be a treat for his fans to watch him matching steps with Madhuri. Yes, even I have heard about it but nothing is confirmed yet. But I am really looking forward if I can work with Madhuriji, he said here Monday while launching the latest handset by Blackberry. I have been a big fan of hers, big admirer. I remember when she got married, I also cried. So, it would be great fun working with her. But I dont know whether they have confirmed it yet, he added. Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, which is being directed by Ayan Mukherjee, will see Ranbir romancing his exflame Deepika Padukone when it hits screens May 31. He says he is proud to see Deepika doing so well in her career. Its always great to see someone whom you have been so close to reach where she has because of her hard work, resilience, vision and intelligence. I am very proud of everything she has achieved, said Ranbir.

15

Not sure if Ill dance with Madhuri: Ranbir

Cowell single, ready to mingle!

Kareena showstopper for LFW Summer/ Resort 2013

will flaunt creations by Namrata Joshipura who is the grand finale designer. The five-day fashion festival will start here March 22. Yes, Kareena, being the brand ambassador of Lakme, will be walking the ramp for the finale. She is quite excited about it, said Purnima Lamba, Head Innovations Lakme. Kareena tied the knot with Saif Ali Khan last year and Lamba added he may join the audience in the front row. Saif is busy with his shoots, so he might come to admire her, but since the show is more to do with women, so he might not walk the ramp, she said. As the finale designer, Joshipura plans to display a blend of contemporary and modern designs on the ramp. I had an interaction with Kareena and my focus would be to keep her look quite close to the essence of the show, which is contemporary modern, she said. A day before the event, designer Tarun Tahiliani will have an off-site show. As many as 87 designers including six Gen Next designers will participate in the event, which will see renowned designers like Bhairavi Jaikishan, Vikram Phadnis, Masaba Gupta, Manish Malhotra, Nishika Lulla and Rocky S showcasing a plethora of designs and colours on the ramp. Lakme Fashion week Summer Resort 2013 has also come up with unique show Swadesh to be prsented by Phadnis and it will speak about rural India. Swadesh is here to change the attitude of rural India, he said adding that it will be a surprise and you all will miss a lot if you miss the show. I can assure you that it will be something thats unexpected.

Mumbai Just like everyone else, Bollywoods rockstar Ranbir Kapoor is unsure if he will be shaking a leg with dancing diva Madhuri Dixit in his upcoming film Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. However,

London The X Factor boss Simon Cowell says he is very much single and is now looking for love. The 53-year-old, who was dating model Carmen Electra, 40, says she was fun person to be with, reports The Sunday People. Id like to find a girlfriend. Im now a single man. We spent time together and she (Electra) is so much fun. But Id like to find a girlfriend, Cowell said. Cowell says he has an inclination towards British women. I do particularly like British women but I havent got my eye on anyone, he said.

Los Angeles The Indian flavour was predominant at the 85th Academy Awards, when Life of Pi, widely shot in India with Indian actors, won the maximum awards, including the best directors trophy for Ang Lee, who not only thanked his Indian crew but also wowed everyone by saying Namaste. Another India link was Lincoln, a historical drama about the last few months of 16th US President Abraham Lincoln, which has been coproduced by Indian business tycoon Anil Ambanis Reliance Entertainment and DreamWorks. However, Indias only hope - vocalist Bombay Jayashri - lost the award in the best original song category. Life of Pi, based on Canadian author Yann Martels Booker Prize winning eponymous novel, won four out of its 11 nominations at the 85th Academy Awards Sunday. Apart from the best directors gong for Lee, who won his second Oscar after 2005 Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi clinched the trophies for best cinematography (Claudio Miranda), best music - original score (Mychael Danna), and best visual effects (Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott). In his acceptance speech, Lee thanked his producers, Indian crew, technicians who worked on the movie and the films lead actor Suraj Sharma. Suraj, where are you, he asked, and the cameras panned to Suraj, a 19-yearold Delhi boy who made his acting de-

Life of Pi leads Oscar pack, spreads Indian flavour

but with the movie. He waved at Lee with joy. Lee ended the speech with a warm Namaste. Indian singer Bombay Jayashri lost out the trophy of best original song to Adele, who took home the golden statuette for Skyfall. The British singer also performed at the gala ceremony. In a show of great variety, all four top awards - best actor, actress, director and

film, went to different movies. The best actor trophy went to Daniel Day-Lewis for portraying Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln, which won a total of two awards out of its 12 nominations. The other gong was for production design. Day-Lewis is the only actor to win three best actor Oscars for My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood and now Lincoln. Jennifer Lawrence won the best actress trophy for her work in Silver Linings Playbook. The best film award went to Argo,

which was announced by US First Lady Michelle Obama. Based on a joint CIACanadian secret operation to extract six American diplomatic personnel during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, the film also got the trophy for best editing and best adapted screenplay. While Anne Hathaway walked away with best actress in a supporting role Oscar for Les Miserables, Christoph Waltz picked up the best supporting actor trophy for his performance in Django Unchained. The best original screenplay trophy went to filmmaker Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained, set among the slave plantations of pre-American Civil War. Austrian movie Amour, about an old couple and how their life changes after the woman becomes partially paralysed, bagged the best foreign language film trophy. Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty shared the best sound editing award, while the best sound mixing trophy was given to Les Miserables.Brave won the best animated feature film award and director John Kahrs Paperman bagged the best animated film short. Director Joe Wrights 19th century high society drama Anna Karenina won the best costume design award, while the best achievement in makeup and hairstyling went to Les Miserables, which was also set in the same era. The award for the best documentary feature went to Searching for Sugar Man and Inocente was named best documentary short. Curfew won the best live action short film.

Mumbai Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor has been named showstopper for the second consecutive year for Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013. She

Telecast of Crime Patrol episode on Chautala allowed

New Delhi The Delhi High Court set aside the order of its single judge bench restraining Sony TV channel from telecasting an episode of Crime Patrol Dastak based on the teachers recruitment scam involving former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala. A division bench of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Pratibha Rani, allowing the telecast of the episode, said: The appeal is allowed. Impugned order dated Feb 22, 2013, is set aside. The court, in its order, said: The single judge has not even viewed the proposed programme, much less read the transcript thereof. Unless the same was viewed and the transcript read, it would be impossible to find out whether the publication made comments on the merits of the case or upon the character of the accused for the reason trial is over resulting in a conviction being sustained. Witnesses have spoken. Documents have been proved. The evidence is in public domain. The broadcast claims to be a dramatic description of the documentary and ocular evidence. Whether or not the presentation commented on the merits of the case could only be determined after viewing the proposed programme and reading the transcript. The bench, allowing the plea of Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd., said that the former Haryana chief minister and others have not been able to demonstrate that a substantial risk of prejudice would be caused to them if the programme is telecast. The single judge in an interim direction had asked the entertainment channel not to telecast the episode. The order had came on a plea of Chautala, his then officer on special duty Vidya Dhar and political advisor Sher Singh Badshami, who asked the court to direct the channel to postpone the telecast till the pending petition seeking suspension of their sentence is decided by another bench, as the programme could adversely impact the appeal against the trial court verdict. In Thursdays judgment, the division bench clarified that its observations would not be construed as comments on the merits of the case and the single judge bench would decide the plea of Chautala and others without being influenced of them. The trial court last month sentenced Chautala, his son Ajay Chautala and eight others to 10 years in jail while one convict was sentenced to five years and 45 others were handed out four-year jail terms after convicting them of illegally recruiting 3,206 junior basic trained teachers in Haryana in 2000.

16
W E E K L Y H O
Some differences with Subordinates will spouse and partnership help. Relation with are seen. Negative inpartner and spouse fluence of Rahu, Sani will improve. Doing and Ketu can cause good deeds will help some depression. HowTAURUS you in every field. ever, Mars position in Mar 21-Apr 19 eleventh with Sun in- Apr 20 - May 20 Check your expendidicates some financial gains. Yoga and ture. Success in government related Meditation will help you relax. Remedies matter is seen. Remedy for Ketu is suggested. for Ketu and Rahu are suggested.

LEISURE
R O S C O P
Speculation can lead to losses. Love affairs can give you mental agony. Journey to far off places GEMINI or pilgrimage is May 21 - Jun 20 seen. Take caution while eating out, stomach upset cannot be ruled out. Remedies for Sani and Rahu are suggested.
Do not get involved in litigation. Income from more than one source is seen. Some mental strain cannot SAGITTARIUS be ruled out. Health Nov 22 - Dec 21 of spouse can be of concern. Mild stomach upset is seen. Loss from speculation is seen. Avoid junk food. Strengthening of Jupiter will bring good results. Health of mother can be of concern. Some dispute in property related matter is seen. Do not argue with your CANCER superiors. Some gains Jun 21 - Jul 22 from elder siblings are seen. There can be some trouble with genital parts. Do yoga or meditation. Remedies for Rahu and Ketu are suggested.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

Sun and Venus in Capricorn. Moon and Jupiter in Taurus. Shani and Rahu in Libra. Ketu in Aries. Mars and Mercury in Aquarius.

ARIES

Some financial gains are A short journey is inindicated. Take good dicated. Differences care of your finances. with spouse or partGood luck is on your ner can occur. Your side. Devotion towards children might give God will bring more you good news. Do VIRGO Jul 23 - Aug. 22 not gamble as it can Aug. 23 - Sep 22 luck and happiness. Enemies will be defeated. lead to losses. Struggle is seen in Gain from speculation cannot be ruled profession. Remedy for Ketu is sug- out. Love life will blossom. Remedy gested. for Sani and Rahu is suggested.

LEO

Mental stress and Expenditure is on the problems related to rise. However, health brain and spinal cord will be good and some are indicated. gain in property related Business will be slow matter is seen. People LIBRA and do not spoil relain higher authority will Sep 23 - Oct 22 tionship with partner SCORPIO be helpful. Love life Oct 23 - Nov 21 will be good. Comor spouse. Curb speculation. Health of children will improve. Remedies mission agents will do well. Remedy for Sani and Rahu is suggested. for Rahu and Ketu are suggested. ACROSS 1. Right Away (Abbr.) 5. BS 0rival 8. Soreness 12. Volcanic rock 13. Luan souvenir 14. Look 15. Rediates 17. Hurt 18. Lasagna Cheese 20. Asian Sauce 21. Rocker____ Cooper 23. Reduces 25. Manhattan Letters 26. A Great Lake 27. Intensify 31. Character 35. Greek God 37. Earths star 38. Former (hyph.) 41. Modify 43. Friend 44. Chewy Candy 46. Declare 48. Self-indulgent 51. Drinks like a dog 52. Country Hotel 53. Enlightened ones words (2 wds.) 54. Large amount 55. Passing grade 56. Sailing

Good week for overSome good news reall progress. Good garding profession is for business, property on the cards. Health matters, profession, will improve. Sucand government matcess in government CAPRICORN related matter is ters. Good flow of Dec 22 - Jan 19 seen. Business will AQUARIUS income. Some unexJan 20 - Feb. 18 pected good news is be good. Be careful before buying foreseen. Keep your head cool. Remany property or vehicle. Remedies edy for Sani and Rahu is indicated. for Ketu and Rahu are suggested.

Business can suffer and lead to mental agony. Relationship with spouse is also not good. Some success in propPISCES erty related matters can Feb 19 - Mar 20 be seen by the end of week. Take extra care of your belongings. Health of children can cause worry. Increase in medical expenses is seen. Remedies for Ketu are suggested.

V. Kumar (Scientific Horoscope Consultant) You can consult him with appointment on: 9855150789; 9592095234
DOWN 1. Beers kin 2. Uncle _____ 3. Greed 4. Sudden fright 5. Chorus voice 6. Lady bug, e.g. 7. Water tank 8. Fire leftover 9. Desist 10. Long-legged bird 11. Television awards 16. Flying hero 19. Europes neighbor 21. Plus 22. Caustic liquid 24. Group 28. Gold Fish, e.g. 29. Clapton or Idle 30. Wandering 32. Futile 33. Flee 34. Terminate 36. Peaceful 38. Iridescent gems 39. Nautical 40. Secretly marry 41. Physicians org. 42. Radio and newspapers, e.g. 45. Teen skin problem 47. Compass dir. 49. Formerly called 50. Oolong, e.g.

Crossword Solution 24 FEB, 2013

1 A 12 L 15 P 18 H 20 A 2 C I T E D 3 H E A R D 4 E N S 5 O 13 D 16 D 19 D E 21 R E 25 E S E R 36 T A R 33 T S T 6 P E E L S 7 T E E T 8 9 O P 14 R E 17 P E A S 22 23 24 G N U 27 T I I N T 38 39 40 U L A 42 N I B A R S Y S S N O G N O N 10 11 E N N E O D

Animals help autistic children interact better

1 12 15

4 16

5 13

8 14 17 19

10 11

18 21 12 25 27 38 39 40 43 46 51 54 47 44 48 52 55 45 28 29 30 35 36 23 26 31

20 24 32 33 34 37

28 B 32 R 35 O

29 30 L A D E D T E O

E S 26 R A 31 D 34 M E N A

37 R A E S C O T

41 T E 43 A 47 T 50 A 44 45 L L E O B E E S T R

41 42 49 50 53 56

Library book returned 55 years late!

G I 48 E G 51 T N

46 S T 49 A I 52 N E

Solution next week

Sudoku 03 MARCH, 2013

Sudoku Solution 24 FEB, 2013

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Washington A long overdue book has finally been returned to the New York Public Library - 55 years late. The Daily News says the biography of a 16th-century priest, Fire of Francis Xavier, was borrowed from the librarys Fort Washington branch April 10, 1958. Library manager Jennifer Zarr told the newspaper that the book reached them Monday wrapped in a plain brown envelope. There was a cheque for $100 to cover the dues. Shanghai Daily quoted the librarian as saying that library records do not go back to 1958 and theres no way to trace who borrowed the book.

Sydney Interaction of autistic children with animals can enhance their social skills like talking, smiling, laughing and also enable them to connect well with others, according to an Australian study. The presence of an animal can significantly increase positive social behaviours in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), according to research published February 20 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Marguerite E. OHaire and colleagues from the University of Queensland, Australia. They found that in the presence of animals, children with ASD demonstrated more social behaviours like talking, looking at faces and making physical contact. The presence of animals also increased instances of smiling and laughing, and reduced frowning, whining and crying behaviours in children with ASD more than having toys did, reports Science Daily. According to the authors, the ability of an animal to help children with ASD connect to adults may help foster interactions with therapists, teachers or other adult figures. They add that animal-assisted interventions may have applications in the classroom as well, saying For children with ASD, the school classroom can be a stressful and overwhelming environment due to social challenges and peer victimization.

Meditation fosters liberal attitudes, research shows

Toronto Besides conferring health benefits, meditation also fosters liberal attitudes immediately after a session, say Canadian researchers. Theres great overlap between religious beliefs and political orientations, says psychology researcher Jordan Peterson of University of Toronto. Inducing a spiritual experience through a guided meditation exercise led both liberals and conservatives to endorse more liberal political attitudes, adds Peterson, a study co-author. While religiousness is characterised by devotion to a specific tradition, set of principles, or code of conduct, spirituality is associated with the direct experience of selftranscendence and the feeling that were all connected, says Jacob Hirsh of Torontos Rotman School of Management, who led the study. In three studies, the researchers Hirsh, Peterson and Megan Walberg examined their participants political views in relation to their religiousness and spirituality. In the second, they measured 703 participants political orientations and support for the major American and Canadian political parties. In the third, researchers recruited 317 participants from the US and asked half to complete a spiritual exercise consisting of a guided meditation video. Researchers reported that, compared to those in the control group, participants who meditated felt significantly higher levels of spirituality and expressed more liberal political attitudes, including a reduced support for tough on crime policies and a preference for liberal political candidates.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

REVIEW

17

Book Music Jack the Giant Slayer Mere Dad Ki Maruti album with The Puppeteer humdrum drama hardcore Punjabi Tracks

Actors: Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Bill Nighy, Ian McShane, Eddie Marsan and Ewen Bremner; Director: Bryan Singer Grafted from the classic, Jack and the Beanstalk childrens fantasy, this one is a soul-less fantasy-actionadventure thats neither captivating nor convincing. It was long, long ago, in the kingdom of Cloister, there lived a disgruntled Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) and a happy-go-lucky orphan named Jack (Nicholas Hoult). Their paths first cross in a market place, where Jack shields the Princess from undesirable elements. Soon, due to financial constraints, Jack is again at the market to sell his horse. But instead of selling the horse, he is forced to barter his horse with beans by a desperate monk, who needs the horse to escape the Kings soldiers.Unknown to Jack, these beans are the magical giant beanstalk that sprout when they get wet. Destiny leads Princess Isabelle to Jacks home on a rainy night at which point those magic beans sprouts volcanically skywards, taking along with it, the house and the princess up, up, up into the clouds, toward Gantua, home of a race of giants led by the two-headed Fallon (Bill Nighy). In the meanwhile, Isabelles father, King Brahmwell (Ian McShane) is out searching for his daughter. Seeing the giant beanstalk and his daughters bracelet with Jack near it, he deploys his trusted staff including Elmont (Ewan McGregor), Wicke (Ewan Bremner), and Roderick (Stanley Tucci), who is Isabelles shifty fiance, to make the skyward journey to rescue the Princess. Jack too joins the motley group, mostly because the script demands it. What follows is a lame variant on exploring Skull Island, with Elmont as the very, very heroic knight in charge. An evil schemer betrays everybody, uses an ancient relic to control the giants and then gets them to invade the human kingdom below. Before its all over, the giants have found a way down to Earth and threaten to take over once and for all, and the end is obvious as the title suggest it. Hoult and Tomlinson are appealing actors who match up well. They are capable of much more than what they have delivered. It is only Tucci as the scheming villain and McGregor as the large-hearted and commanding knight, who bring life to their performance. Bill Nighy as the freaky twoheaded leader of the giants, exults some pronounced voice work worth mentioning. On the whole, one barely cares about most of the live characters, let alone the computer generated ones. The giants are cartoonish and not at all menacing to look at.

Yash raj Films are ready with their latest release Mere Dad Ki Maruti ,an upcoming Bollywood comedy film directed by Ashima Chibber, featuring Saqib Saleem, Ram Kapoor in lead roles. It also features newcomer Rhea Chakraborty in a central role.Music of the album is composed by Sachin Gupta who had composed albums for artists like Atif Aslam, Alisha Chinoy, Jal, Ahmed Jahanzeb, Apache Indian and Mika .The album sets up a Punjabi feel which is replicated in singing and lyrics that are penned by Kumaar. Punjabiyaan Di Battery- This loud peppy number sung by Mika and Yo Yo Honey Singh is picturized on Ram Kapoor and Saqib Saleem (father and son in the film). The arrangements are remarkable, and the beat makes you tap your feet and lighten up your mood. Kumaars lyrics are unusual and support the Punjabi theme throughout the song. Main Senti Hoon- sung by Jaspreet Jas and Shalmali Kholgade is a lively and romantic club track number. The track does not leave an attractive impression, though the lyrics are comical.Only the

vocals by Shalmali is the only save charm of this track. Haaay-Punjabi MC first Bollywood number featuring Manak-E which make this striking musical number. Kumaars lyrics are entertaining and the very funny link between a beautiful girl and a car has been well written. This hip hop number will make you groove. Hip Hip Huraah- The peppy number sung by Sonu Kakkar features the lead actress. Sonus youthful voice and Kumaars crazy lyrics are the best part of the track. Mere Dad Ki Maruti - title track of the album sung by Diljit Dosanjh revolves around a lost car. This highly situational number has the Punjabi folk spirit. Diljits refreshing vocals make it a little different from the rest of the Punjabi Track. Mere Dad Ka Mash Up- Dj Raamji Gulati and Dj Shadow fits in as a perfect in clubs and disco number.Both of them have done a good job in mixing the songs.

By Arindam Mukherjee Publisher:Grapewine About the book : A little while after the Kargil debacle, the President of Pakistan, in an unprecedented move declares that he is willing to resolve the Kashmir Issue with New Delhi; recognize the Line of Control as sacrosanct treat it the international boundary between the two nations and comb out the non-state actors. This windfall is hailed by the Indians obviously, and the different International Agencies. Amidst the mixed reaction among Pakistanis across different levels, there is an extremely unhappy man. He is Aamir Ben Kalish, empire builder and king maker one of the most powerful businessmen of Pakistan. He delegates a small trio of his trusted aides to intervene before the treaty is signed to silence the President Permanently. From the dusty quarters of Lahore to the hot and humid lanes of Calcutta, the story sprints to deliver to the President his gift for forgetting Pakistans geo-strategic imperative, for being the unnecessary cavalier. The bomb, the

bomber, his handlers none of them can be traced; for none of them officially exist.

About the Author

Arindam Mukherjee is a corporate executive with a multinational company. After more than a decade as behavioural trainer developing industry professionals within India and abroad, he now undertakes to build social and political awareness through his writing. He is a conflict and geo-political observer by passion and believes that true global development is possible only when the focus shifts from upgrading commodities and products towards upgrading human values.

Movies

I, Me aur Main -Starcast looks good but story disappoints

The Attacks of 26/11,- Brilliant portrayal of the horrific tragedy

I, Me aur Main is an romance drama film directed by debutant Kapil Sharma. The film features John Abraham, Prachi Desai and Chitrangda Singh in lead roles. Plot: The story starts off with Ishaan (John Abraham )a charismatic, good-looking music producer from Mumbai, lives a sheltered existence as the apple of his mothers (Zarina Wahab) eye, always protected by his elder sister Shivani (Mini Mathur). He stays at his girlfriend Anushkas (Chitrangda Singhs) house and takes them all for granted. One night his self-centered attitude throws

him out of the Apartment and he finds a space in neighbor Gauris( Prachi Desai )House. Gauri makes him realize the importance of relationships in life. Talking about the performances,John Abraham in the role of carefree man leaves you a little disappointed as Ishaan. However, there is a hope of improvement in his performance. Chitrangada Singh brings a refreshing appeal and immense screen presence to her character. Prachi Desai as the girl next door isnt influential. Though she tries too hard to make her character attractive experimenting with her roles and looks.

The unconventional director, who is known for films such as Rangeela, Company and Sarkar,-Ram Gopal Varmas most controversial project The Attacks of 26/11,is a crime thriller based on the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The film features Nana Patekar as the Joint Commissioner of Police while Atul Kulkarni will also be seen as an important character, however audi-

ence are curious to see Sanjeev Jaiswal ,playing the character of Ajmal Kasab. The recent death sentence of Kasab has increased the interest among the audiences. A low-budget film about the attacks which releases this Friday, reconstructs the scary brutal attacks of 2008 with keen responsibility and assures that none of the sentiments get hurt.

18

SCIENCE AND TECH

and tablet PCs for distribution. All the computers will have a special e-learning packages. After a day in class, the students will now be able to revise their tutions at home over the tablets, Powar said, adding that a provision of Rs.95 crore had already been made for the purchase of the computers in the last budget presented by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. All the systems will have inbuilt security systems installed to ensure that the computers are not misused for pornographic purposes and other controversial web applications, but the education department will also take an undertaking from the students parents before handing over the computers.It is a no objection certificate saying they are OK with us giving them the computers. The parents should also be in a position to both goad the students to logging onto the right websites, he said.The Goa government was the first state government in the country to give out free laptops to students over a decade ago.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

Tablets, notebooks for just Rs.25 for Goa students BlackBerry launches Z10

smartphone

Panaji Students in Goa can now get a tablet PC or a notebook for just Rs.25.The digital largesse is a part of the Goa government education departments initiative to familiarise Class V and VII students with computers in order to prepare them for the life ahead and get them curious about the e-systems, ac-

NATO Patriot missiles to cost Turkey $8.5 mn annually

cording to additional director education Anil Powar.General category students will have to pay only Rs.25 while SC and ST students will have to pay Rs.10 to register for the scheme, Powar told reporters here . The official said that the state government was making arrangements for purchasing nearly 50,000 notebooks

Israel, US test new missile defence system

Mumbai Mobile phone manufacturer BlackBerry launched smartphone Z10, powered by its newly developed operating system BlackBerry 10, in the Indian market and priced it at Rs.43,490. With BlackBerry 10, we have re-designed, re-engineered and re-invented BlackBerry to create a new and unique mobile computing experience, said Sunil Dutt, managing director for India at BlackBerry.

According to the company, the new smartphone is the first on the BlackBerry 10 platform, which offers faster and smoother usage experience. The Z10 comes with modern design and a gesture-based interface. The phones features include a 4.2-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) screen with a 1.5 GHz (giga hertz) dual-core processor and a 8-megapixel rear camera coupled with a 2-megapixel front camera.

Meteorite craters play key role in evolution tralia statement.

Ankara NATOs Patriot missile systems, requested by Turkey to protect it from a potential Syrian attack, are expected to cost Ankara 15 million liras ($8.5 million) annually, the Turkish defence minister said. Ismet Yilmaz made the statement after he and his German and Dutch counterparts visited both the Dutch and German Patriot sites in Adana and Kahramanmaras near the border with Syria. The visit came after the final of six Patriot missile batteries deployed to Turkey was declared operational under NATO command and control Feb 15. They asked us What is the annual cost of this for you? Of course, these Patriots have been deployed within the general principles of NATO. We said, We reckon that its cost for us in a year will be 15 million liras, Yilmaz was quoted by Anatolia news agency as saying. They asked the same question to the Dutch minister. Dutch defence minister (Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert) said For us, the cost will be 40 million Euros ($53 million) in a year. The German minister (Thomas de Maiziere) said

like this and he did the right thing; he used the expression, There is no price for security, haberler.com quoted Yilmaz as saying. NATO agreed in December to station two units each from three NATO nations (Germany, the Netherlands and the US) at the request of another alliance member Turkey, after Syrian shelling along the border killed five Turkish civilians in October. Russia has repeatedly protested the move, warning it would mean the direct involvement of NATO forces in the Syrian conflict, further undermining the already unstable situation in the region. Turkey maintains it needs the batteries to shore up security on its 900-km border with Syria. Damascus is believed to have several hundred surface-to-surface missiles capable of carrying chemical or biological warheads. Patriot is an air-defence missile system with the capability to intercept some ballistic missiles as well as cruise missiles and aircraft. It was first used operationally in the first Gulf War in 1991.

Israel and the US have carried out the first successful test of the Arrow 3 missile defence interceptor, the Israeli defence ministry said. The interceptor, designed to shoot down long-range missiles, was fired into space from a coastal military launching pad in central Israel. A senior defence source told The Jerusalem Post that the interceptor took off over the Mediterranean Sea, obtained hypersonic speed, and reached an altitude of 100 km, entering space. The test was led by technicians from the Israel Aerospace Industries, together with a team from the US Department of Defenses Missile Defense Agency. The system is set to become operational by 2016 and is designed to effectively engage Iranian Shihab 3 missiles, among others. Arrow 3 will be part of the multi-layered defence shield, Israel is building. It currently has the Iron Dome missile defence system that can intercept shortrange and medium-range rockets and reportedly intercepted up to 85 percent of rockets fired from Gaza in November 2012.

Sydney Asteroids hitting the earth cause immense destruction, but some of them may have also played a key role in the evolution of early life, according to new research. Geologist Martin Schmieder, research associate at the University of Western Australia School of Earth and Environment, who led the study, said that heat generated by an asteroid impact took at least several hundred thousand years to dissipate. Schmiede said as impact craters cooled, they provided an ideal environment for microbial life to thrive, the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta reports. As a case study, we analysed impactmolten rock samples from the 23 km-diameter and 76-million-year-old Lappajarvi crater in Finland, and were quite surprised by the results, Schmieder said, according to a Western Aus-

Curtin University. The studies were conducted by experts in rocks and minerals from craters produced by the hypervelocity impact of incoming asteroids and comets (termed meteorites once they hit the Earths surface). Although usually associated with massive havoc and destruction, asteroid impacts also acted as extraterrestrial boosters of life in the past, Schmiede said. A prime example is the giant Chicxulub impact that helped wipe out dinosaurs 66 million years ago and eventually paved the way for mammals and mankind, Jourdan added. Smaller to medium-size impact craters less than 30 km across represent the largest crater population on Earth and other planetary bodies, compared with giant impact basins such as those on the Moon that are visible to the naked eye on a clear night.

Temperatures during an impact event can reach several thousand degrees Celsius, capable of melting portions of the target rock, said Schmieder, who co-authored the study with Fred Jourdan, director of the Western Australian Argon Isotope Facility at

Amsterdam Millions of tonnes of food are dumped into the waste bin each year, as the best before date on the package has passed. Much of what is dumped might still be safe to eat. A new device could aid that eat-or-throw decision. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology, (The Netherlands), Universita di Catania (Italy), CEA-Liten (France) and STMicroelectronics, one of the worlds largest semiconductor companies, have invented a circuit that makes testing

A digital device to reduce food wastage

of food products possible through a plastic analog-digital converter. Consumers and businesses in developed countries throw away around 100 kg of food per person per year, mainly because the best before date on the packaging has passed. Such wastage is bad not only for consumers budgets, but also for the environment, an Eindhoven statement said. Much of the wastage occurs because there is difficulty in estimating how long food will stay usable. To minimise the risk of selling spoiled food, producers show a relatively short shelf-life on the package. The plastic sensor circuits, costing less than one euro cent, could help solve the phenomenal waste problem. These ultra-low-cost plastic circuits have numerous potential uses, including in pharmaceuticals. To fight food waste, producers could include an electronic sensor circuit in their packaging to monitor the acidity level of the food, for example. The sensor circuit could be read with a scanner or with a mobile phone to show the freshness of steak, or even whether frozen food was earlier defrosted. Said researcher Eugenio Cantatore of Eindhoven University of Technology: In principle, such testing is already possible, using the standard Silicon ICs (integrated chips). The only problem is theyre too expensive. They easily cost ten cents. And that cost is too much for a oneeuro bag of crisps. Were now developing electronic devices that are made from plastic rather than silicon. The advantage is you can easily include these plastic sensors in plastic packaging. The plastic semiconductor can even be printed on all kinds of flexible surfaces, which makes it cheaper to use. The invention was presented last week at the International SolidState Circuits Conference in San Francisco, US.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

KIDS

19
Strange Facts You Didnt Know

Alexander Graham Bell- Born Students gear up for C.B.S.E 2013 on March 3, 1847

Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist who is accredited with invention of the first practical telephone. Bells father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were deaf, strongly influencing Bells lifes work. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually concluded in Bell being awarded the first US patent for the telephone in 1876. He is well remembered for his invention of the telephone. Heres a list of interesting things about this very intellectual inventor. Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the United States he began teaching deaf-mutes, advertising the system called visible speech. Even as a kid, Bell was fascinated with sound and he taught himself both ventriloquism and piano without any training. He Wasnt Always Alexander Graham Bell. When he turned ten, he begged his parents to give him a middle name. It wasnt until his 11th birthday that the famous Graham was added to his name. In 1872, he founded a school to train teachers of the deaf in Boston, Massachusetts and became part of Boston University Bell was appointed professor of vocal physiology in Boston University. Since the age of 18, Bell had been working on the idea of transmitting speech. In 1874, while working on a multiple telegraph, he developed the basic ideas of the telephone. On March 10, 1876, his experiments with his assistant Thomas Watson finally became a reality.The statement that Bell transmitted was Watson, come here; I want you. The Bell Telephone Company was established in 1877. Bell was one of the cofounders of the National Geographic Society, and he served as its president from 1896 to 1904. Alexander Graham Bell died on August 2, 1922, at Baddeck, Cape Breton Island.

Elephant grass in Africa is named after elephants as it is about 4.5 meter high and even elephants can hide in this grass The worlds fastest growing plant is Burmas giant bamboo,it can grow 17 centimeter in a day. Dog nose prints are as unique as human fingerprints and can be used to identify them The giraffe has the highest blood pressure of any animal. Human being tongue has 3,000 taste buds.

The CBSE Board exams will be held from March 1 and a total of 17.7 Lakh students will take the exam for class X and XII. Among the students who will give the XII Board exams this year, almost 60-65% student will take the Board Exam for the first time as this batch had the opportunity to skip the exam in class X in 2011 for a school based test. There will be a new introduction for class XII students this year i.e. the value based questions. These questions will be about 3-5 marks each in 15 major subjects across all streams. The subjects where this will be introduced are English, Hindi, Mathematics, Biology,

Physics, Chemistry, Accountancy, History, Geography, Business Studies, Entrepreneurship and Economics. These questions will be interdisciplinary in nature. For a 100 marks paper, these will be of 5 marks questions and for a paper of 70 marks, they will be about 3-4 marks. Experts are saying that prepare for such questions, The questions will be more about application of theoretical knowledge in daily life situation. The questions will probe human values and environmental awareness.These questions will check the candidates capacity to apply theoretical knowledge to daily life situations.

Common Abbreviations for Kids

GMT- Greenwich Mean Time i.e.- That is Ltd- Limited PM- Prime Minister GM- General Manager ATM- Automated Teller Machine SMS- Short Messaging Service ASAP- As soon as possible P.S-PostScript, Written after V.S- versus,Against A.M.-ante meridiem [before noon] cu-cubic Inst.- Institute RSVP- Reply if you please viz.- Namely Hon.- the Honorable min- minute(s) yd- yard(s) Mr.-Mister Dr.-Doctor F- Fahrenheit ft- foot, feet gal.-gallon(s) cm.-centimeter(s) Lt.-Lieutenant N- north; Newton(s) sec- second(s) Col.- Colonel Jr.- Junior Univ.-University P.M.- post meridiem (after noon) wt.-Weight

My life can be measured in hours, I serve by being devoured, Thin, I am quick, Fat, I am slow, Wind is my foe. Who am I? Im black when you buy me, red when you are using me, and white when you are through with me. Who am I? I am a seven letter word. I have two sets of double letters in a row. I can fly like a bird or a plane. Kids love me. Who am I? I am white in color. You cant see me in water. I am appreciated if only added in the right measure. Who am I?

When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. -Alexander Graham Bell

Did you know shark dont have bones in their body?

Quote Corner
Insipid-Lacking flavour , not tasty Example-The insipid soup was alarmingly colourful. Voluminous-Having great volume, fullness Example- Her hair was voluminous after using the salon recommended shampoo. Desist - to cease to proceed or act Example-Despite orders from the police, the protesters would not desist. Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a persons character lies in their own hands. Anne Frank Answers : Candle Charcoal Balloon Salt Subsist- to have existence Example-I cannot subsist on bread and water alone. Apathy- lack of feeling or emotion Example-People have shown surprising apathy toward these important social problems. Utter- to say something Example- A reminder that our words, once uttered, have a life of their own.

A shark doesnt have a bone in its body. Its skull, spinal column and fin supports are made of cartilage. Cartilage is the flexible stuff in the tip of your nose. A cartilage skeleton

has its advantages. Its light, flexible, and it heals faster than bone. Sharks evolved from bony ancestors so there are several ideas why this may have occurred. One consideration is that

the evolution of a cartilaginous skeleton gives sharks a more flexible, manoeuvrable body, making them extremely well adapted for a variety of swimming modes. A flexible body is also helpful for moving around complex habitats and tucking into small spaces and crevices. Shark skin is very rough because if you see it very closely it is covered with small denticles. Denticles are found all over the body of every species of shark out there. They help make it easier to swim and help the shark to save energy and help to protect the shark skin from various elements in the water.

20 US sees enormous business opportunity in Indias growth

Washington Describing India as one of Americas most trusted and valuable partners in the Asia-Pacific region, a senior US official has said it would serve as the foundation for greater regional economic cooperation and expansion. Our relationship from our burgeoning trade, to defence sales and exercises, to our growing education and clean energy partnerships has never been stronger, Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State, told a House panel during a hearing on The Rebalance to Asia: Why South Asia Matters. Noting that 80 percent of the infrastructure required to sustain and support India in 2025 by when India is projected to become the worlds third-largest economy, has yet to be built, he saw an enormous business opportunity for the US. So we see an enormous opportunity in this growth to deepen our commercial partnership with India, working together with American companies to build the airports, power plants, water and sanitation systems, and fibre optic networks of Indias future, Blake said. The US, he said, was bullish on the future of this region, but we are also cleareyed about the challenges that we faceterrorism such as we saw last week in Hyderabad; regional rivalries; nuclear proliferation; refugees; human trafficking and the potentially catastrophic effects of global climate change. Ami Bera, the only Indian-American member of US Congress, said the USIndian relationship is critical and vital to the US both economically and strategically particularly at a time when Washington was going to be drawing down its troops in Afghanistan. India has a critical role in holding onto and maintaining some of the gains that weve made. India has a critical role in helping anchor stability in that region, he said. And Economically, you know, trade with India is vital. Democratic member Eni Faleomavaega suggested that the US begin a dialogue with Gujarat chief minister Lalit Modi who may well be the next prime minister for India. Modi, he said has led to a decade of unprecedented growth and development in Gujarat, a key state which has contributed considerably to Indias economy and development. Companies like Ford and General Motors are setting up factories in Gujarat, and in a move that promises to strengthen US-India relations now and in the years to come, Faleomavaega said.

BUSINESS

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

Indias Economic Survey sees recovery, but with reforms being added mainly in informal and

Rs.18,500 crore investment proposal for Vidarbha

New Delhi Pushing for reforms and tangible action on removing bottlenecks to investment and job creation, Indias Economic Survey for 2012-13 pegs the countrys growth at 6.1-6.7 percent next fiscal, with inflation easing soon to 6.2-6.6 percent. The survey released hours ahead of the annual budget said India is likely to meet the fiscal deficit target of 5.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the financial year ending March 31. The forecast came against the backdrop of a deceleration in growth to around 5 percent and 6.2 percent in the previous two fiscals from 9.3 percent and 8.6 percent in the two fiscals before that, induced largely by the global slowdown and financial crisis. The slowdown is a wake-up call for increasing the pace of actions and reforms, said the survey, adding that India has navigated difficult times as these before, and with good policies and strong reforms programme, it will again come through stronger. Authored by Chief Economic Advisor Raghuram Rajan, the report card on the state of the economy, with recommendations for the way forward, was tabled in parliament by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday, a day ahead of the national budget for 2013-14. Addressing a media conference after release of the survey, Rajan said Indian

economy was at a turning point and the macro-economic situation would improve in the next financial year, helped by moderate inflation and better external factors. India is in a difficult but not impossible situation...we are at or beyond the turning point of the economy, he said. Rajan, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said a wide gap in upper and lower projections of the GDP growth was mainly due to uncertainty prevailing in the economy. Given the uncertainty, we are giving wider band, he said. The survey also pushed for fast action on the ground after the opening up of the retail trade industry to overseas companies and said this will not just pave the way for flow of investment in new technology, but also for marketing of farm produce in India. Fast agricultural growth remains vital for jobs, incomes and food security. In the survey, a special chapter has been added focusing on jobs that says the future holds promise for India if it seizes the demographic dividend, with nearly half of the additions to the labour force till 2030 expected in the 3049 age group. Because good jobs are both the pathway to growth as well as the best form of inclusion, India has to think of ways of enabling their creation, says the survey, adding new jobs are currently

low productivity sectors. Coming a day ahead of the general budget, the survey also calls for widening the tax base and prioritisation of expenditure, holding them as the key ingredients to a credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plan. The policy recommendations of the Survey focus largely on stimulating investments and reducing supply bottlenecks particularly in the agricultural sector, the Confederation of Indian Industry said in a statement. The analysis shows that bottlenecks relate mainly to regulatory hurdles that prevent small firms from growing, the chamber said, adding that India Inc has precisely been stressing on these very issues to stimulate growth. The survey also expresses concern over the high current account deficit due to a higher share of imports vis a vis exports and says this in the short run must be corrected by cutting oil and gold imports with market-determined prices. This, the survey argues, is all the more necessary, since the flow of invisibles - such as money in the form of remittances by Indians abroad and software earnings - are not particularly sufficient to cut current account deficit, now at 4 percent of the GDP. On the controversial issue of land acquisition, the survey seeks a balance between the need for economic growth and the costs imposed on the displaced with proper mapping of land, easier means to facilitate leasing and transparent compensation policy. On foreign direct investment, the survey notes that India, with a rank of four in the global restrictiveness index, fares better than China, ranked first. Yet, there is scope to reverse the moderation seen last year in inflows of overseas capital. Accordingly, it calls for a review in increasing the foreign investment cap in a host of areas, notably public sector banks, insurance and defence production as they promise new technology and practices and such capital are better than portfolio investment.

Nagpur In an overwhelming response, Maharashtra governments two-day Advantage Vidarbha-2013 conclave notched proposals worth Rs.18,500 crore on the first day here. The Memorandums of Understandings (MoU) for as many as 24 mega-investment proposals, including eight of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), totally worth nearly Rs.18,500 crore were inked in the presence of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and top industrialists and officials present on the occasion. Chavan, while assuring the best of infrastructure and other facilities in the 11 districts comprising Vidarbha region of eastern Maharashtra also announced that the event Advantage Vidarbha would now become an annual feature in the states business calendar. Vidarbha, strategically located in the heart of India, offers excellent scope for industries, particularly textiles, agro-products, tourism, automobiles and other sectors, Chavan said. Under the states New Industrial Policy, we are offering lots of incentives to industries coming up in Vidarbha and other undeveloped regions of the state. I urge industrialists to take full advantage of all this, Chavan urged in his inaugural remarks.The chief minister listed other benefits of Vidarbha which is blessed with abundant water

and power supply, lush green forests, including two tiger sanctuaries, availability of skilled labour and a salubrious industrial climate which would be attractive for industrialists to set up shop here. Union Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel, while complimenting the state government for organising the conclave said it would give a new direction to the industrial and financial development of Vidarbha. Patel announced that a mega international class expo centre on the lines of Pragati Maidan in New Delhi would be set up either in Nagpur or nearby Butibori, and events like the automobiles exhibitions would be held in this region. Speaking on the occasion, state Industry Minister Narayan Rane highlighted the New Industrial Policy declared recently which will be valid for five years. Rane also announced the setting up of an international convention centre on 50 acres at Butibori, and assured that industries would be accorded all possible assistance to enable them set up plants in Vidarbha. Prominent among the personalities present at the two-day conclave included Raymond Group chief Gautam Singhania, R.C. Bhargava of Maruti Suzuki, and legislators and parliamentarians from Vidarbha.

Technopark based firm inks dealwith Turkish Cargo

Thiruvananthapuram Leading IT solutions provider to the global aviation industry, the Technoparkheadquartered IBS Software, has signed a multi-million dollar, 10-year contract with Turkish Cargo, the cargo division of Turkish Airlines. The contract is meant for the implementation of its iCargo solution. Turkish Airlines is one of the fastestgrowing airlines in the world, with a staggering 39 percent growth in air cargo FTK (freight tonne kilometre) against an average of three percent growth for other European airlines. This new arrangement was announced in Istanbul after both parties signed the agreement, according to an IBS release issued here .Under the deal, the airline sales/inventory, terminal operations/handling and revenue accounting systems will be integrated into a single, comprehensive solution. We have chosen IBS from the worlds leading air cargo IT software, as a result of a detailed and intensive study period of two years, said Temel Kotil, president and CEO, Turkish Airlines. Over 20 global airlines have opted for iCargo to manage their mission critical cargo logistics, including leaders like All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Qantas, South African Airways, Lufthansa Cargo and Nippon Cargo Airlines.

Poland seeks investments from India

Bangalore Poland invited Indian investors to explore the emerging business and investment opportunities in the eastern European country.Polish Deputy Economic Minister Dariusz Bogdan said: We are the sixth biggest country in the European Union with a working age population of 26.6 million and a strong export performance (135 billion euros in 2011). The country has maintained sound policies, financial stability and competitiveness, the minister said. We are also well integrated with the EU in terms of trade and foreign direct investments, Bogdan said at an interactive session with chief executives of Polish and Indian firms here. The Polish labour market was flexible with educated workforce, which is competitive in wages, Bogdan said. A recent survey by global services firm Ernst & Young rated Poland as the second most attractive investment destination in Europe for the next three years after Germany and followed by Britain, Russia and France, Bogdan added. With sound policies, we have been able to keep our economy stable in terms of inflation, output gap and current account, which is covered by net FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows and EU capital transfers, the minister told executives at the session, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). According to Polish information and foreign investment agencys board member Bozena Czaja, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) ranked Poland as the sixth most attractive foreign direct investment (FDI) destination worldwide. The Financial Times has listed Poland at the third place globally in quality of processing industry. Within Poland, the eastern part is one of the fastest developing area, with lowest labour cost and one of the most eco-friendly regions in Europe. There is a huge potential for road infrastructure development, Czaja said. Priority sectors in eastern Poland are food sector, furniture production, metal and machinery, aviation, yacht, tourism and back office operations. Welcoming the Polish delegation, FICCI executive member and Axis Aerospace & Technologies Ltd. vicechairman Sudhakar Gande said India was also a huge business opportunity for investors and exporters in Poland. You have the knowledge and expertise and we have markets, not just in India but much beyond our borders, Gande said on the occasion. Apart from traditional items of trade, both the countries have to collaborate in developing aviation, renewable energy and healthcare facilities in India.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

BUSINESS
CNX Nifty on Friday Spanish firm sells LNG assets to Shell China to approve new short-haul aircraft

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Madrid Spanish energy giant Repsol SA said that it agreed to sell a package of liquefied natural gas assets to Royal Dutch Shell Plc in a transaction valued at $6.65 billion. Shell will pay $4.4 billion in cash and assume $2.25 billion in debt, Repsol said in a regulatory filing. The Spanish company stands to net $3.5 billion as part of the asset-shedding called for in its 2013-16 strategic plan, Repsol said. Repsol is selling Shell its minority stakes in Atlantic LNG, based in Trinidad and Tobago, Peru LNG and Spains Bahia de Bizkaia Electricidad. Tanker ships associated with those assets are also part of the deal, but Repsols regasification plant in Canada was ultimately excluded and Shell is to supply the facility with 1 million tonnes of LNG over the next 10 years. The transaction, which is expected to close by years end, will allow Repsol to reduce its net debt by half, the Spanish firm said.

Beijing A new generation of short-haul aircraft will be granted production approval soon and enter the market in 2014, a media report said .The MA700 aircraft, designed by the Avic Aircraft Co., is about to be approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology after years of research and development, a source told the China Securities Journal reported. The turboprop will mainly be used for medium- and short-distance trips, said Geng Ruguang, vice general manager of Avics parent company, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Xinhua reported. Compared with its counterparts, the planes travel costs will be 10 percent lower, while its carbon dioxide emissions will be 20 percent lower, Geng said. As of the end of 2012, the company had received orders for 196 units from domestic and overseas buyers, with 75 units having already been delivered to airlines in 13 countries, a report from Everbright Securities Co. said

CDMA spectrum auction from Bangladeshs current account March 11 surplus rises to nearly $1 bn lation of 122 2G licences, which was
entirely either in the 1800 or 800 MHz bands. The department said the spectrum put up for auction in Delhi and Mumbai circles were in compliance with the apex courts latest order of Feb 15. In the light of these developments, DoT will review the need to include the remaining two circles for 1800 MHz bands, namely Delhi and Mumbai, in the next round of auctions as also the need for a re-auction in the three metro circles of the 900 MHz band, the statement said. A furthur round of auctions for 1800 and 900 Mhz bands will be decided by the Empowered Group of Ministers after deliberating on the issue, the department said. The quantum of spectrum, the reserve price and the timelines for this auction will be decided after necessary directions are obtained from the EGOM and where required, the cabinet, in this regard, the DoT said. The department is also in the process of filing an affidavit of compliance in the Supreme Court regarding implementation of its Feb 15 order. Any further directions issued by the SC in the matter will be incorporated into the plan of action for the next round of auction to be held as soon as possible after the March 11, 2013, auction is completed, DoT said. The DoT will also take action as directed by the Delhi High Court to dispose of the applications for extension of licences received from operators whose licences are due to expire in November 2014. This action will be completed before the timeline fixed by the High Court of Delhi, i.e., March 7, 2013, the DoT said.

Toyota, Hyundai post lower domestic sales in Feb

Chennai Asian car manufacturing majors Toyota and Hyundai closed last month with lower sales in India as compared to last February, according to a statement. According to a company statement, the Japanese-Indian joint venture ToyotaKirloskar Motorss sales in the domestic market dropped from 12,756 units this February to 16,659 units sold in the corresponding month in 2012, down by 23.4 percent. The company also shipped out 1,223 units of its Etios line to South Africa last month posting sales of 13,979 units. Commenting on the sales, Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Offier, Marketing and Commercial said, The market continues to remain sluggish and with the additional excise duty levied on SUVs (sports utility vehicles) and UVs (utilty vehicles), the market will be further impacted. However, Hyundais exports increased by 37.2 percent, shipping out 20,663 units as against 15,050 units in Feb 2012, with total sales last month at 54,665 units up from 51,855 units. The market was suppressed as there was drop in enquiries with lower rates of conversions to purchase. The increase in fuel prices negatively impacted the already low market sentiments. We expect the challenge to continue in the next quarter until there is a significant change in macro-economic conditions, Rakesh Srivastava, Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Hyundai Motor India said in a company statement.

New Delhi With no takers for GSM spectrum, the government will start auction of CDMA spectrum, earlier scheduled for after the GSM auction, on March 11, the Department of Telecom said . The 1800 and 900 MHz bands (used for GSM) were to be auctioned simultaneously starting from March 11, 2013, and the 800 MHz band auction was to commence two days after the conclusion of the auction of 1800 and 900 MHz spectrum. In the light of these developments, the auction of 800 MHz spectrum will commence on 11.3.2013 itself, the DoT said here in a statement. According to the DoT, the last date for applying for the March 11 airwaves auction was Feb 25. The department will now start the process for the third round of auction for 20 of 22 area circles to comply with the Supreme Court order to place on sale the entire spectrum freed by cancel-

Dhaka Propelled by merchandise export and inward remittances, Bangladeshs account balance recorded a surplus of nearly $1 billion in the first half of current 2012-13 fiscal year ending in June, a central bank official said . Quoting the Bangladesh Bank (BB) data, the official told Xinhua that the current account balance showed a surplus of $850 million during the six months of the current fiscal year 201213 (July 2012-June 2013) against the deficit of $1.65 billion during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year (July 2011-June 2012). The central banks current account balance and overall balance of payments have maintained positive trend as export earnings and inflow of remittances continued to grow though at a moderated pace, said the bank official who preferred to be unnamed. Bangladeshs exports growth in JulyDecember period of the current fiscal year surged 6.47 percent year on year to $12.34 billion, the bank data showed.

Posting nearly 10 percent growth year on year, it showed Bangladeshs overall remittance surged to $7.40 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year. As growth in exports and remittances dipped, BB current account balance surplus slumped in a couple of months until November last year, the BB official said. He said current account balance recorded a surplus of $41 million in July-November period, meaning Bangladeshs economy absorbed more than that it produced in the months. According to the official, comfortable receipts of remittances, however, helped the central bank of Bangladesh cushion huge trade gap which stood at $3.68 billion during the first half of the fiscal year. With relatively better positions in internal and external economic activities, Bangladeshs account balance recorded a surplus of $1.704 billion in the last 2011-12 fiscal year.

22 FIFA bans 58 for China match-fixing

Zurich FIFA imposed worldwide football bans on 58 players and officials over a match-fixing and bribery scandal in China. The 58 had already been banned by the Chinese Football Association over match-fixing in the late 1990s and early 2000s following a series of trials, FIFA said. The 58 include two former heads of the Chinese FA, a World Cup referee and four former players in the Chinese national team, reports in the local media said. Of those banned, 25 received five-year sanctions and the remaining 33 life bans, FIFA said, without specifying who was handed which punishment.

SPORTS
Nadal breezes into quarters

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

India maintain lead in ICC ODI rankings

Chinese authorities have been keen to crack down on football corruption in a much publicised drive for reform over the last three years. Leading club Shanghai Shenhua, which fielded Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba this season, was stripped of its 2003 national title and fined last week following a match-fixing probe.

Steve McClaren quits as FC Twente coach

Acapulco Second seed Rafael Nadal shot into the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 tournament here Thursday, eliminating Argentine qualifier Martin Alund. Nadal met almost no resistance in the first set but had to save three break points in the second to gain a 6-0, 6-4 win. The Spaniard, who won the tournament in 2005, will now face Argentine World No.77 Leonardo Mayer, who knocked out Russias Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2, 6-2. It is Nadals third tournament after a seven-month layoff with a knee injury. He reached the final of the Chile Open before grabbing his 51st career title in Sao Paolo. Top seed David Ferrer, meanwhile, also had little trouble clearing the secondround hurdle as he blazed past Wayne Odesnik of the US 6-2, 6-1. Ferrer, the champion for the last three years, will play Italys 57th-ranked Paolo Lorenzi in the quarterfinals. Nicolas Almagro, seeded third, scraped past compatriot Tommy Robredo 6-4,

7-6(4) to book a quarterfinal encounter with eighth seed Horacio Zeballos of Argentina. The last quarterfinal pair features two unseeded players: Italys World No.43 Fabio Fognini and Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, ranked 66th in the world. The Acapulco tournament is a claycourt event. It offers a $1.2 million prize fund for men while for the women it is a lowly WTA international event offering prize money of $235,000.

Somdev beats Kunitsyn in Dubai first round

Dubai India have taken an outright lead on top of the ICC ODI rankings with 119 ratings points. With India and Australia not scheduled to play any ODIs before the April 1 cutoff date, fourth-placed South Africa are the only side that can push India and England down the order when they take on Pakistan in a five-ODI series from March 10. Englands 2-1 win in the three-match series against New Zealand have not only given them a perfect build-up to the ICC Champions Trophy which is just 100 days away, it has also kept them on course for finishing second in the ODI Championship Table at the April 1 cut-off date.

Englands come-from-behind series win means they have retained second place but have dropped two ratings points to lead third-ranked Australia by just one ratings point and fourth-ranked South Africa by five ratings points. The only way South Africa can leapfrog England and add another $75,000 to their account is by beating Pakistan 4-1 or better. If South Africa win 4-1, then the Proteas will join England on 117 ratings points but will be ranked above Alastair Cooks side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point. If South Africa make a clean sweep of the ODI series, then they will jump three places to claim top spot.

Another Olympic gold-winning wrestler returns medal in protest

The Hague Steve McClaren has quit FC Twente with immediate effect following disappointing results in this season, the Dutch football club said .The 51-yearold English coach handed in his contract which ran until 2014. McClaren had returned to Twente in January 2012. After a disappointing sixth place last season, Twente are currently running fifth. They lost 1-2 to SC Heerenveen,, Xinhua reports.After the defeat to Heerenveen the board of FC Twente and I tried to find a solution to the difficult period the team has been going through, McClaren said on the club s website. We talked about the expectations of the club, how European qualification was key each season and finishing in the top 4. Despite being joint top at the winter break and second four weeks ago, recent results and performances have seen criticism, protest and demonstration from both supporters and the media, he added. Saturdays result has seen further ad-

verse reactions and with two home games coming up we feel the team needs the support and backing from the supporters. I also needed assurances about my position both now and in the future which I know in the present situation is difficult, McClaren said. After much discussion and deliberation those assurances weren t forthcoming and we have agreed its in the best interest of the club that I leave. We agree the club is bigger than any one individual and Twente is too big in my heart to stand in the way of its progress.McClaren already coached Twente between 2008 and 2010 and in his last year he led the club to their first top league title. McClaren also worked as coach of Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough, VfL Wolfsburg and England His assistants Alfred Schreuder, Boudewijn Pahlplatz and Youri Mulder will provisionally take over his coaching job at Twente. A permanent successor might be appointed in due course.

Dubai Indias Somdev Devvarman beat Russian Igor Kunitsyn for the first time in four meetings when he easily won his first round at the Dubai Duty Free tennis championships in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 here. Devvarman, using his protected ranking as he is returning from an injury break, got a direct entry here and continued his good form to outclass the Russian, who is presently ranked 167 on the ATP charts, in 65 minutes. The Indian, who was out with an injury for most part of last year and is currently ranked 315, looked far more impressive than the Russian who in 2009 had his best ranking at 35. Somdev, whose best ranking was 62 two years ago, raced through the first set dropping just one game and with an early break he looked on a cruise in the second set, too. But the Russian broke back to tie two games all. Somdev was back in the drivers seat by breaking Kunitsyn again in the seventh game and with his steady hitting from the back court he clinched his next two service games. The Indian will next take on the winner of the match between fourth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro and Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the second round. Second-seeded Roger Federer had a tough first round match against Tunisian Malek Jaziri, dropping the first set before recovering to take the next two without breaking sweat, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2.

Makhachkala (Russia) Sydney Olympics gold medallist wrestler Sagid Murtazaliev has sent his gold medal back to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in protest at the sport being cut from the Summer Games. The IOCs executive board voted earlier this month to cut wrestling from the list of confirmed sports for the 2020 Olympics, and the sport must now battle seven candidate disciplines for the sole remaining slot. Russias Murtazaliev, who won heavyweight freestyle gold at Sydney 2000, said he was following the example of Bulgarian champion Valentin Yordanov, who sent back his Atlanta 1996 gold medal last week. The decision to return my Olympic medal was not easy for me, Murtazaliev said in a letter addressed to IOC president Jacques Rogge and obtained by RIA Novosti. But after much thinking, I decided anyway to follow the example of the great

Bulgarian wrestler Valentin Yordanov. I took this step in protest at the recommendation the IOC executive committee recently made to exclude wrestling from the Olympic programme. The final decision on the Olympic programme for the 2020 Games will be made by the IOC in Buenos Aires in September, along with the announcement of the host city. Wrestling has been included in various forms at every Olympics since 1904. In recent years, it has attracted scant spectator interest outside its stronghold countries and faced claims of corrupt refereeing at the Games. Wrestlings cause has brought together unlikely allies, with US and Iranian national Olympic officials among those to call for the sports reinstatement. Russia is a perennial power in Olympic wrestling, and President Vladimir Putin and the countrys national Olympic committee have both thrown their weight behind the sports reinstatement.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

SPORTS

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keeper Thibaut Courtois. After 29 minutes Costa and Falcao linked to perfection with Costa chasing down a ball down the left wing before reaching the goal-line. Falcao looked to be covered by the home defence, but his curling run took him onto the end of Costas low pass and he slid the ball past Beto to double Atleticos lead. The away goals rule meant Sevilla now needed four goals to qualify and credit to Unai emerys side who kept their heads up before Jesus Navas gave them a lifeline with a fine curling shot in off the post to make it 2-1 on the night. Knowing it was all or nothing, Emery introduced striker, Manu Del Moral as a second half substitute for Reyes and was almost rewarded straight away as Del Moral saw a powerful shot well saved by Courtois. It was just as exciting with Costa and Falcao missing chances to seal the tie, before Alvaro Negredo rose above the Atletico defence before heading a Navas cross wide when he looked certain to score. That was the end of the football for a while as tempers boiled over and the game was interrupted by a series of fouls, which ended with Sevillas Gary Medel sent off after totally losing control, with Costa, who in fairness had been provoking the greater part of the Sevilla team. Credit to Sevilla who finally equalized in injury time through Ivan Rakitic to make it 2-2 on the night, but there was still time for Geoffrey Kondogbia to see a red card for another incident with Costa. It was not the sort of thing you want to see on a football pitch, but it did reflect the intensity of the occasion.

Sharmila wins her first Hero golf title

Mumbai Sharmila Nicollet Thursday showcased her consistency to win the third leg of the Hero Womens Pro Golf tour at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club here. Sharmila, who staged a super comeback Wednesday to start as the overnight leader, finished her final round with a threeday total of 211, two shots ahead of Kolkata golfer Neha Tripathi. Sharmila, who started off with a birdie on the first hole followed by a bogey, played a par round till the 12th hole. Her consecutive bogeys on 13th and 14th holes followed by a birdie on 16th helped her finish the final round at one over 71. Neha, who was the only player Thursday to shoot a par round, finished as the runners-up to the tournament falling short by two shots from the winner. Her birdies on the first and 13th and two bogeys on the ninth and 14th helped her finish Round 3 at par 70 and a total score of 213. Veteran golfer, Smriti Mehra had another disappointing day as she carded three over 73 and a total of 216 to finish third. Smriti had double bogeys on the first and sixth and a bogey on the 18th with two birdies on second and seventh holes. Rani Sonti finished fourth with a final round score of four over 74 and a total of 222. Vani Kapoor finished fifth with a total score of 225 and Saaniya Sharma was placed sixth with 226. Leaderboard: Sharmila Nicollet - 221 (71, 69, 71) Neha Tripathi - 213 (75, 68, 70) Smriti Mehra - 216 (68, 75, 73) Rani Sonti - 222 (73, 75, 74) Vani Kapoor - 225 (78, 74, 73) Saaniya Sharma - 226 (78, 74, 74).

Atletico Madrid book Copa del Rey final spot

Madrid A storming first half show from Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa proved vital as his side assured a spot in the Copa del Rey final after a 2-2 draw at Sevilla. Atletico Madrid progressed into the final with a 4-3 aggregate win Wednesday, booking a Madrid derby between them and Real Madrid, Xinhua reports. Atletico went into the return leg of their semifinal away to Sevilla with a 2-1 lead from the first leg and knowing a win would see them take on their local rivals, who destroyed Barcelona in the Camp Nou Tuesday. The two sides took to the pitch in the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium with an atmo-

sphere that dignified the occasion and a rainstorm that added drama to the occasion, especially as a 1-0 win would have been enough to see the home side through to the final. That scenario didnt last for long, however, as Costa was allowed time and space outside of the Sevilla penalty area and was able to fire a low right foot shot past Sevilla goalkeeper, Beto, into the back of the net. On a wet and slick pitch, the pace of the game was fast and furious with neither side holding back in the tackle, but with Atletico sitting deep and then looking to link up Costa and Radamel Falcao on the break, the home side were unable to seriously threaten Atletico

Legendary table tennis duo return to form Chinas coaching staff

AIFF invites bid for 2 new I-League clubs

New Delhi The All India Football Federation (AIFF) Wednesday invited bids for two new clubs in the I-League. AIFF will conduct a meeting for interested agencies to discuss and solicit suggestions prior to finalising the request for proposal for formally inviting the bids. The meeting is scheduled March 5 at the Football House, Dwarka. The winning bidders shall be granted the right to own and operate a new football club for competing in the ILeague from the 2013 season and may also have the opportunity (if applicable and subject to qualification) to compete in the Asian Football Championship.

Beijing Almost a decade after they quit competitive play, the table tennis Grand Slam-winning Twin Stars of China, Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui, have come together to coach the national team. The sports governing body of China held a press conference Tuesday to finalise the appointment of Liu to be the mens head coach while Kong will take charge of the womens team, Xinhua reports. Liu was also appointed as the general head coach, a first in eight years. Taking the charge of an all-time leading squad which has been on top of the world for decades, Liu and Kong will have to prove their worth in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. My predecessor Shi Zhihao did an extraordinary job, said Kong, dubbed the Prince of Table Tennis during his playing days. Under Shis reign, the Chinese womens team pocketed all gold medals on offer in two Olympics, which set a high bar for me. No easy case for Liu, either, since the

mens team has been run under a commission without a general head coach for eight years. It will be very challenging, for sure, Liu said. The duo, however, hold far more soaring ambitions than lying on the record of merits. Im both confident and determined to create a new era of table tennis alongside with my buddy Kong Linghui in the coming years, said Liu, who first took his job as the mens national head coach in 2003 and successfully guarded it twice in the following years. during his reign, the mens team collected almost all but one Olympic and world titles. Like my buddy Liu Guoliang said, we are not just eyeing to win more gold medals, but going to make table tennis a more popular sport in China and elsewhere in the world, echoed Kong. Both now 37 years old, Liu and Kong had been always put on a par with each other in 1990s, not only for their equally glorious career as paddlers but their brotherhood. We were called up to the junior na-

tional team in the same year when we were 13, but two years earlier we had met each other in some national event, recalled Kong, a most popular paddler with Chinese supporters even years after he retired. Kong and I have always been a pack. In the past 26 years, weve been through a lot together, said Liu. When we were players, we trained together, played all kinds of matches together, sometime against each other and sometimes combined as a pair. For all those years, weve shared so many memories, joy and tears. In 1995, the two helped China claim the world crown and days later they squared off for the singles title. Just at that time, Kong claimed his first world championship title at 20 in Tianjin, but had to wait five years to bring in his Olympic gold medal in Sydney. Lius grand slam was completed in the 1999 world championships in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, as he won the final against younger teammate Ma Lin, though he said he performed just 70 percent of his top form as in 1996 when he took the Olympic gold and World Cup title. The two good friends parted their ways in 2003 when Liu, who was trusted by table tennis authorities and his mentors, made a brilliant triple jump from assistant coach to coach to the youngest head coach ever on the Chinese team, while tenacious Kong continued his playing career. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Kong made his third Olympic appearance, while Liu experienced his biggest test as newly combined Ma Lin and Chen Qi claimed the doubles gold but upbeat Wang Hao fell to South Korean Ryu Seung Min in the singles final. For the following years, Liu led the side to conquer all, including two clean sweeps in the 2008 Beijing Games on home soil and the most recent London Olympics, while Kong acted as a player/coach assisting Liu before he called it quits in late 2006 and turned a trainer to coach the womens side.

Henriques fined for breaching ICC Code of Conduct

Hyderabad Australia cricketer Moises Henriques has been fined 10 percent of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the fourth days play in the first cricket Test match against India which ended in Chennai Tuesday. Henriques was found to have breached Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel (the Code) which relates to breach of the ICCs Clothing and Equipment Regulations during an International Match. The debutant was found to have a manufacturers logo on the chin strap of his helmet in breach of the specific requirements of the ICCs Clothing and Equipment Regulations, said an ICC statement Wednesday. Henriques accepted the Level 1 charge and the sanction proposed by Chris Broad of the Elite Panel of Match Referees. The charge was brought by onfield umpires Marais Erasmus and Kumar Dharmasena, third umpire Vineet Kulkarni and fourth umpire Krishnaraj Srinath.

24 Simple look dominates at Milan Fashion Week

Rome Emporio Armani and Gianfranco Ferre unveiled designs during Milan Fashion Week characterized by a simplicity of form and colour as the style women will wear during the next fall-winter season. On the runway Emporio Armani made it clear that articles of mens clothing will be a must for women, above all jackets with sharp angles and dark, restrained colours. Emporio Armani will have women in the fall wearing a sophisticated blend of the jacket, floaty skirts to their feet that move with the breeze down the streets of the world, and whose details of gems and fringes create an elegant combination. Black was basic for Gianfranco Ferre, whose designs followed Emporio Armani on the Milan catwalk, with accents of cream white and chocolate brown. The structured Gianfrano Ferre designs often had an oriental look.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 03 Mar 2013

Form - IV (See Rule 8) 1. Place of publication Jalandhar 2. Periodicity of its publication Weekly (Every Sunday) 3. Printers Name Manu Sharma Nationality Indian Address 158/4 Central Town, Jalandhar, Punjab 4. Publishers Name Manu Sharma Nationality Indian Address 158/4 Central Town, Jalandhar, Punjab 5. Editors Name Manu Sharma Nationality Indian Address 158/4 Central Town, Jalandhar, Punjab 6. Names and addresses of individuals who own the newspaper and partners or shareholders holding More than one per cent of the total capital. Manu Sharma 158/4 Central Town, Jalandhar, Punjab, India I, Manu Sharma, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Date 03 March 2013 -sd Printer, Owner and Publisher: Manu Sharma, Editor: Manu Sharma, RNI Reg. No.: PUNMUL/2012/45041 Postal Reg. No. PB/JL-047/2013-15. Published at Central Town, Jalandhar Printed at: Tej Mohan Nagar Jalandhar