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WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013

JKENG/2012/41612 Vol. 2 No: 119

Legal processes should not impede economic growth, says Sibal

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Food grains minus Gutka

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Career Forum: Hospital Management

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News in Brief

Earthquake in Doda, Kishtwar

DODA: Fresh earthquakes were felt in Bhaderwah, Kishtwar and adjoining areas of erstwhile Doda district at 11pm on 14th, 1: 00 am and 1:30 am on 15th May The people came out of their houses due to fear. However, no loss or damage has been brought to notice till the last report.

Chief Secretaries J&K, Punjab discuss issues pertaining Rail bribery scam probe to be over in 3 months: CBI chief to Thein Dam, Shahpur Kandi Barrage project
J&K entitled to agreed water share: CS Punjab
riparian State. The Chief Secretary Punjab also reiterated that it does not abrogate the agreement which Punjab has made with the riparian States like J&K and Himachal Pradesh, adding that J&K is entitled to draw its due share of Ravi water. The meeting decided that Punjab Government as a confidence building measure would ensure that the irrigation requirement during the coming Kharief and Rabi seasons as per the Agreement is supplied to the State from river Ravi. It was also decided that the Punjab Government would nominate a Nodal officer who would ensure release of waters Contd. on page 2 NEW DELHI: The probe into the bribery scandal that led to resignation of Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is expected to be completed within three months, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha said on Tuesday. Ruling out that there was any pressure to go soft on the case, Sinha said the scandal was unearthed after his officers went about their investigations in a professional manner. "There was no pressure. It was a professional job done by our officers without any political considerations. So there was no case of being hard or soft on the case. "Everything was done keeping in mind corruption angle. After all huge amount of money was changing hands," Sinha said. The CBI Director refused to

First woman jawan found hanging

JALPAIGURI: Shanti Tigga, the Territorial Army's first woman jawan, was on Tuesday found hanging inside her cabin in a hospital in Jalpaiguri district where she was admitted a few days ago, police said. Tigga, who was attached with the 969 Railway Engineer Regiment of the Territorial Army, was found hanging with her 'gamchha' (traditional cotton towel) inside the cabin Contd. on page 2

NEW DELHI: Chief Secretary Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Mohammad Iqbal Khandey Tuesday held a meeting here with Chief Secretary Punjab, Mr. Rakesh Singh to discuss the issues pertaining to the Thein Dam and the proposed

Shahpur, Kandi Project. Detailed deliberations were held regarding the supply of due share of water to J&K from river Ravi as per the agreement. The Chief Secretary J&K raised several concerns and apprehensions with respect

to the supply of entitled share of water to J&K and asked the Punjab Government to address the issues arising out of the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act 2004. It was noted that the said Act does not apply to J&K being the

answer whether the agency was planning to summon Bansal for questioning. "Well I would not like to comment on this as the matter is under investigation. However, he said the agency was trying to complete "the investigations and chargesheet all accused within 90 days." This will prevent the arrested accused from getting a bail.

According to the law, there can be no automatic bail if the probe agency files a chargesheet within three months of the arrest of the accused. In this case, the CBI has arrested eight people including Vijay Singla, nephew of Bansal, and Mahesh Kumar, Member(Railway Board) who were held on May three. Others Contd. on page 2

Sanjay Dutt fears threat to life; surrender before jail Azad visits quake affected areas of Bhaderwah, Doda
Sanjay Dutt prefers jail surrender to court
MUMBAI Claiming threat to his life from fundamentalist groups and vested intersets Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt , convicted in the 1993 bomb blasts case,on Tuesday filed an application before special TADA Judge G A Sanap to allow him to to surrender before Yerwada jail,Pune instead of the special court in south Mumbai. Dutt, whose conviction under the Arms Act was upheld by the Supreme Court recently, is supposed to surrender on May 16.
Contd. on page 2

Inspects developmental works

DODA: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is on an extensive visit to the earthquake affected Doda district, on Tuesday visited quake affected areas of Bhaderwah, Ghat and Doda town along with Minister for R&B and Mechanical Engineering Abdul Majid Wani, to review the relief and rehabilitation measures. Speaking on the occasion, Azad underlined the need of adopting advanced earthquake engineering technology in construction works including government as well as private constructions in the region. This region is

NEW DELHI:The Ministry of Defence on Friday initiated steps to demonstrate its intent about changing sorry plight of India's defence industry.For replacing the Indian Air Force's ageing fleet of HS 748 Avros by 56 medium transport aircraft it sought request for proposals from eight foreign vendors for a deal of value about Rs 28,000 crore.The highlighting factor of which is the Contd. on page 2

To shore up India's defence FDI vital

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted in the 1993 bomb blasts case, on Tuesday told a TADA court that he was facing threat to life from fundamentalist groups and hence should be allowed to surrender before Yerwada jail instead of the special court here.

Dutt filed an application before special TADA Judge G A Sanap seeking permission to surrender before the Yerwada jail in Pune instead of giving himself up before the special court in south Mumbai. Dutt, whose conviction under the Arms Act was upheld Contd. on page 2

under seismic zone and the structures here must have the ability to sustain after earthquake exposures. He said that recent earthquake tells us to understand the gravity of the issue and adopt latest technology in the construction works so that loss of life and property could be minimized in any such natural calamity.

He said the structures which are made up of stiff and light weight material resists earthquake and are quite reliable and before going ahead with any construction plan the technical and professional advices must be taken. Azad said that best possible assistance and relief will be provided to the quake affect-

ed people in the region. He said assessment of damages of residential as well as government property is going on in the entire region by the teams deputed for conduct of survey at block level, tehsil and village level in the entire district. Azad said all the affected families will be provided Contd. on page 2

'Ensure total coverage of schools under WS, sanitation'

Dovetail schemes to ensure complete Settlement of boundary issue should Top NC, PDP leaders mulling to join Congress health cover of children: Omar Speculations are agog that a senior leader from ruling National be strategic objective: India
NEW DELHI India has responded to Chinese push on early settlement of contentious boundary dispute: , India on Tuesday responded by saying that it should be pursued as a "strategic objective" by the two countries. India also pressed the need to have "clarification and confirmation" on the differing perceptions of the Line of Actual Control, saying if there was any forward movement on the proposal "we stand ready on that". "Our conviction is that an early settlement of a boundary question will advance the basic interests of the two countries and we, therefore, feel that it should be pursued as strategic objective by both countries," Syed Akbaruddin, Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs, said . He was asked to react to the comments of Qin Gang, Spokesperson and DirectorGeneral of Information Department in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Currently visiting India, Qin had stressed for an urgent need to "redouble our efforts to push forward framework negotiations (for boundary settlement) Contd. on page 2 MAKSON TICKOO Conference and another from main opposition People's Democratic Party are mulling to join Congress. According to the political circles, former minister and senior National Conference leader Surjit Singh Slathia and PDP general secretary Balbir Singh are exploring the options for their entry into Congress party ahead of forthcoming Assembly polls. Both the leaders are learnt to be in constant touch with the Congress stalwarts, who matter in party affairs in Jammu Kashmir and a formal decisions on shifting of political affiliation by the duo may be announced soon. While these two leaders are contemplating to shift their loyalties following annoyance with their respective parties, the faction ridden Congress is trying to grasp the opportunity not for political gains ahead of polls but score over rival group within the party, sources explained. Surjit Singh Slathia is believed to be in touch with the faction headed by Union Minister for Health Ghulam Nabi Azad while the group having allegiance with PCC chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz is preparing Balbir Singh for his re-entry into Congress. Sources close to Slathia admit that the senior NC leader was extremely disappointed with the party following his ouster from the Cabinet during the recent reshuffle. Slathia has an impression Contd. on page 2

Governor reviews Yatra arrangements at Base Camps

SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday impressed upon the Education Department to ensure 100 percent coverage of schools under Drinking Water Supply (DWS) and sanitation facility adding that

focus should also be on dovetailing and combining health programmes to ensure complete health cover to the children. The Chief Minister said this while chairing a high level meeting to review the progress Contd. on page 2

Politics, a profitable job, not service?

ROHIT SINGH RANA Enquiry against the Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand for misusing official position to appoint some favorites in contravention to established law, is not a big deal now a days, as many politicians are indulging in such activities. So, for these politicians, it is not something out of blue. There is a deep method in their working and many contorted ways to seek benefits. The Deputy Chief Minister has been indicted, for his acts of commission and omission, when he was minister of Housing and Urban Development. It is not surprising for these to indulge in all sorts of practices, which are against law and established norms of propriety. The tragic part of the political system is that, when they get elected and swear by the Constitution of the country and of the State, as we have a separate Constitution also, they forget everything. The swearing in ceremony for such politicians is a direct and un-hindered path to loot and corruption. The law makers turn law breakers and what follows, is for anybody to see. In no time, big palatial bungalows come up, a fleet of sleek cars adorn the long drive way. Many servants are in attendance of the Sahib and the Memsahib. Their children assume an air of superiority and more the disregard for the law more is their status. It has become the litmus test for these politicians and their families to have scant regard for law, which enhances their larger than life status. After all, they are the saviors of common man, so they have to live two notches above the rest. This is the sordid and desolate story of politics today. As our State has a dream to become a welfare one, with such politicians around there is only scope for their welfare and for nobody else. Jammu and Kashmir has number of ministers, far exceeding the limit imposed upon by the law. And if we see at the growth of personal wealth of many of the ministers, it becomes self evident that they indulge in corruption, otherwise it is not possible to live a king size life style. The travesty is that no government is serious about eradication of corruption. Politics has now become a serious a vocation, it is a job, where there are huge benefits monetary or otherwise followed by post retirement benefits like pension etc. It is common sight to see even former ministers having security cover as well as government vehicles. The State is already number two corrupt in the country and if the trend remains the same at least we will have something to pride for -a number one position! Many ministers have traded charges against each other; Sham Lal Sharma and Taj Mohu-ddin are fighting bitterly to prove who is more corrupt, while many are silent and go on merrily their ways of amassing wealth beyond their known source of income. The chief minister, had with much gusto given a hope that corrupt in the official machinery will be removed but nothing has been done till date. Only list of corrupt officials is out but no action. Similarly, there will be no action on the tainted ministers, because it will upset the political apple cart. How shall the political parties again come to power if action on the corrupt is taken? Power is more important, it assures a regular supply of wealth and prestige. With such calculations in mind is there any redemption possible?

SRINAGAR: Mr. N. N. Vohra, Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, who is also the Chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board today visited the Yatra Base Camps at Baltal and Pahalgam and conducted an aerial survey of the entire Yatra route to review the snow situation and preparedness for making timely arrangements for the upcoming Shri Amarnathji

Yatra which will commence on 28th June, 2013. The Governor inspected the ongoing construction work of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) at the Baltal and Nunwan Yatra Base Camps and directed the concerned officials to complete it well before the commencement of the Yatra. He also inspected the treatment blocks being constructed for the treatment

Protocol is important, not duty!

Sir, Protocol is very important for our law makers. They are not ordinary people with usual flesh and blood. They suffer, if a lower seat is allotted to them. They cry in pain, if due protocol is not accorded to them. Have we not, the poor voters, stood all the day, in a long queue to elect these great men. When elected, their bodies turn sensitive and minds very feeble. So they have to be carried in a very careful way like handle with care, lest they break! Otherwise, how could three legislators from Kathua, boycott the passing out parade, of policemen as they were not accorded due protocol. After all they had to show to the fresh pass-outs, that how powerful the legislators are. They can boycott the very passing out parade of security men which provides them security cover. In the time of exigency, these very security men lay down their lives for the legislators' safety. But no, no, the protocol cannot be forgotten, it has to be accorded. The time is not far, when these law makers will ignore the voters too, for not offering them due protocol. With such law makers, the common man is not only bewildered but looks to the heavens and sighs-oh my fate! RANASAHIB

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STUDENT AGE WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013

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occasion.

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Review Meeting at Anantnag besides Principal Secretary to Governor and CEO, SASB, Mr. Navin K. Choudhary, was attended by DIG Anantnag, Mr. Vijay Kumar, DC Anantnag, Mr. Farooq Lone, SSP, Anantnag, Mr. Ramesh Jalla, CEO, PDA, Mr. Nissar Wani, Addl. CEO, SASB, Mr. P.P. Singh and concerned District officers of different departments. At Baltal, review meeting among others was attended by DC, Ganderbal, Mr. Sarmad Hafiz, SP. Ganderbal, Mr. Shahid Mehraj, General Manager, Works, SASB, Mr. R. K. Pandita and all concerned district officers. Earlier in the day, the Governor accompanied by Mr. Navin K. Choudhary, CEO, SASB undertook an aerial survey of the entire Yatra area including Holy Cave, Panjtarni, Mahagunus Top, Sheshnag and Chandanwari. While reviewing the snow situation, the Governor asked the CEO to coordinate the effort to ensure snow clearance at the earliest possible which will facilitate putting in place other Yatra arrangements in time. The Governor also asked the CEO to ensure close coordination with Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, to resolve any issue arising while making Yatra arrangements. Committee on Defence Expenditure was the first to point out the obsolescence of the ordnance factories and recommended the shutting down of five and letting the private sector handle items like clothing. Instead of shutting down, they are flourishing, including the premier Vehicle Factory Jabalpur which simply assembles Ashok Leyland Stallion and Tata LPTA 713 trucks.The performance of the Ordnance factories and Defence Public Sector Units (DPSUs) has been, to use a polite word, below par. According to a report of the Boston Consulting Group, the annual output per employee in the Ordnance Factories and the DPSU is of the order of Rs 15.4 lakh while the average across the manufacturing sector is Rs 30.40 lakh. The parliamentary Defence Service Estimates of 2012-13 show that despite this, Rs 556 crore had been allotted for overtime pay in the Ordnance factories' buJust how we have shortchanged our defence capabilities and allowed DPSUs to loot the exchequer is brought out by two figures. One reveals that build times for indigenous warships are unconscionably long. The Delhi class (6,500 tonnes) took 114 months to be built while equivalent ships take 2930 months in the U.S. and Japan. Delhi, the first in its class, may have involved a learning curve, but sadly, the follow on Mysore and Mumbai also took 117 and 106 months. The Shivalik class which were contracted for 60 months took 112 months.Another metric emerges from the fact that Indian-made Sukhoi 30 MKI costs Rs 80 crore per unit more than those imported from Russia. The fact we are tying up to design the fifth generation fighter with the Russians indicates that there was little or no learning process involved in the indigenous manufacture of the Su-30 by the HAL.In the past one year, we have seen two other aspects of the problem. A CBI probe has shown how the management of the Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) undermined the 1986 agreement with Tatra of the erstwhile Czechoslovakia for the supply of its T815 trucks. But instead of a projected 85 per cent indigenisation by 1991, we were left below 50 per cent in 2012.Evidence suggests that our DPSU managers have actually been going out of their way to serve the interests of the foreign "partner," rather than the PSU they head. This is not a disease confined to BEML alone; almost all DPSUs suffer from it.The roots of this could well lie in that other problem which was revealed by the second major scandal, relating to the import of 12 VVIP helicopters - corruption. The VVIP helicopter deal suggested that not a single major defence purchase arrangement had escaped corruption, excluding, perhaps, the US FMS arrangements.The formal thrust of the DPP has been incorporated in the "Buy", "Buy and Make" and "Make" acquisition strategies. As outlined by the DPP 2011, "Buy" would mean an outright purchase of equipment and could be "Buy (Indian)" or "Buy" (Global)'. "Indian" would mean Indian vendors only and "Global" would mean foreign as well as Indian vendors. "Buy" Indian' must have minimum 30 per cent indigenous content if the systems are being integrated by an Indian vendor."Buy & Make" would mean purchase from a foreign vendor followed by licensed production/indigenous manufacture in the country. "Buy & Make (Indian)" would mean purchase from an Indian vendor including an Indian company forming joint venture/establishing production arrangement with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) followed by licensed production in the country. "Buy & Make (Indian)" must have minimum 50 per cent indigenous content on a cost basis."Make" would include high technology complex systems to be designed, developed and produced indigenously. Note that the budget outlay for the "make" category which was Rs 89 crore last year has been cut to just Rs 1 crore in this year's budget.Included in this is the policy of direct offsets of 3050 per cent for any arms imports above a certain amount to promote the import of foreign technology. Expectations that this will bring high-tech into the country have been belied. No country parts with its core high technology. But what we can do, by taking bold steps like permitting 100 per cent FDI in defence industry, is to incentivise them to set up plants in India. This way you can ensure that key technology will not be denied to you at a crucial time, and Indian vendors would have the opportunity to get into the global supply chains of high-tech companies. The new steps taken by the MoD indicate that it is reluctantly moving in the right direction, but as of now it remains much too protective towards the government military industrial complex which has failed us so badly. The DPP changes have reordered the priorities for acquisition by making "Buy (Indian)" the number one option followed by "Buy and Make" (Indian), "Make" and so on. But by refusing to touch FDI rules, they will ensure that this policy will remain unworkable. The time has come to bluntly acknowledge that the continuing dysfunctionality of our defence research and development setup, our public sector defence industry and our purchase procedures, have resulted from its higher management by the Ministry of Defence. In all fairness, it is too much to expect the babus of the MoD to initiate a revolutionary change in their departments. This is the job of the political leadership. Lamentably, however, it has failed repeatedly to provide the kind of leadership that would give this country a vibrant defence industrial sector.

Chief Secretaries ...

from the Thein Dam for the Basantpur and Lakhanpur lift irrigation stations, downstream as per the requisition by the Chief Engineer Ravi Tawi irrigation J&K. The Nodal officer would tie-up with the Thein Dam Power Project Authorities in this regard. Regarding the Shahpur Kandi Barrage Project, it was decided that the officials from both the Governments would scrutiny and do the technical appraisal of the design to ascertain the viability of the exiting designs and present a report in this regard to their respective Governments by June this year. The meeting also discussed other issues including evacuation of the 20% power share from the Thein Dam project. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary Irrigation Department Punjab, Mr. Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary, finance Department Punjab, Mr. D. P Reddy, Secretary Power Punjab, Mr. Anirudh Tewari, Commissioner Secretary, PHE, Irrigation and FC, J&K, Dr. Pawan Kotwal, CMD, PSPCL, Mr. K.D Chudhari, Director Generation, PSPCL Mr. G.S Chhabra, Chief Engineer SPKD, Mr. Harinder Singh, Chief engineer, Ravi Tawi Irrigation J&K, Mr. Varinder Badyal, Chief Engineer, RSDC, Mr. S.K Nabh, and other senior officers.

ly possessing a 9 mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle, which were part of a consignment of weapons and explosives brought to India for coordinated serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured over 700 in 1993.

Dovetail schemes to ....

on Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Mdhymik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) here this afternoon. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand, Minister of State for Education, Feroz Ahmad Khan, Principal Secretary Planning, B. R. Sharma, Principal Secretary Finance, B. B. Vyas, Commissioner Secretary R&B, Tanveer Jahan, Secretary School Education, Hirdesh Kumar, various Secretaries, Heads of the Departments and senior officers. The Chief Minister gave nod to the constitution of State Education Advisory Board to give expert advice to Education Department on various issues pertaining to the growth and development of education in the State. He said that the targets fixed under the centrally sponsored flagship programmes should be made time bound and all concerned sensitized. The meeting was informed that during the current financial year 309 new primary schools will be opened while 138 primary schools upgraded to upper primary level. As many as 10 lakh children including all girls besides boys belonging to weaker sections of the society would be provided financial assistance of Rs. 400 each for purchase of school uniforms this year. An amount of Rs. 40.90 crore has been earmarked for the purpose. In addition, for free supply of text books to the poor students of 3rd to 8th standard Rs. 30.90 crore would be spent this year. The meeting was informed that under RMSA during the last four years as many as 526 middle schools have been upgraded to the level of high schools while 306 schools have been covered under strengthening programme and 281 high and higher secondary schools under drinking water and sanitation. As many as 17072 inservice teachers have been trained while 2330 high and higher secondary schools have been covered under Annual Schools Grant Scheme. The meeting discussed issues pertaining to 3rd party monitoring of school buildings constructed under SSA and other schemes as directed by the Chief Minister. It was stated that NABCONS has been engaged for this purpose. Construction of KGBVs, amendment in School Education Act, progress on construction of upgraded high school buildings, construction of model schools, construction of girls' hostels and status of mid-day meals were also discussed in the meeting. The Chief Minister received brief on the involvement of Panchayat Raj Institutions in the task of monitoring supply of mid-day meals to the students in the government schools. It was stated that more than 13392 primary schools and 9225 upper primary schools have been covered under the midday meal scheme during the year 2012-13. The total number of children covered under the scheme stands at 1050615. As many as 29663 cooks and helpers have been engaged under the scheme to provide meals to the students in government schools. The meeting also took stock of cadre management policy and other administrative matters. It was stated that Education Department has recently made large scale promotions to fill up the long pending vacancies of 6 Joint Directors, 27 Chief Education Officers, 82 Zonal Education Officers, 1807 Lecturers, 482 Head Masters and 6651 Masters.It was also stated that 581 vacancies of lecturers have been referred to Public Service Commission, 7995 vacancies of teachers and 598 ministerial staff have been referred to SSB for fast track recruitment. The meeting was also told that Committee for fixation of fee structure for Private Schools has also been constituted under the Chairmanship of Justice (Retd.) Mr. Bilal Nazki.

Sanjay Dutt prefers

However, the apex court had reduced to five years the sixyear jail t erm awarded to Dutt by a designated TADA court in 2006 while ruling out his release on probation, saying the "nature" of his offence was "serious". "The applicant (Dutt) is facing threat to life from fundamentalist groups and those with vested interests," the application said. It further claimed that the actor wanted to avoid a situation of the past when media persons and camera persons had chased his vehicle from Mumbai to Pune last time he was taken to jail after the TADA court convicted him. "The media vehicles had chased the applicant's vehicle for 120 kilometres in the past," the application said. erm awarded to Dutt by a designated TADA court in 2006 while ruling out his release on probation, saying the "nature" of his offence was "serious". Judge Sanap today asked the prosecuting agency CBI to file a reply and posted the hearing on Dutt's plea tomorrow. Public prosecutor Deepak Salvi appeared for the Government and CBI. Dutt filed the application in the TADA court, hours after the Supreme Court refused to grant the actor additional time to surrender for undergoing the remaining 42 months jail term in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. The apex court was hearing a petition filed by a film producer, who sought time for Dutt to complete his underproduction films. On May 10, the apex court had dismissed Dutt's plea seeking review of its judgement on his conviction and five-year jail term. 53year-old Dutt was earlier granted four weeks more time to surrender to undergo the remaining jail term. The Supreme Court, on March 21, had upheld his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, which it said was engineered by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and others with the involvement of Pakistan's ISI. However, the apex court had reduced to five years the sixyear jail term awarded to Dutt by a designated TADA court in 2006 while ruling out his release on probation, saying the "nature" of his offence was "serious". Dutt was convicted by the TADA court for illegally possessing a 9 mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle, which were part of a consignment of weapons and explosives brought to India for coordinated serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured over 700 in 1993.

Rail bribery ...

arrested included alleged middlemen Sandeep Goel and Narayanrao Manjunath, Delhibased resident Rahul Yadav and two courier boys -Dharmendra Kumar and Vivek Kumar. Ajay Garg, close aide of Singla, surrendered before a local court here on May seven. Singla was caught in Chandigarh while receiving a bribe of Rs 90 lakh sent through the courier boys on May four as part of a promised amount for shifting Kumar as Member (Electrical) of the railway Board.

very very close to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, conspired for his ouster from the ministry and in the prevailing situations, it was almost impossible for him to get a significant position either in Government or NC, sources added. Similarly, PDP general secretary Balbir Singh is also learnt to be angry with the Muftis (Mufti Mohd Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba Mufti) for allegedly ignoring him during the selection of party candidate for the MLC elections. While both these leaders are looking for their `rehabilitation', rival Congress factions are trying to use the duo for settling score against each other. By taking Slathia into the party folds, Azad faction is planning to deprive Soz loyalist Manjit Singh of the party mandate from Vijaypur Assembly constituency. Similarly Soz camp is contemplating to weaken die hard Azad loyalist Dr Manohar Lal, Minister of State for Cooperative, at his home constituency Billawar, sources explained. Pertinent to mention that Surjit Singh Slathia is representing Vijaypur constituency in the State Assembly while Balbir Singh belongs to Billawar from where he was elected MLA in 1996. It is not certain whether the possible entry of these two Rajput leaders will help Congress but one thing is very sure that factionalism in the party is going to further intensify with the development.

Settlement of ...
so that we can reach a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution at an early date". Significantly, the remarks come in the backdrop of recent Chinese incursion in Ladakh which had prompted many commentators to see it as a change of track by China which could be pushing for a faster settlement of the contentious boundary issue. Noting that the issue has been discussed at Special Representative-level who have held 15 rounds of talks so far, Akbaruddin said "they have completed the first step they have arrived at political parameters and guiding principles for the resolution of the IndiaChina boundary question. "Now, they are in discussions on the second phase which is related to the framework for the resolution of the boundary question." He also said "India is committed to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question consultations." Reiterating India's proposal of having clarification and confirmation on LAC in the IndiaChina border areas pending the final settlement, Akbaruddin said "if there are attempts to move that forward, we stand ready on that because it was our proposal at that stage." Noting that in the agreements done in 1993 and 1996 between India and China on the issue of LAC, there were clarification on the differing perceptions on LAC and there were exchanges on it, the sources said that somehow in later years, this discussion went off the table from Chinese side, probably because there was a sense that it may be taken as default boundary. "There is a need to revive this particular subject to prevent incident of this nature. Clarifications we really seek is imperative and is required. (Otherwise) This (Depsang incursion) kind of incidents could recur. This is something we would certainly flag," sources said. Asked if the boundary issue will figure during talks between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said all bilateral, regional and international issues will be discussed. Li will arrive here on 19 May and will also visit Mumbai, where he will have attend a business meet.

Sanjay Dutt ...

by the Supreme Court recently, is supposed to surrender on May 16. However, the apex court had reduced to five years the six-year jail term awarded to Dutt by a designated TADA court in 2006 while ruling out his release on probation, saying the "nature" of his offence was "serious". "The applicant (Dutt) is facing threat to life from fundamentalist groups and those with vested interests," the application said. It further claimed that the actor wanted to avoid a situation of the past when media persons and camera persons had chased his vehicle from Mumbai to Pune last time he was taken to jail after the TADA court convicted him. "The media vehicles had chased the applicant's vehicle for 120 kilometres in the past," the application said. Judge Sanap today asked the prosecuting agency CBI to file a reply and posted the hearing on Dutt's plea tomorrow. Public prosecutor Deepak Salvi appeared for the Government and CBI. Dutt filed the application in the TADA court, hours after the Supreme Court refused to grant the actor additional time to surrender for undergoing the remaining 42 months jail term in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. The apex court was hearing a petition filed by a film producer, who sought time for Dutt to complete his underproduction films. On May 10, the apex court had dismissed Dutt's plea seeking review of its judgement on his conviction and five-year jail term. 53year-old Dutt was earlier granted four weeks more time to surrender to undergo the remaining jail term. The Supreme Court, on March 21, had upheld his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, which it said was engineered by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and others with the involvement of Pakistan's ISI. However, the apex court had reduced to five years the sixyear jail term awarded to Dutt by a designated TADA court in 2006 while ruling out his release on probation, saying the "nature" of his offence was "serious". Dutt was convicted by the TADA court for illegal-

Azad visits quake ...

relief and help by the Government so that they will get rehabilitated, for which coordinated efforts are being made by the State as well as Central Government. He also said that a team of National Disaster Management Authority New Delhi (NDMA) is also on job to assess the extent of damage in residential as well as government buildings. Azad also inspected various ongoing developmental works in Bhaderwah and directed the concerned executing agencies to expedite the pace of work for timely completion. The Union Minister also convened a meeting of officers in Bhaderwah and directed the District Administration to ensure coverage of all the affected people in the survey report so that clear picture goes to the government and the relief and assistance reaches to the deserving affected population. A large number of people met the Union Minister in Ghat, Doda and Bhaderwah blocks and apprised him of the damages caused to their houses by the earthquake. Later, he visited Government Schools in Ghat, Doda and Bhaderwah and assessed the damages. MLC, Naresh Kumar Gupta, DDC, Doda, Mubarak Singh and SDM Bhaderwah Dr. R.K Bharti were also present on the

Governor reviews ...

during entire summer due to the Yatra and the tourist season, a Project Report for the identification and development of suitable garbage disposal sites near Pahalgam and Sonamarg has been prepared and the necessary clearance in this regard is being obtained.

Top NC, ...

that another Rajput leader in the party, who is considered

While reviewing the arrangements for providing medical facilities to the pilgrims, the Governor impressed upon the Chief Medical Officers of Anantnag and Ganderbal districts to set up medical camps with adequate manpower, equipments and medicines. He also directed that each medical centre should have proper toilet facilities as well as water supply connections. He asked both the Deputy Commissioners to ensure effective coordination in this regard. The Governor impressed upon the PHE department to make suitable projects to lay underground water supply facility at the Base Camp locations to avoid unnecessary expenditure being incurred every year for bringing water supply pipes and transporting them back after every Yatra. The PHE officials informed that underground water supply pipe is being laid at the Baltal Base Camp and for other camp locations a suitable Project Report would be prepared. The PDD officials informed that while electricity supply has been restored upto Neelgrath and Chandanwari, the same would be done upto Domel in one week's time. The power supply at other Camp locations would be operational by 10th June, 2013 positively. The Governor asked the PDD officials to make sure that adequate diesel supply for the Generator sets at Holy Cave, Panjtarni and Sheshnag is ensured in order to have uninterrupted telecom facilities. The Governor asked Deputy Commissioners of Anantnag and Ganderbal to make sure that the requisite permission for the setting up of tents and shops are granted to deserving eligible persons from the local areas as per the laid down guidelines, in a transparent manner. He asked the Deputy Commissioners to make sure that Lay Out Plans prepared for all the Camp locations are strictly adhered to and permissions are granted accordingly. While marking the Lay Out Plans on the ground, adequate fire gaps must also be ensured and the quality of tents must be examined before granting permission, stressed the Governor. The Governor stressed on the Police Authorities of the two districts to ensure that all regulatory measures are undertaken to ensure that only registered Yatris are able to cross the Access Control Gates at Chandanwari and Baltal. He also stressed that under no circumstances Yatris should be allowed to move beyond the Access Control Gates after the cut-off time fixed for the day. He also stressed the need for proper traffic management and directed the traffic officers to ensure proper parking of vehicles on the road leading to Pahalgam and Chandanwari and appropriate traffic management at Baltal Base Camp by way of making the alternate route from Baltal to Neelgrath functional for one way traffic. The Governor has also directed Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir to coordinate with Army authorities to make shifting of Baltal Helipad to Neelgrath possible with effect from Yatra 2014. This move will help decongest Baltal Base Camp. The Governor also enquired about provision of shelter sheds in the Yatra area and was informed that Tourism department has placed order for procurement of thirty shelter sheds which will be installed well before the Yatra commences. The Governor directed that all these shelter sheds which could prove immensely useful in case of disaster or bad weather condition, should be having adequate toilet and water supply facilities in the vicinity. The CAPD officials informed the Governor that adequate supply arrangements have been made for the coming Yatra. However, the question of providing subsidized ration and gas cylinders need to be decided by the State Government with the approval of concerned Union Ministry. The Governor asked the CEO to work out the requirements and immediately take up with the concerned Central Ministry to early resolve this issue. The

First woman ...

of the Alipurduar Railway Hospital. She was hospitalised last week after she had allegedly been abducted by unknown persons and left tied to a post for an entire night near Chalsa. The 37-year-old woman, who was posted as a pointsman at Chalsa station in the district, was allegedly abducted after her duties in the evening of May 11, police said. She was found blindfolded and tied to a post near railway tracks, and rescued next morning. She had said that she was not physically harmed by the 'kidnappers'. Tigga had joined the Railways in 2005 on compassionate ground after her husband died. She then took tests to join the Railway Engineer Regiment of the Territorial Army and earned the distinction in 2011.

Now Salahuddin turns to Nawaz to solve K-issue

To shore ...
state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is kept awaqy from it. The deal involves offthe-shelf purchase of 16 aircraft with the balance to be made in a facility in India established by the foreign vendor and an Indian private sector partner of its choice.This is the first time in recent decades that the government has consciously chosen to open up a military industrial contract to the private sector and it comes hard on the heels of the Ministry's April 20 amendation to its defence procurement procedure (DPP). Yet, these are only tiny steps in the right direction. What we need are giant strides that will ensure that the next cycle of modernisation too - it will begin roughly in the mid-2020s - is not based overwhelmingly on imports."Tweaking" procedures, as the MoD is now doing, is not going to achieve this. It will take nothing less than a drastic makeover, involving a transformation of the management of the ministry, as well as dismantling some parts of the militaryindustrial setup, to make way for more efficacious alternatives. In the mid-1990s, a committee headed by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said it would increase the indigenous content of weaponry from 30 to 70 per cent by 2005. But in 2013, we are still importing 70 per cent. We are manufacturing high-end products like the SU 30 MKI fighters, Brahmos missiles and Scorpene subs, but these are licence productions of foreign designed weapons, and even here we know that key assemblies will be imported till the very end of the programme.While other sectors of the manufacturing industry in the country, notably automobiles, have become world class sectors, the record of our government-run arms industry which employs 1.5 million people, remains one of failure and disappointment. In 1991, the Arun Singh

SRINAGAR:, Hizbul Mujahideen supreme commander Syed Salahuddin has now turned to would be Prime Minister of Pakistan to solve the Kashmir issue. He hoped that Nawaz Sharief besides taking Pakistan out from the current gloomy era will show his keenness to address the long pending issue of Kashmir. In a press statement t, Syed Salahuddin lamented that Kashmir issue was not made core issue during elections that raised many eyebrows. "We hope now that Nawaz Sharief will take all possible measures to address Kashmir issue. It is in the interest of Pakistan to settle down Kashmir issue as per the aspirations of people of Kashmir," the statement reads. "Pakistan is basic party to the dispute and hence duty bound, morally, legally and constitutionally, to extend concrete support to the Kashmiris. By ignoring this important issue from past so many years, freedom struggle in Kashmir received a setback. Time has come that Pakistan give prime importance to Kashmir issue and don't put in cold storage" Salahuddin said. Salahuddin urged Nawaz Sharief to highlight Kashmir issue as an issue of national importance and pay keen attention towards this issue."This will send a good message to the Kashmiri people that we stand by you in your just struggle," he said. He reiterated that unless India gives up its obduracy and agrees to resolve Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiris, the trade with this country is useless. He said it is the moral responsibility of Pakistan to highlight the wrongdoings of India in Kashmir on International level. "All but one million Indian Army personnel are stationed in Kashmir to suppress the sentiments of Kashmiri people. Our mothers and sisters are not safe and Pakistan must act to relieve people of Kashmir from all miseries," the statement reads

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STUDENT AGE WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013

STATE

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Bazaz urges Indian and Pakistan to carry forward peace process
SRINAGAR, MAY 14: Describing the victory of Nawaz Sharief in Pakistan as a boost morale for peace in the subcontinent,Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Forum President Pandit Bhushan Bazaz Tuesday hoped that change in guard in Pakistan would help in the restoration of peace and friendship between India and Pakistan and both the countries would resolve Kashmir issue amicably. He said he hoped that Prime Miniter Manmohan Singh would pick up the thread from where it was left by Sharif and then Pervez Musharraf deposed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 before Sharif in a coup. "Every Kashmiri hopes he (Sharif) would carry forward the process of restoring peace and friendship with India and work for resolving the Kashmir issue," Bazaz said. Bhushan Bazaz also urged the Indian PM to extend a hand of friendship to Sharif to resolve all outstanding issues, including those pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir in the same manner as Vajpayee had, first with Sharif, and then with Parvez Musharraf.

DDC suspends Industrialization imperative for Revenue, PDD officials socio-economic emancipation: Kichloo
REASI, MAY 14: District Development Commissioner, Reasi, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, today placed under suspension three officers and officials of Revenue and Power Development Department. Assistant Executive Engineer, PDD, Chamail Singh, was placed under suspension for remaining absent from station frequently. The Executive Engineer EM&RE has been asked to make alternate arrangements so that the power supply is not affected in Mahore. Besides, Shakeel Hussain, Junior Assistant and Mohd Hafeez, orderly of Tehsil office Mahore have been suspended for fraudulently drawing an amount of Rs. 40,000 from the account of Tehsildar Mahore Mohammed Sayeed when the later had proceeded on leave for a day.

Inspects I/Es of Kathua, Ghati, Samba

MP takes stock of people's grievances

KATHUA, MAY 14: Member Parliament, Ch. Lal Singh, convened
a public meeting to take stock of people's grievances in Kathua today. Former Legislator, Basohli, Assistant Commissioner (Rev), Kathua, Superintendent Engineer PDD besides Executive Engineer, PHE, Assistant Director CAPD, DEPO Kathua, sarpanchs, panchs and locals were present in the meeting. On the occasion, deputations from various panchayats like Soula, Tridwan, Hatli, Spalwan highlighted their problems and demands including new ration cards to BPL families besides supply of full ration quota to them, irregular sugar supply, additional ration depot to cater to large area of the panchayat, regular supply of ration. Besides, Hote Panchayat members demanded early completion of work on Dug Wells while the people of Palail panchayat demanded early completion of water supply scheme. The Sowla deputation demanded houses for the needy people under Indira Awaas Yojana( IAY) while Sarpanch Tridwan projected the demand of mini dugwell.The MP said the government is committed to strengthen the panchayats for economic and social development of rural areas. He appealed the people to avail maximum benefit from centrally sponsored schemes like MGNREGA, which not only provides employment but also accelerates development of rural areas. Responding to the demands and problems projected by the people, the MP directed the officers of concerned departments to take up all these issues at the appropriate level for redressal.

VC inspects Railhead Complex, Panchvati apartments

JDA demolishes 10 unauthorized structures, lifts material
JAMMU, MAY 14: Vice Chairman, Jammu Development Authority, Satesh Nehru, along with team of senior officers of JDA comprising Superintending Engineer, Chief Town Planner, Director Land Management, Executive Engineer, Div. I, Tehsildar, and Chief Khilafwarzi Officer visited Railhead Complex and Panchvati apartments and enquired about the problems being faced by the allottees. A delegation of allottees of Panchvati Apartments met the Vice Chairman and briefed their grievances like registration of in house society, providing of society office room, security guard, changing room for security guards/workers, sanitation of water tanks, installation of water pump motors etc. The VC assured them full cooperation in meeting their genuine demands well in time and directed the engineering wing to submit the estimation of work cost at the earliest. The VC also assured the delegation that the matter for freehold rights of the flats will be discussed with Board of Directors of JDA in coming board meeting. He directed the Director Land Management/ Chief Town Planner, JDA to submit the proposal for use of land adjoining Udhyog Bhawan and Postal Department at Railhead complex so that the same could be put to auction. Meanwhile, as part of its anti-encroachment drive, the Jammu Development Authority today removed un-authorised structure at Rajinder Nagar Housing colony Phase -I, Jammu. The demolition operation was conducted by the enforcement wing of Jammu Development Authority which demolished 10 unauthorized structures, lifted the kabadi materials from plot no. 259-271 from JDA Housing Colony at Rajinder Nagar Phase-I. The land was under encroachment by a long time and now has been retrieved.

KATHUA, MAY 14: Minister of State for Industries and Commerce, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo has called for optimum exploitation of vast industrial potential in the State to give boost to economic and employment activities in a big way. Speaking to a gathering of industrialists and officers of Industries Commerce Department, after switching on power supply to the IID, Kathua, the Minister said that industrialization was imperative for socio-economic emancipation in view of the global race and competition in the free economic world. He asked the officers of Industries and Commerce Department to put in every effort for entrepreneurship development in the State. Earlier, there was no power supply to the IID and the existing industrial units were running of diesel generators, which was not a viable proportion. Kichloo presented a cheque amounting to Rs. 1.20 crore to Power Development Department for providing power supply to this Industrial Estates (IEs) being maintained by the Small Scale Industrial Corporation (SICOP). The District Development Commissioner, Kathua Jatinder Singh, Managing Director, SICOP, R. L Tickoo, Managing Director, SIDCO, M. Mauzam, M.D, JKI, Javed Iqbal, Joint Director, Industries and Commerce, Jammu and General Manager, DIC, S. Amarjit Singh and concerned officers accompanied the Minister. The Unit Holders expresses their gratitude to the Minister for meeting the

Man lost his life while rescuing drowning boy

SRINAGAR, MAY 14: A labor lost his own life while trying to rescue a drowning boy in South Kashmir's Lalipora, Malapora area of Qazigund,Islamabad. According to reports, few labours including a 14 years old boy were carrying logs across a Nallah Sindhran at Lalipora, Malapora. Due to lack of any bridge there, labours were busy in taking logs from one end to another by wading in the said Nallah. Eyewitnesses told that the boy Moahmmad Ashraf Bhat son of Mohammad Yousf resident of Banimohalla, Kulgam carrying a log was swept away by flowing waters and suddenly to his rescue, a labour Fayaz Ahmed Bhat son of Mohammad Ramzan Bhat jumped into the Nallah. Though, he succeeded to save the boy but was himself carried away by speedy waters. Scores of people including cops rushed to the spot and after an hour, his body was fished out from the Nallah. "We rushed Fayaz to hospital, however the doctors declared him brought dead," a police official told People of the area alleged that from last 4 years a bridge over this Nallah is under construction. However according to people the contractor Mashooq Ahmed Parray from Sadoora, Islamabad works for few days in a month and then never turns up. People appealed the government to construct the bridge as early as possible in order to avoid such mishaps in future.

PSU cement plant to be completed by July-Kichloo

JAMMU, MAY 14: Minister for Industries and Commerce, Sajad Ahmed Kichloo, on Tuesday inspected the progress on Rs.27 crore clinker grinding-cum-packing unit at Samba being installed by Jammu and Kashmir Cements Limited (JKCL), a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). The Minister took stock of the progress achieved, so far, in installation of the project and visited all sections of the plant. The Managing Director, JKCL, R K Razdan, informed the Minister that the plant will produce 300 tonnes of cement per day and will long pending demand regarding power supply to the industrial estate. The Minister also inspected Industrial Estates, Ghati which is spread over an area of 3500 kanals of land and is maintained and meet the requirement of government departments as well as private market in Jammu province. The Minister enjoined upon the General Manager, Atul Sharma and Plant Engineer of JKCL to complete the project by July 2013. He expressed satisfaction over the progress on the project besides appreciating the quality work undertaken by JKCL. The Minister was accompanied by Managing Director, J&K SICOP, Managing Director, JKI, Managing Director SIDCO and other district authorities. industrial estate. Kichloo inspected the upcoming cement plant at Samba. He also addressed a gathering of political and social activities at Hira Nagar.

IED diffused in North Kashmir

SRINAGAR, MAY 14: Army and Police in a joint effort diffused an IED pitched at Khumriyal-Lolab road in North Kashmir's Kupwara district on Tuesday afternoon. Police sources told that suspected militants had planted 6 Kg explosive content alongside the road which was detected by Army patrolling party. Both police and Army cordoned off the area while the Bomb Disposal Squad diffused instantly. "The IED was planted at Lolab-Khumriyal road. It took more than three hours in diffusing it," a police official told. The traffic came to stand still for hours due to the presence of IED on the road.

developed by SICOP. The estate is well developed and ready for allotment of industrial plot to the entrepreneurs. He asked the concerned officers to focus on developing green belts in and around the

Taj inaugurates Colour Doppler, upgraded wards in SMGS

JAMMU, MAY 14
Minister for Medical Education, Youth Services and Sport, Taj Mohi-ud-din, today inaugurated Colour Doppler Machine and upgraded wards of Obstetrics and Gynaecology department in Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh Hospital (SMGS), Jammu. The Minister inspected various other wards and renovated toilet complex in the hospital and appealed the patients and their attendants to help the administration in proper sanitation and maintenance of these utilities. He also took stock of various development works done in the hospital during the year 201213 and expressed satisfaction over the progress. He directed the Executive Engineers Civil and Mechanical wings to complete the pending works in the hospital within stipulated time frame. He directed for regular cleaning and maintenance of wash rooms and toilets of the hospital. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the newly installed Colour Doppler Machine and upgraded wards will further add to healthcare facilities for the patients. He asked the concerned to ensure proper functioning and maintenance of these vital services. Dr. Shashi Gupta, Officiating Principal/Dean, Govt. Medical College, Jammu, Dr. Ghanshyam Gupta, HOD Radiology, Dr. Vipin Gupta, HOD Dematology, Dr. Rekha Harish, HOD Paediatrics, Dr. Indu Koul, Acting Head of

Mega Kissan Mela held at Baramulla

Introduction of Agri- techniques supports farmers to achieve self-sufficiency: Mir

BARAMULLA: Minister for Agriculture, Mr Ghulam Hassan Mir today said that introduction of agri-techniques in farm sector is helping the farmers to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency in agriculture and Horticulture produce. The Minister was addressing a Mega Kissan Mela this morning here. Minister for Horticulture, Mr Raman Bhalla, Minister of state for cooperatives, Dr Manhor lal Sharma, Minister of state for Agriculture, Nazir Ahmad Gurezi and MLA, Javid Ahmed Dar also spoke on the occasion. Saying that farmers of the state are showing enthusiasm in using various agri -techniques, Mr Mir said that agriculture ministry has launched various initiatives which include supply of quality seeds, fertiliser and its timely distribution, introduction of farm machinery, Hybrid seeds and other agriculture inputs. He said that "with these initiatives, the progressive farmers across the state are now taking the benefits of the schemes which in turn strengthen their economy adding that it has also led to galvanising common farming community to adopt latest Agri techniques. The Minister said that from last three years, farm machinery melas and kissan melas are being conducted in every nook and corner of the state with the aim to facilitate the farmers at their door step besides being informed about latest technical know how to improve productivity in agriculture and allied sectors. He said that immense positive response is coming from the farmers urging the government to hold many such melas in their respective areas so that they also get benefited. Mr Mir said that direction has already been passed to SKUAST Kashmir & Jammu to work with close coordination with both the directorates of agriculture, Director Extension for introduction of disease free varieties as per the geographical conditions of three regions of the state. He lauded the role of SKUAST-K for successful introduction of new variety of Basmati Rice in Budgam district. With reference to cultivation of traditional varieties of rice, Rajmash and other crops on commercial lines, the Minister said that the SKUAST-K has already launched a pilot project for Mushki Buduji in kokernag and the department is mulling to cultivate the traditional varieties in bigger way in the state as these varieties have tremendous demand nationally and internationally. In tune with the latest trend of using organic agricultural farming considered eco and health friendly, the Minister said that Jammu and Kashmir is also marching towards organic farming from last couple of years. He said that with each passing day the department is bringing more and more area under organic farming for which the department also provides incentives to the farmers. Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Horticulture, Mr Raman Bhalla said that Horticulture is primary source for economic stability of growers of the state adding that the thrust area for the department is to setup post harvesting projects across the state to provide all year market for their produce. Mr Bhalla said that in this direction government is providing huge subsidy to the entrepreneurs who want to set up these projects. He called upon the educated youth to come forward and grab these opportunities and assured them that department would provide all possible support to them for the success of their ventures. Minister of state for Cooperatives, Dr Manohar Lal said that the main role JKFED is to provide quality fertiliser to the farming community through their cooperative societies. He said that every step is being taken to streamline the fertilizer distribution through cooperatives. Minster of state for Animal and Sheep Husbandry, Nazir Ahmad Gurezi called upon the farming community to avail the benefits of Government schemes and establish dairy, sheep and poultry units to improve their socio-economic profile. He said the state still imports milk, meat from the neighbouring states and time has come that youth of the state establish such units in their respective areas to cater to the local demands. Among others Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-K, Dr. Tej Pertap, Director Agriculture, Kashmir, Director Command Area, Director Horticulture, Kashmir, Director Sericulture, Director Animal & Sheep Husbandry, MD Agro Industries and other senior officers of Agriculture were present on the occasion.

DDC inaugurates 3-day Moungri mela

UDHAMPUR, MAY 14: The first day of religious three day Moungri mela, which commenced here today, witnessed an overwhelming participation of people from various parts of the region at Sar Dabber (Moungri) in Panchari block of district Udhampur. The Mela was inaugurated by District Development Commissioner, Udhampur, Yasha Mudgal. Among others, Ms. Deepti Uppal, IAS Probationer, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Surat Singh, SP Udhampur, Benam Tosh, Joint Director Planning, Rakesh Jamwal, Dy Controller Civil Defence, Bodh Raj, Mela Officer, Sanjeev Goswami, Chairman Mela Committee, Advocate Swatantra Dev Kotwal, District Heads of various departments were present on the occasion. People from Bhamag, Panchari, Udhampur, Chenani, Ramnagar of Udhampur District and Jammu come here every year to celebrate the mela besides paying obeisance to Bhagwan Shiv in the a natural Shiva-Parvati Cave. While greeting the people on the occasion, the DDC said that such festivals not only fulfill our religious aspirations and spiritual bliss but people hailing from different areas get a chance to interact and share their experiences and joys. The DDC had a round of stalls installed by various departments for general awareness among people about the schemes of different departments. She called upon the officers to put in sincere and dedicated efforts to make the general public aware about the different Central and State Government schemes made especially for the uplift of ruralities. Later, she paid obeisance at the holy Shiv Parvati Cave and prayed for peace and prosperity. The district administration has made adequate arrangements of security, transport, medicare, drinking water and power supply during the mela. The Youth Services and Sports Department Udhampur has organised rural sports and cultural activities with the involvement of school students of the area.

Obst. & Gynaecology Department, Reva Gupta, Administrator, Associated Hospitals/GMC, Jammu, Dr. Dara Singh, Medical Superintendent, SMGS Hospital, Jammu Faculty members and Casualty Medical Officers, SMGS Hospital, Jammu were present during the visit of the Minister. Later, the Minister convened a meeting to review the functioning of Government Medical College, Jammu and its associated Hospitals. Addressing the meeting, the Minister directed the Principal GMC to ensure that all the diagnostic equipments like MRI, USG, X-Ray, CT Scan

etc will remain functional for convenience of the patients, adding that any technical or instrumental problem in these important machines can cause inconvenience to the patients. During the meeting, threadbare discussion was held on various issues like status of investigation of missing new born babies from SMGS, operationalization of Modular Operation Theatres in GMC Jammu, Up-gradation of OPD Blocks at Medical College Hospital, Jammu, Procurement of Generic Drugs for consumption in Medical College and Associated hospitals stores and status of life saving drugs in emergency wing and wards.

The other issues discussed were status of drugs and other material lifted from stores for lab analysis, timely utilization of funds both Plan and Non Plan, status of handling over of toilets to Sulabh International, Establishment of common ICU at SMGS Hospital, Jammu, construction of staff quarters, provision of Air Conditioned Ambulances for patients, etc. The Minister asked the hospital dispensation to ensure a strong security network in the hospital so that no untoward incident, like missing of new born babies, happens in this prestigious institute as this is not only an official duty but a moral responsibility as well.

Government promoting renewable energy sources to meet energy requirements: Feroz

Rs 6.77 cr SDH Magam building to be completed soon: Shabir
MAGAM, MAY 14: The Minister of State for Science and Technology and Information Technology Feroz Ahmad Khan along with the Minister of State for Health Shabir Ahmad Khan today inaugurated a Solar Power Plant (SPP) at Sub District Hospital, Magam, today Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the 15 KV Solar Power Plant has been constructed by the Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) of the Science and Technology Department at an estimated cost of Rs. 40 lakh which will augment the power requirement of the Hospital including the emergency sections round the clock. The Minister said that the JAKEDA is the Nodal Agency for promotion of New and Renewable sources of energy for meeting the energy requirements in general and un-electrified areas of the State in particular, adding that the government's endeavours to harness the potential of Science and Technology as an instrument for changing the socio- economic condition of the people. After inauguration, the Ministers inspected the hospital and took stock of the medicare facilities being provided to the patients. They went round various wards and sections including X-Ray Room, OPD, Operation Theatre, Ophthalmology Unit and the Store. They interacted with the patients and the attendant and enquired about the facilities. Shabir directed the concerned Block Medical Officer to keep diet chart written in bold letters visible in every ward and maintain proper records on daily basis. He also stressed for maintaining the hygienic environ in and around the hospital premises. The Ministers also inspected hospital building coming upat an estimated cost of Rs. 6.77 crore. The new hospital building would be constructed on modern lines with all facilities and sophisticated machines. Responding to the demands, Shabir said that the bottlenecks which are hampering the construction work shall be removed so that the left out work is carried out. He said that the pace of construction work would be speeded-up for its early completion keeping in view the heavy rush of patients. He said that new digital X-Ray machine would be installed soon in the new hospital. He also directed the CMO, Budgam to submit a proposal for posting of specialist medicos and Orthopaedic in the Hospital. Later, Mr Feroz Khan, who also holds the portfolio of Minister of State for School Education, visited Government Higher Secondary School, Magam and took stock of its functioning. Interacting with the students and the teaching staff, the Minister underscored the importance of education in present time and called for further enhancing of its standard which, he said is imperative for brighter future of the students besides building of a strong nation. Feroz urged upon the students to concentrate on their studies besides actively take part in extra-curricular activities which is vital for their all-round development.. Among others, Director, JAKEDA Peerzada Hafizullah Shah, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Budgam Ghulam Mohi-din Bhat, Deputy Director JAKEDA Dr. P. R. Dhar, Chief Medical Officer, Budgam and senior officers of Health and Science and Technology Departments accompanied the Ministers.

Solar Power Plant at SDH Magam inaugurated

Slapgate:

Police submitted status report before Court

SRINAGAR, MAY 14: In the slap gate case, Police on Tuesday filed its status report before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Kishtwar. The copies of the status report were handed over to the complainant while the case was listed for next hearing on May 29. Pertinently, Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo had allegedly slapped the Chief Executive Officer Kishtwar Development Authority, Reyaz Ahmed Chodri after which the said officer had approached the court against the Minister. The Court had expressed anguish over the incident of manhandling of one of the senior officers of the service by a Minister of State and had directed the Police to investigate the matter and file a status report whether grounds are enough against the Minister so that an FIR can be lodged against him. Talking to the council for the Complainant, Advocate Zulqurnain said that police submitted its status report before CJM, Kishtawar, Ajay Kumar Gupta. "We have received the copies of the report. We will go through the report in detail and only after that we will let the Court know whether we are satisfied with the report or not," he said adding that case has been listed on 29th of this month again.

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EDUCATION AGE
TOPPERS ZONE

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3.50 lakh class 8th students in Rajasthan get Rs 6,000 for tablet PC
JAIPUR: Over three lakh meritorious studentsof class 8th in government schools in Rajasthan were today given cheques of Rs 6,000 each, for purchasing tablet PCs. The state government's education department distributed the cheques in 35,819 government schools to 3.5 lakh students who have secured 2nd to 11th position in the merit list of 8th class. The scheme was announced in the state budget this year. Chief minister Ashok Gehlot, addressing a statelevel function here, said, "The scheme is aimed at enabling the future generation to learn more about technology during their schooling." "The scheme fulfils the dream of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who wished the country to enter into the 21st century with full preparation, so that we can be one of the developed countries of the world," he said. In the second phase of the scheme, laptops will be given to 1.11 lakh students, he said. Students who have secured 1st position in the merit list of class 8th and 10,000 students in the merit of 10th and 12th Rajasthan Board examinations will be provided laptops, he said. One thousand college students who secure first position in all faculties of government colleges will also be provided with laptops, he said. State ministers Shanti Dhariwal, AA Khan, MP Mahesh Joshi, mayor Jyoti Khandelwal were among others present in the function.

CAREER FORUM: Hospital Management

In recent times, health care concept of the people have undergone a tremendous change which has lead to higher expectations and an increased demand for high quality medical care and facilities. Here comes the importance of Health/ Hospital Management. It is one of the most lucrative and important careers in the health sector which provides a direct link between healthcare facilities and those supplying the services they need. Acareer in Hospital Management involves ensuring effective utilization of physical and financial resources of the hospital as well as creating an organizational climate beneficial to the growth and development of the personnel. It is a difficult, challenging, responsible and more over, a demanding job. ELIGIBILITY: 10+2 with Biology attaining minimum 50% marks. SELECTION - Selection to the Bachelor of Hospital Administration (BHA) courses is generally made on the basis of the marks

obtained in +2 and through general entrance test, followed by a Group Discussion and / or Personal Interview. HIGHER STUDY OPTIONS: Post Graduate Diploma in Hospital Management/ Administration Master of Hospital Administration, MBA in Hospital Administration and M.D/ M Phil in Hospital Administration. JOB PROSPECTS & CAREER OPTIONS: With the tremendous growth in the healthcare/ hospital industry there are sufficient job opportunities for Hospital Managers in India and abroad. The work of a hospital manager involves administration, managing and maintaining equipment, management of the medical staff and day-today medical activities, financial planning, operations of the hospital etc. Hospital Management positions varies from Head of the department to Chief executive officer at numerous organizational levels. A fresh gradu-

ate with Master's degree in health services or hospital administration may start their professional career as Assistant Hospital administrators or as managers of various departments like Front office, Public Relations, finance, Quality control etc. Experienced and senior Hospital Administrators can eventually reach the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It is these people who are supposed to report to the board of directors or the governing body of the hospital. Degree/ Diploma holders in Hospital Management can find employment in* Large Corporate / public / private sector hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, * Mental health organizations * Healthcare organizations * College and universities, * Public health departments, * Rehabilitation centers,

India seeks US collaboration in education sector

WASHINGTON: India has sought academic collaboration with various US institutions to leverage the full potential of the education sector to meet the increasing needs of both the countries, particularly in the fields of information and technology. "Our academic institutions have been slow to leverage the potential of technology for education. Knowledge networks that link research in the grand challenges of the world have also been slow to develop," Minister of India for human resources development, M Pallam Raju said yesterday. Raju is leading a delegation of academicians and officials for the annual India-US Education Dialogue. The US delegation include Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Tara Sonenshine, and the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake. In his address, Raju said the digital world is challenging the traditional lecture-driven teaching in universities. "With open content and open-access, we are seeing the early emergence of a meta-university, a concept pioneered by Charles West, as an accessible, empowering, communally constructed framework of open materials and platforms ushering the collaborative future of higher education," the minister said. Reviewing the progress made so far, Sonenshine said the two countries have moved from strength to strength after a model of co-operation between Indian community colleges and that of Montgomery Community college was established in 2010. "Now we have to keep up the momentum. We have to expand the opportunities and leave no stone unturned as we find ways to deliver high quality cost effective instruction so that students can access knowledge," she said. Stressing at the importance of creating a job pool, Blake said, "There is no more important task for both of our countries than to create jobs. We have two knowledge based economies and the synergy of putting those together and creating technologies and new opportunities for our citizens is tremendous and enormous." Besides community college collaborations and workforce development, expanding opportunities for US students in India and use of educational resources and technologies to expand access to improved quality of education were also discussed at the summit.

Research powers IIT-M to world's top 150 institutes

CHENNAI: Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has made strident steps towards improving its academic reputation. It has been ranked among the world's top 150 institutes in seven subjects in the recently released QS World University Rankings by Subject. Bettering its performance from last year when it featured between 60th and 70th ranks, IIT-M's civil and structural engineering course ranked 46th this year. Chemical engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering courses are between the 51st and 100th places, while the computer science and information systems department, materials science and mathematics departments feature between the 101st and 150th said director Bhaskar Ramamurthi. Academics are proud IITs achieved these rankings despite having negligible international faculty and students, which has substantial weightage in determining the ranking. The funding levels of several universities ranked below the IITs are many times higher. Besides, the contributions of IITs to Indian industry, space and defence sectors are not accounted for in these rankings, they said. For these rankings, QS Intelligence Unit (QSIU) - a division of QS Quacquarelli Symonds, an international higher education data-research firm evaluated 2,858 universities and ranked 678 institutions.

ranks. The by-subject rankings are based on academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, faculty-student ratio, proportion of international students and pro-

portion of international faculty. "It is a result of intensifying research, increasing faculty recruitment, increasing output and funding for research. We are moving in the right direction,"

Bengal school student wins prestigious NASA prize

KOLKATA: Amik Mandal, a Class-VIII student of a school in Durgapur has won the third prize in his category at "NASA Space Settlement Contest" organised jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of USA and AMES Research Centre in California. NASA invited papers in support of this project from students from ClassVII to class-XII all over the world for the contest, which is organised since 1994. In response, NASA received nearly 600 papers from students worldwide this year. Among the participants from India, were many groups from different schools, besides several students in individual category. "Altogether ten school teams and six individual participants from India won this year in different categories," Youth Affairs Minister Aroop Biswas said. Amik, now a student of Class-IX of Hemshila Model School, Durgapur has been adjudged the third prize winner in the Class-VIII individual category. Amik, who came to know about this competition from internet, had submitted a 16-page paper before the last date of March 15 this year. Congratulating Amik for his success in the global contest, Biswas today gave him a cheque of Rs one lakh to receive his award at this year's International Space Development Contest to be held in San Diego from May 23 to 27. Amik told the minister that he wished to become a scientist and would never forget the cooperation he received from West Bengal government.

CA paper leaked at Mumbai college, national test put off

MUMBAI: The question paper goof-up bug that plagued Mumbai University all this exam season appears to have gone viral. Even as some kind of order returned to the campus with teachers resuming duty, a nationwide CA exam has been pushed back as the wrong question paper was given out in a city collegeon Monday afternoon. The Information Technology and Strategic Management paper, which was to be held on Wednesday, has been rescheduled for May 24 as one exam centre at Mittal College, Malad, inadvertently gave it out to candidates on Monday instead of the Auditing and Assurance paper. Close to 1.37 lakh students are taking the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's (ICAI) Intermediate (Integrated Professional Competence) Course that is a level below the CA final exam. "We have now pushed Wednesday's exam to a new date across India. It cannot be held on Wednesday as some aspirants managed to see the question paper in one exam centre on Monday," said ICAI president Subodh Kumar Agrawal. On Monday morning, an exam supervisor and the CA exam observer posted at Mittal College reached a Bank of Baroda branch where the question papers are stored in a vault. Narendra Singhi, the supervisor, handed over his duplicate of the locker key to the bank manager who, in turn, asked his clerk to get the question paper packet of the day. "Instead of giving the PSK bundle, I was given the SMA bundle. But I did not check it," Singhi told ICAI officials. At 1.30pm, the bundles were opened and the question books were given to candidates. "After about ten minutes, the college authorities took the question papers back as we informed them that the wrong paper had been distributed," said a student. The college authorities informed the ICAI about the faux pas, which directed the college to go back to the bank and collect the correct question paper so that Monday's exam could be conducted. The exam supervisor made a dash to the bank, picked up the right paper bundle and the question books were distributed to student at 2.45pm, following which the exam began at 3pm, an hour later than the scheduled time.

Amik, now a student of Class-IX of Hemshila Model School, Durgapur has been adjudged the third prize winner in the Class-VIII individual category.

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EDITORIAL

5
does not give him grains, all for a few rupees' subsidy. This is called self-selection. Self-selection can work where the victim sees the need and the benefactor is prepared to serve him. For instance, the United States of America has offices where the poor can go and get food stamps. The people they meet there are so unattractive, and the processes so repulsive, that only someone in need will seek a food stamp. A poor person can take a food stamp to say, a hamburger shop and get a hamburger free. The reason this works is that there are hamburger shops all over the US. There is nothing equivalent in India. There are dhabas and their equivalents, but as real estate costs rise in cities and along highways, dhabas are going upmarket. So we need a bright idea. P.V. Sukhatme had one. He was a statistician. He made a career in Food and Agriculture Organization. There he developed certain views. He believed that a person's calorific requirements depend on his body size; Indians are racially smaller than Europeans, and food requirements worked out for Europeans are too high for them. He worked out the relationship between body size and food requirements. After retirement, he came back to his (and my) Poona, and started cheap eating places. He let his cooks eat as much as they could, and found that 1,700 calories were enough for them. So he set up street stalls and started selling thalis with 1,700 calories of roti, dal and vegetables. The Shiv Sena got its idea of zhunka bhakar from him. It uses its food shops to create an army of hooligans, not to remove hunger. It is a good way of removing hunger; it can be implemented by a well funded political party in Bombay's slums, but it cannot be done by the government; it would not have the motivation and discipline. For a national programme, we need an eatable that is durable, light and solid. The only such Indian eatable I know is chiki. It is common in Maharashtra; as trains run between Bombay and Poona, young men cling to the windows and sell packets of chiki to passengers. The chiki they sell is peanuts or sesame seeds embedded in gur (unrefined sugar). One gets variants of chiki all the way north; in Delhi, they are a seasonal ware sold in winter by rehriwallahs (hand-cart pushers) who sell murmura (parched rice), chana (parched gram) and bhel (a mixture of dry edibles mixed with chillies, chutney, sweetened tamarind water, etc). A round biscuit of chiki with water is an adequate, nutritious and balanced meal in the absence of normal food. It can be standardized into an industrial product. The government should subsidize - that is, give a negative excise duty to - this standardized chiki. To do so, it will have to license chiki factories; it should ensure that they employ the most efficient, mechanized technology. As long as they meet the standards of technology and quality, there should be no limit on the number of factories; the number of hungry poor will limit the production. If the government ensures the elimination of hunger by chiki, it will no longer have to buy millions of tons of foodgrains, give out billions in bribes, and bring prosperity to trillions of mice. And it will have a readymade solution for famine anywhere in the world; all it will have to do is to buy a few thousand tons of chiki and ship them to Bottomlessland. Maybe the rest of the world will develop a taste for some brands of chiki, and it will become a sizeable export. It will go towards bridging India's yawning payments deficit. The finance minister should persuade his boss to take this idea seriously.

Reducing the harm

In a country where one in 20 young men could die of cancer by the age of 70, it is essential that the ban on the sale of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco be effectively enforced in every State and Union Territory. A total of 24 States and UTs - Tamil Nadu is the latest to join the list - have introduced a ban based on the August 2011 regulation issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The campaign to stop the manufacture, storage and sale of this injurious product has been greatly aided by the Supreme Court, which has been asking for compliance reports from State governments. The control of tobacco is an integral part of global public health strategies to reduce the incidence of cancer and the growing burden of noncommunicable disease. This objective is vital to India and China, which together represent the biggest markets for growth, and need to be at the forefront of the struggle to curb consumption. For India, the significance of a countrywide ban lies in the potential impact it can have: about 52 per cent of oral cancers are attributable to the consumption of smokeless tobacco products. A significant reduction in newly initiated users as well as weaning away of existing consumers will therefore prove immensely rewarding. State governments must take extraordinary measures to make up for the delay in implementation of a ban on gutka and pan masala caused by legal hurdles. Given that food safety has not enjoyed high priority, there has not been much capacity-building or recruitment of personnel in this area. It is essential that the State food safety authorities and Tobacco Control Cell enter into a partnership with civil society to identify the weak links in the enforcement chain and take remedial action. The approach to any violation must be one of zero tolerance. There is something to be learnt here from the aggressive international efforts to curb the sale of tobacco products, with the help of NGOs. These agencies, such as the Asia Pacific Association for the Control of Tobacco, have forged alliances that cover entire countries and regions, and they meet regularly to discuss experiences and strategies. Evidently, the ban on gutka and pan masala containing tobacco could be enforced because there is a law against the addition of harmful substances to food. The bigger and unmet challenge, though, is to bring smoked tobacco, including bidis, under similar control. Industry has been exaggerating the impact of eliminating tobacco from an economic viewpoint, while good smoking cessation programmes for consumers are absent. Until all forms of consumption are choked off through regulation, the leaves of Nicotiana tabacum will continue to take a heavy toll.

Food grains minus Gutka

Ashok V. Desai
The Congress government has a business model which it has pursued with vigour, and if the last decade's experience is anything to go by, success. It involves building up a brand out of the descendants of forgotten Feroz Gandhi, and transferring billions taken forcibly from honest taxpayers to recipients it considers deserving, with a handsome commission collected by its supportive intermediaries. When last counted, there were a dozen schemes of the Central government, ranging from Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana to finance small entrepreneurs in the Northeast to Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana, a workers' health insurance scheme; 52 state government schemes ranging from Indira Gandhi Utkrishta Chhatravritti Yojana for 12+2 students in Himachal Pradesh to Indira Gandhi Calf Rearing Project, which is supposed to give female calves to families in Andhra Pradesh; trophies ranging from Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Jhopadpatti Football Tournament, a slum dwellers' tournament in Rajura (in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra) to Rajiv Gandhi Beachball Kabaddi Federation; institutions from Kamal Kishore Kadam's Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College in Aurangabad to Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law in Kharagpur (Calcutta); and innumerable awards, fellowships, roads and parks. Since the Congress still honours the convention of not naming things after living people, Sonia and Rahul are disqualified. That leaves Motilal and Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. Roughly 90 per cent of the objects are named after Rajiv Gandhi, 9 per cent after Indira Gandhi, 1 per cent after Jawaharlal Nehru and none after Motilal Nehru. And yes, the manual employment scheme is named after Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and the foodgrain distribution scheme awaits the death of another Gandhi. After being at the receiving end of criticism of this brand promotion programme, the prime minister recognized that it created opportunities for enormous corruption. Although it was all in a good cause called the Congress, he had second thoughts, and decided that benefits should be delivered in the form of bank transfers. That required every potential beneficiary to have a bank account. The king issued a command to the Reserve Bank: tell banks to open a bank account in the name of every adult. Government banks were his own, and should have obeyed him instantly. But they dragged their feet. They opened a few branches in what they called villages; but most were in small towns. At their pace, they would not cover the adult population in two centuries. So the Reserve Bank invented the stupidly named business correspondent. He was not to be a bank employee. He would be a local shopkeeper or cellphone seller. He would collect money from a city bank; villagers in his vicinity would then be able to collect their subsidies from him. But the idea did not work very well. Banks did not appoint enough BCs, certainly not enough to cover the country; and those they appointed did not deliver very satisfactorily. Part of the problem is that the government subsidizes only the poor; the poor are not those without means, but those certified as poor by a government functionary. The functionary is gram pradhan or someone like him in the village, and neither his industry nor his honesty can be relied upon. This is why the government is so devoted to the public distribution system. The way the prime minister thinks, only a poor man would go to the ration shop time after time, waste his time, go again if the shopkeeper

India's defense needs FDI

Manoj joshi
The government has finally started taking small steps to change procurement policy but what is required is to free it from the inefficient public sector Last Friday, the Ministry of Defence took yet another step to signal that it is serious about turning around the pathetic state of India's defence industry. It did so by requesting proposals from eight foreign vendors for 56 medium transport aircraft to replace the Indian Air Force's ageing fleet of HS 748 Avros. What is striking about the deal is not its value of around Rs 28,000 crore, but the fact that the ministry has deliberately kept the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd away from the competition. The deal involves off-theshelf purchase of 16 aircraft with the balance to be made in a facility in India established by the foreign vendor and an Indian private sector partner of its choice. Private sector involvement This is the first time in recent decades that the government has consciously chosen to open up a military industrial contract to the private sector and it comes hard on the heels of the Ministry's April 20 amendation to its defence procurement procedure (DPP). Yet, these are only tiny steps in the right direction. What we need are giant strides that will ensure that the next cycle of modernisation too - it will begin roughly in the mid-2020s - is not based overwhelmingly on imports. "Tweaking" procedures, as the MoD is now doing, is not going to achieve this. It will take nothing less than a drastic makeover, involving a transformation of the management of the ministry, as well as dismantling some parts of the military-industrial setup, to make way for more efficacious alternatives. In the mid-1990s, a committee headed by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said it would increase the indigenous content of weaponry from 30 to 70 per cent by 2005. But in 2013, we are still importing 70 per cent. We are manufacturing high-end products like the SU 30 MKI fighters, Brahmos missiles and Scorpene subs, but these are licence productions of foreign designed weapons, and even here we know that key assemblies will be imported till the very end of the programme. While other sectors of the manufacturing industry in the country, notably automobiles, have become world class sectors, the record of our government-run arms industry which employs 1.5 million people, remains one of failure and disappointment. In 1991, the Arun Singh Committee on Defence Expenditure was the first to point out the obsolescence of the ordnance factories and recommended the shutting down of five and letting the private sector handle items like clothing. Instead of shutting down, they are flourishing, including the premier Vehicle Factory Jabalpur which simply assembles Ashok Leyland Stallion and Tata LPTA 713 trucks. The performance of the Ordnance factories and Defence Public Sector Units (DPSUs) has been, to use a polite word, below par. According to a report of the Boston Consulting Group, the annual output per employee in the Ordnance Factories and the DPSU is of the order of Rs 15.4 lakh while the average across the manufacturing sector is Rs 30.40 lakh. The parliamentary Defence Service Estimates of 2012-13 show that despite this, Rs 556 crore had been allotted for overtime pay in the Ordnance factories' budget. Loot of the exchequer Just how we have short-changed our defence capabilities and allowed DPSUs to loot the exchequer is brought out by two figures. One reveals that build times for indigenous warships are unconscionably long. The Delhi class (6,500 tonnes) took 114 months to be built while equivalent ships take 29-30 months in the U.S. and Japan. Delhi, the first in its class, may have involved a learning curve, but sadly, the follow on Mysore and Mumbai also took 117 and 106 months. The Shivalik class which were contracted for 60 months took 112 months. Another metric emerges from the fact that Indian-made Sukhoi 30 MKI costs Rs 80 crore per unit more than those imported from Russia. The fact we are tying up to design the fifth generation fighter with the Russians indicates that there was little or no learning process involved in the indigenous manufacture of the Su-30 by the HAL. In the past one year, we have seen two other aspects of the problem. A CBI probe has shown how the management of the Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) undermined the 1986 agreement with Tatra of the erstwhile Czechoslovakia for the supply of its T815 trucks. But instead of a projected 85 per cent indigenisation by 1991, we were left below 50 per cent in 2012. Evidence suggests that our DPSU managers have actually been going out of their way to serve the interests of the foreign "partner," rather than the PSU they head. This is not a disease confined to BEML alone; almost all DPSUs suffer from it. The roots of this could well lie in that other problem which was revealed by the second major scandal, relating to the import of 12 VVIP helicopters - corruption. The VVIP helicopter deal suggested that not a single major defence purchase arrangement had escaped corruption, excluding, perhaps, the US FMS arrangements. The formal thrust of the DPP has been incorporated in the "Buy", "Buy and Make" and "Make" acquisition strategies. As outlined by the DPP 2011, "Buy" would mean an outright purchase of equipment and could be "Buy (Indian)" or "Buy" (Global)'. "Indian" would mean Indian vendors only and "Global" would mean foreign as well as Indian vendors. "Buy" Indian' must have minimum 30 per cent indigenous content if the systems are being integrated by an Indian vendor. "Buy & Make" would mean purchase from a foreign vendor followed by licensed production/indigenous manufacture in the country. "Buy & Make (Indian)" would mean purchase from an Indian vendor including an Indian company forming joint venture/establishing production arrangement with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) followed by licensed production in the country. "Buy & Make (Indian)" must have minimum 50 per cent indigenous content on a cost basis. "Make" would include high technology complex systems to be designed, developed Editor, Raju Ramachandran has given a fitting reply to all those who believe that the Supreme Court is punching above its weight by interfering in the executive sphere ("Time to let the caged bird sing," May 11). The court has done nothing wrong by questioning the quality of the CBI's investigation in Coalgate. It has every right to do so. But for the court's intervention, the coal scam report would have been a sham. Its directives and verdicts have always proved a silver lining amid the dark clouds of corruption hovering over us. The results are there for everybody to see. Yours etc. Rajinder Chib Jammu and produced indigenously. Note that the budget outlay for the "make" category which was Rs 89 crore last year has been cut to just Rs 1 crore in this year's budget. An incentive Included in this is the policy of direct offsets of 30-50 per cent for any arms imports above a certain amount to promote the import of foreign technology. Expectations that this will bring high-tech into the country have been belied. No country parts with its core high technology. But what we can do, by taking bold steps like permitting 100 per cent FDI in defence industry, is to incentivise them to set up plants in India. This way you can ensure that key technology will not be denied to you at a crucial time, and Indian vendors would have the opportunity to get into the global supply chains of high-tech companies. The new steps taken by the MoD indicate that it is reluctantly moving in the right direction, but as of now it remains much too protective towards the government military industrial complex which has failed us so badly. The DPP changes have reordered the priorities for acquisition by making "Buy (Indian)" the number one option followed by "Buy and Make" (Indian), "Make" and so on. But by refusing to touch FDI rules, they will ensure that this policy will remain unworkable. The time has come to bluntly acknowledge that the continuing dysfunctionality of our defence research and development setup, our public sector defence industry and our purchase procedures, have resulted from its higher management by the Ministry of Defence. In all fairness, it is too much to expect the babus of the MoD to initiate a revolutionary change in their departments. This is the job of the political leadership. Lamentably, however, it has failed repeatedly to provide the kind of leadership that would give this country a vibrant defence industrial sector. (The writer, a Distinguished Fellow at ORF, New Delhi, was a member of the National Security Task Force set up by the government in 2011 to propose reforms in the national security setup)

FRESH START
Pakistan has surprised itself again. It has followed up the rare achievement of seeing a democratically-elected government complete its full term in office with another achievement. Defying the Taliban's bullets, it has delivered a clear mandate for the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). Under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, the PML(N) has emerged the single largest party in the parliament, capable of forming the government without help from a coalition partner. What is a further boost to the PML(N)'s political status is the fact that in the straight contest with Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Party in Punjab, the former has beaten the latter hands down. The PTI has been unable to challenge the PML(N)'s hold over Punjab, where the Sharifs are, and were, in control not merely because of having led the provincial government, but also because of business and biradari networks and cosy arrangement with organizations on the extreme Right. It is this open and sometimes surreptitious arrangement of both the PML(N) and the PTI with the religious and extreme Right that was the game-changer in Pakistan. By systematically targeting the 'secular' parties - the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Awami National Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement - the Pakistan Taliban pre-determined the outcome of the elections. It is not surprising that Khyber-Pantunkhwa has fallen into the lap of the PTI, where the ANP was at the receiving end of the bloodiest of assaults while the PTI could carry out its anti-drone campaign unhindered. This accommodation, so convenient during election time, could prove to be the toughest challenge for the new government. In so many unforeseen ways, it could undermine the Sharif government's emphasis on the economy and regional peace. For example, there is little guarantee that the government could smooth-talk the Taliban into peace as long as Pakistan remains attached to American money - something it might never be able to forego, given the depth of its economic crisis. A lopsided equation with the Taliban or provinces such as the ever-restive Balochistan or Sindh, where the PPP retains control, would again ensure that the civilian government remains beholden to the army - a prospect unwelcome to the proud new Sharif regime. Having the PML(N) in power is the best option that Pakistan could have exercised at this juncture. The party has experience in balancing the country's religious tilt with commercial enterprise and democratic aspirations. Unlike the PPP, it also enjoys the confidence of the judiciary for its role in the reinstatement of the chief justice. And, of course, it has the army wary of the prime minister, perhaps for the first time in the history of Pakistan. That is a nice way to begin.

Karnataka needs a stable government

Editor, Karnataka is in dire need of a stable and corruption-free government in order to build a better future for itself. It does not matter which political party is at the helm - the Congress or the BJP. Politics nowadays only serves to confuse and mislead the common man in the state. We seem to

have wasted too much time watching television programmes on the internal squabbles of political parties and the corruption of their leaders. The Congress should not be too satisfied with its victory in Karnataka. It still has a lot left to do. The party has been trusted with the massive responsibility of improving the conditions prevailing in Karnataka. One hopes it realizes this and acts accordingly. Yours etc, Jagmeet Singh Satwari

The Court is right

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NATIONAL

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Take advance action to deal with natural disasters: Centre
The Centre has asked the States to procure relief materials and equipment in advance to increase their capacities to deal with natural disasters effectively. Addressing the annual conference of Relief Commissioners of States and Union Territories in New Delhi on Tuesday, Secretary Border Management, A K Mangotra pressed them to expeditiously utilize funds allocated by the 13th Finance Commission for capacity building. Mr Mangotra expressed displeasure over under-utilization of 525 crore rupees set aside by the Commission for the purpose. Noting that only about 100 crore rupees have been utilized so far, he asked the States and Union Territories to immediately send their proposals for approval of grants by the Home Ministr

BJP not to contest Howrah Lok Sabha by-poll

KOLKATA: In a move perceived as an overture to Trinamool Congress, BJP on Tuesday decided not to fight the Howrah Lok Sabha by-election on the "advice" of party national president Rajnath Singh, a few days after it declared its candidate for the constituency. The party, however, denied that the decision had been aimed at electorally helping Trinamool Congress. A party source said the decision not to contest the by-election, slated for June 2, had been taken by the party's state election committee, a day after BJP national president Rajnath Singh telephoned state unit chief Rahul Sinha and discussed the matter. The BJP had named former state president Asim Ghosh as the candidate for the contest. "The state election committee met during the day to consider Rajnath Singh's advice that the party should not spend its energy in a by-poll when the Lok Sabha election is likely to be advanced and may be held in November," . Rather, the party seriously pondered over the national president's suggestion to gear up for the coming panchayat polls "in which the BJP will fare better this time." To a question, the party said the decision not to contest the by-poll had nothing to do with helping Trinamool Congress electorally. "We will be contesting Trinamool Congress in panchayat election. This decision should not be construed as any electoral help to Trinamool Congress," . Ghosh was asked not to file his nomination scheduled . today is the last date for filing nomination for the Howrah Lok Sabha byelection.

Mumbai teen held for ransom to cover betting losses, killed

MUMBAI: In a chilling reminder of the Adnan Patrawala kidnap-murder, the 13-year-old son of a south Mumbai diamond broker was kidnapped for ransom on Monday - allegedly to cover T20 betting losses - and then murdered when the kidnappers panicked. The body of Aditya Rankha was found dumped near the MumbaiPune Expressway in Kalamboli, Navi Mumbai. The police have arrested Aditya's cousin Himanshu Rankha, 28, and Bijesh Sanghvi, a friend of Aditya's elder brother, who were ironically helping Aditya's father Jitendra file a kidnapping complaint at the V P Road police station. Police said Aditya, a Class VI student, was at home at Pawanpuri building in Khetwadi, Girgaum, when his mother received a call on the landline on Monday afternoon. The caller told her that her husband had sent some keys to be handed over to her. Aditya's mother sent her teenaged son downstairs to collect the supposed keys. Aditya never returned. Later, the police were told Aditya was seen being pulled into a car. At 7pm on Monday, Jitendra went to the V P Road police station to lodge a kidnapping complaint. Himanshu and Bijesh too reached the station and behaved as though they were worried about Aditya's disappearance. They helped Jitendra lodge the complaint. "The police then asked the father to show them the spot from where Aditya had been reportedly kidnapped," said deputy commissioner of police Nisar Tamboli. "While two policemen sat in Jitendra's car, two others went in Bijesh's Honda City." Tamboli said that the policemen in Bijesh's car were surprised to find blood as well as slippers in the car. When the police reached Pawanpuri building, the slippers were identified by people there as Aditya's. The police took Bijesh into custody and interrogated him. The police questioned him about where he had been the whole day and how Aditya's slippers had ended up in his car. Bijesh allegedly broke down and admitted to kidnapping and murdering Aditya and said his friend Himanshu helped him. The police detained both the youths and questioned them separately. "The two men said they had lost Rs 7 lakh while betting on recent T20 matches," said a senior crime branch officer. "They had to pay back their debts and hatched a plan to kidnap Aditya." When asked why they killed the boy, the crime branch officer said that the two were disappointed when Jitendra had not responded to their ransom call. Furthermore, they were afraid that if they let Aditya go, he would identify them since he knew them. They allegedly told police that they stabbed Aditya inside the car and threw his body in the jungle near the Expressway. The VP Road police and crime branch officers traced Aditya's body in the jungle on Tuesday. Aditya's body, which has several wounds, has been sent for a post-mortem to JJ Hospital, Byculla. The victim is survived by an elder brother, younger sister, mother and father Jitendra, who works at Panchratna building, Opera House. Police sources said investigations have revealed that Himanshu and Bijesh are in the metal business and often bet on cricket matches.

Kashmiri Mujahideen wants to behead me:Tarun Vijay,BJP MP

NEW DELHI: BJP MP Tarun Vijay on Tuesday alleged that Kashmiri Mujahideen wants to behead him and he has approached the Home Secretary and the Delhi Police Commissioner on the issue. Vijay said in a statement that he received the threat through a letter from an organization claiming to be Kashmiri Mujahideen threatening to 'behead him soon' for his 'writings'. Home Secretary R K Singh and Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar have been informed and they have assured all help and immediate investigations, Vijay said. Vijay, a Rajya Sabha MP who is a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on HRD, had earlier received threats from Indian Mujahideen after the Delhi blasts

Digvijay is frustrated: Jaitley

NEW DELHI: Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that Congress leader Digvijay Singh is a frustrated loser because of his Singh's "unwarranted advice" to the judiciary, which was made at a time when UPA is embroiled in corruption investigated by CBI and overlooked by SC,and did not come the SC had ordered monitoring of Gujarat riots cases. "The likes of Digvijay Singh welcomed that monitoring. It is only when the corruption of the UPA government is being investigated by CBI and monitored by the Supreme Court that monitoring of investigation is now being termed as constitutionally unacceptable. Such arguments of convenience have very little place in a meaningful public discourse," Jaitley said in an article. He was commenting on Singh's reacton to the apex court's stinging criticism of CBI for the vetting of probe report on coal mines allocation scam. Defending the Supreme Court comments on CBI, Jaitley said the same have come after government did not succeed in enacting a Lokpal and liberate CBI and has been "slow and reluctant" to do so. "CBI gets belittled when it bends before to political pressure and conducts a pliable investigation. On the contrary, when the court discovered this pathetic plight of CBI, its investigation had to be monitored. "The delinquent minister had to resign. The officials are still struggling for what reply to give. The government is nervous. The order of the court has indicated that either the government prepares a legislative plan to insulate CBI or the court could issue specific guidelines...If CBI is made more independent, it does not get belittled. On the contrary, it is strengthened," Jaitley said. The opposition leader said "the agency has been misused against political rivals. The agency has been used to pacify leaders of Samajwadi Party and BSP in order to contribute to the longevity of the government. The relationship between CBI, the government and the ruling party has become too close for comfort."

Within half an hour, Jitendra received a call from a landline number telling him that Aditya was with the callers and, if he wanted his son back, he should shell out Rs 30 lakh. "The father thought this was a prank and so dis-

connected the phone," said a police officer. "However, he later realized that his son was missing and began searching for him." The officer said Jitendra called up a few close friends and relatives, including Himanshu.

Sebi initiates refunding of investors in Sahara case.

MUMBAI: In the Sahara case involving over 24,000 crore rupees raised through various illegalities, market regulator Sebi has begun the process of refund to individual investors who have been verified by it. The money is being refunded only in those cases where Sebi has not found any multiplicity during its verification process. Refund for others will have to wait till the next direction from the Supreme Court, which is likely to hear the case on 17th July. The refunds are being made from 5,120 crore rupee that has been deposited by the Sahara group. According to sources, even among the lists of investors submitted by Sahara to Sebi, after being directed by the apex court to do so, the regulator has come across numerous multiplicities and other anomalies. However, the largest number of anomalies suspected by Sebi involves untraceable addresses and other investor details.

Govt. forms GoM to look into CBI autonomy Lathis for Kolkatta
NEW DELH: In the wake of the Supreme Court's scathing observations on CBI, the government on Tuesday formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) to draft a law to insulate the investigating agency from external influence. The GoM, headed by finance minister P Chidambaram, has external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, communications and information technology minister Kapil Sibal, information and broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari and minister of state for personnel V Narayanasamy as members, official sources said. CBI director Ranjit Sinha will also give his input to the newly-constitued GoM. The Group of Ministers will deliberate on ways to further strengthen CBI's autonomy and safeguard it from any kind of outside interferences, they said. The government's move came after the Supreme Court had rapped the CBI for being a "caged parrot" of its political masters while hearing a case related to alleged irregularities in coal blocks allocation. "...CBI has become a caged parrot. We can't have CBI a a society, we have failed to counter it and create a safe environment where girls and women can live and flourish without being constantly force to live in the fear of abuse and molestation," she said. "We have been shocked by the violence that girls and women encounter on the street and even in their homes. Of course, it is not universal, but it is there widespread," Gandhi said after laying the foundation stone for a girls' hostel on the Jamia Milia Islamia University campus. "We must all become all the more proactive. There can be no better places for this other than our families, schools and universities," Gandhi said. She also expressed happiness over the decision of the university to name a ground in the university after "charismatic" cricketer late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Gandhi said she was delighted to be at the varsity as she does not often get a chance to be amongst students. "I am delighted for another reason that I can bunk my classes," she said in a lighter vein.

chit fund scam protesters

32 firms served notices on undeveloped coal blocks

Taking the first step towards cancellation, the Coal Ministry is learnt to have issued show cause notices to 32 companies for their failure to carry out any substantial progress in the development of coal blocks allocated to them. Officials in the Coal Ministry said that coal blocks which have been issued show cause notices include those belonging to the Tata group, Jindal Steel & Power and Jayaswal group. The maximum number of notices were issued to the Jindal group led by Congress MP Naveen Jindal, which was allocated a total of 11 blocks. The CBI, which had drawn flak from the apex court for its tardy investigations into the controversial coal block allocation scam, had recently questioned two former Coal Ministers in relation to the allocation of coal blocks. The decision to issue the notices was taken on the recommendations of the high-powered InterMinisterial Group set up by the government to look into the issue of failure of the various companies to develop the coal blocks allocated to them and weed out unwanted and non-serious players. The Government has already de-allocated coal blocks in 22 cases and bank guarantees have been forfeited in case of another 36 entities. Officials said the action against the 32 companies was based purely on their failure to develop the coal blocks and there was no irregularity angle in the situation. The irregularities in coal block allocation was being probed by CBI which has already taken possession of nearly 730 files pertaining to allocation of coal blocks between 1993 to 2008.

caged parrot speaking in master's voice. It is a sordid saga where there are many masters and one parrot," it has said during a hearing on May 6. The Court's direction had come following an affidavit from the CBI Director, who admitted to have shared a draft coal block allocation probe report with former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and two joint secretaries--Shatrughna Singh and A K Bhalla--in the Prime Minister's Office and Coal Ministry respectively. The apex court had also asked the government to make an

effort to come out with a law to insulate CBI from external influence and intrusion. The Group will finalise its findings and draft a law which will be submitted to the Supreme Court before July 10, next date of hearing of the case. CBI, which is probing irregularities in allocation of coal mine blocks on the direction of CVC, has so far registered 11 FIRs in the matter. Society must be proactive in checking violence against women: Sonia New Delhi :"It pains me that as

KOLKATTA: Hundreds of students took to the streets in Kolkata today protesting against the chit fund scam. However, a violent crackdown by West Bengal police followed, with the Left coming out in full support of the protesters. The police lathicharged the crowd before violently dispersing the students. The CPM, which has backed the students stir accused the Mamata government of infringing the common man's basic rights. Somnath Chatterjee came out in support of the students condemning the lathicharge saying, "Peoples right to protest must be respected." The students are now accusing the ruling party of muzzling dissent to escape culpability in the scam. CPM leader Mohammed Salim accused the Mamata government of siphoning off crores of rupees in the chit fund scam.

Gulab Chand Kataria charged in Sohrabuddin fake encounter

NEW DELHI: Former Rajasthan Home Minister Gulabchand Kataria has been named as an accused in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. Charged with murder, Kataria is the second high profile politician to be named in the encounter case, first being former Home Minister of Gujarat Amit Shah. CBI has filed supplementary chargesheet of about 500 pages and it has statements of 40 new witnesses added to it in the Soharabbudin fake encounter case. The CBI has also recorded the statement of some of the accused before the magistrate under section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code. After the chargesheet was filed, court issued summons to former Home Minister of Rajastan Gulabchand Kataria and other three persons to appear before it in connection with the fake encounter case. Kataria and others are likely to appear before the court on June 4. Others named in the chargesheet include Vimal Patni, who is the director of RK Marble, IPS officer of Andra Pradesh Police Narshima Balasubraminiam and inspector Shrinivas Rao. According to the chargesheet, Sheikh demanded Rs.24 cores from Patni as protection money and this was the prime reason why he was eliminated. The CBI also said that it was Sheikh who wanted to spread his extortion racket in Rajasthan and in order to get a good hold over the state he demanded the protection money. The CBI also said that Kataria was the link between Patni and Shah and patni was introduced to Shah by Kataria.

Legal processes should not impede economic growth, says Sibal

present collegium system of appointments to higher judiciary would be revisited, he said the present appointment system is opaque and non-transparent, but we cannot change the system overnight. While emphasising the need for structural judicial reforms, he said these could be brought about by institutional dialogue and understanding with the judiciary. There are certain Bills pending in Parliament which can be passed with the cooperation of the Opposition parties. If not, we will have to wait for the consensus to emerge. On measures to reduce the pendency of cases in courts, he said three crore cases could not be wiped out overnight. The present judges strength of 12 or 13 per one million population was much less compared to the global average of 50 judges per millions. We need to increase the strength of judges with the cooperation of the States. It is a long-term process, he said.

No Central forces for panchayat polls:Kolkatta HC

KOLKATTA: The Calcutta High Court today refused to accept the West Bengal State Election Commission's plea for 800 companies of central armed police force for holding the panchayat poll in the state and directed that the state may requisition them from other states or the Centre if there was any shortfall. A division bench of Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi directed that the panchayat election be held in three phases and that the poll process should be completed till July 15. The bench, hearing an appeal by the state government against a single bench order, directed that the dates for the election should be notified by the state government in consultation with the State Election Commission (SEC). It also directed that names of remaining 134 observers, of the total of 400 asked for by the SEC, would have to be provided by the state within three days. The division bench, while not accepting the SEC's contention that 800 companies of central armed police forces were required to hold the rural poll in West Bengal, directed that the state may procure forces from other states or the Centre, if necessary. The court said that it was up to the state government to provide armed personnel as per the SEC's requirement, which was settled today, and shortfall, if any, will be dealt by the state government. The court demarcated the 57,000-odd booths for the panchayat election into four categories -- highly sensitive, sensitive, less sensitive and normal. It directed that two armed policemen and two unarmed constables would be provided for each booth in case of highly sensitive booths and two armed policemen only for each sensitive booth. It also directed that under the less sensitive category, one armed policeman and one unarmed constable would be provided for each premise, which may house more than one b Under the normal category, one armed police personnel would be provided per premises, the bench directed. The Commission had moved the High Court challenging the state's notification of panchayat election in two phases claiming that it was unilateral and seeking 800 companies of central forces was required for holding the panchayat elections in a free, fair and peaceful manner.

NEW DELHI: Appointments to higher judiciary must be through transparent processes Legal processes and procedures should not be an impediment to economic growth, but must fuel it, said Union Minister of Telecom Kapil Sibal on Monday soon after assuming the additional charge of the Ministry of Law and Justice. In an interaction with journalists after taking charge, he said, The rule of law is the

foundation of civil society. The guilty must not go unpunished and the innocent must not be harassed. The processes of law must be quick and non-discriminatory. We need to strengthen confidence of the people in our judicial system. He said, Appointments to higher judiciary must be through transparent processes which ensure that persons of impeccable integrity and high competence are appointed. Asked whether the

CHANDIGARH: In a culmination of their series of protest programmes, activists of the Patiala district unit of the Dakaunda faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), on Tuesday, organised a rally, marched in procession, burnt effigies and submitted a charter of demands against the recent order by a Delhi court to acquit Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the November 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. The speakers at the rally, who included the factions Punjab general secretary, Jagmohan Singh, treasurer Ram Singh and Patiala district president Darshan Pal, took strong exception to the partisan role played by the Union government, in preventing justice to the victim families, who have been waiting for it for 29 years. Planned conspiracy According to Prof. Darshan Pal, the speakers had highlighted that the civil liberties groups, including PUCL and PUDR, had published their reports about the massacre of thousands of innocent Sikhs

BKU organises protest against acquittal of Sajjan Kumar

that was carried through a planned conspiracy. These organisations had provided the list of those responsible for the carnage, in which the name of Mr. Sajjan Kumar along with other leaders had figured. The speakers said that after prolonged legal wrangles, while Mr. Sajjan Kumar was acquitted, the Union government and the justice delivery system had only rubbed salt into the wounds of the relatives of those who had been butchered in the days in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. After the rally, amid heavy police deployment, the BKU activists organised a march to the Patiala administrations headquarters, where they burnt effigies of the Union government and Mr. Sajjan Kumar. Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Patiala G.S. Chahal accepted a memorandum from the protesters who demanded immediate action against those responsible for the massacre as well as the arrest of Mr. Sajjan Kumar.

One lakh children in India die of diarrhoea annually: Lancet

NEW DELHI: Rotavirus has been identified as the main cause of diarrhoeal diseases in infants under 11 months Over 1,00,000 children, below the age of 11 months, die of diarrhoea annually in India which is the second leading killer of young children globally, after pneumonia. India accounts for the highest number of diarrhoeal deaths, a latest study has suggested. A new international study published in the latest edition of the British medical journal The Lancet provides the clearest picture yet of the impact and most common causes of diarrhoeal diseases. The Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS) is the largest study ever conducted on diarrhoeal diseases in developing countries, enrolling more than 20,000 children from seven sites across Asia (including India) and Africa. With approximately 4,57,000 to 8,84,000 hospitalisations and two million outpatient clinic visits each year in Indian children, this study pinpoints the key causes of childhood diarrhoea and suggests a roadmap to save hundreds of thousands of lives. GEMS, coordinated by the University of Marylands School of Medicines Center for Vaccine Development, confirmed rotavirus as the leading cause of diarrhoeal diseases among infants under 11 months across all sites and identified other top causes for which additional research is urgently needed. GEMS evaluated nearly 40 pathogens to map each ones relative contribution to diarrhoeal disease. Combining data from all seven study countries, GEMS found that approximately one in five children under the age of two suffer from moderate-to-severe diarrhoea (MSD) each year, which increased childrens risk of death 8.5 fold and lead to stunted growth over a twomonth follow-up period. In India, the study was conducted in Kolkata at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases and overseen by Principal Investigator Dipika Sur. Similar to other GEMS sites, just four pathogens rotavirus, Cryptosporidium, Shigella, and ST-ETEC caused the majority of MSD cases in Kolkata. The overall incidence of MSD was higher in Kolkata than at any other study site. Infants under 11 months at Kolkata showed the highest burden, with roughly 90 episodes of MSD per 100 children each year, nearly double the next highest-burden site Kenya. Without a full picture of which pathogens cause the most harm, it has been difficult to make evidence-based decisions around diarrhoeal disease control, said Dr. Sur. GEMS will fill in those critical gaps in knowledge and will help in governments to prioritise resources for research and action to reduce the burden of disease, she added. Expanding access to vaccines for rotavirus could save thousands of lives and help avoid numerous hospitalisations, thereby improving the lives of children and families while simultaneously reducing significant burden on the healthcare costs, the report suggested. GEMS data suggested that accelerating research on vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for the three other leading pathogens Shigella, Cryptosporidium and STETEC, a type of E. coli could have a similar impact. Prior to GEMS, Cryptosporidium was not considered a major cause of diarrhoeal disease and consequently, there is currently little research on this pathogen underway. Across most sites, children with MSD grew significantly less in height in the two months following the diarrhoeal episode. Significantly, 61 per cent of deaths occurred more than one week after the children were diagnosed with MSD, when children may no longer be receiving care and 56 per cent of deaths among cases occurred at home, suggesting that earlier studies focusing only on death occurred in health centres may underestimate the real burden of MSD.

Banking and healthcare stocks rise on back of 31 pts Sensex gain

MUMBAI: The BSE benchmark Sensex today closed 31 points up on funds buying mainly in banking and healthcare stocks as inflation eased to over three years low. After a better start, the Sensex fell to the day's low of 19,652.69 before ending with a gain of 30.62 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 19,722.29. Brokers said the buying activity was mostly confined to banking and healthcare sectors as inflation eased to over three years low

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INTERNATIONAL & ECONOMY

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Musharraf's lawyer Salman Safdar did not attend today's hearing. This was the first hearing after Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, the chief prosecutor handling the 2008 Mumbai attacks and Bhutto's assassination, was shot dead by suspected militants in Islamabad on May 3. Musharraf, 69, has been accused of failing to provide adequate security to two-time former premier Benazir Bhutto when she returned to Pakistan from self-exile. Bhutto was assassinated by a suicide bomber after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007. The former military ruler returned from self-exile in March to lead his party in the May 11 general election but the Peshawar high court barred him from contesting polls for the rest of his life. Musharraf is also facing charges over the sacking of judges during the 2007 emergency and the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation. Following his arrest in several cases, Musharraf is being held at his farmhouse on the outskirts of Islamabad, which has been declared a "sub-jail" by authorities.

Rohingya Muslims drown off Myanmar trying to flee storm

MYANMAR: A boat carrying about 100 Rohingya Muslims capsized off western Myanmar and many were feared drowned at the beginning of a mass evacuation from low-lying regions ahead of a powerful storm, a United Nations official said on Tuesday. The tropical depression, likely to strengthen into Cyclone Mahasen this week, threatens areas of Myanmar where about 140,000 victims of ethnic and religious unrest are living in camps. The United Nations warned last week there could be a humanitarian catastrophe if people were not evacuated. The boat struck rocks off Pauktaw in Rakhine State and sank, said Barbara Manzi, head of the Myanmar office of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). A military intelligence officer said at least 50 people drowned when the boat went down at around midnight on Monday. It was one of six leaving Pauktaw, the official said, declining to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to media. The evacuation from Pauktaw was part of a government evacuation plan, said Kirsten Mildren, a spokeswoman for OCHA in Bangkok. She said she had heard five boats had set off but accounts were confused. She understood 42 people survived and eight bodies had been found. "We understand that yesterday evening they went out with the approval of government officials. This was part of an official government evacuation plan although the boats were not government boats. They were moving from a low-lying area to a safer area," she said. Forecasts by the U.S. Navy's Joint Warning Center show the storm making its way north over the Bay of Bengal. It is expected to make landfall on Thursday near Chittagong in Bangladesh before moving into neighboring Myanmar. The United Nations said about 69,000 people, most of

Musharraf's remand in Bhutto murder case extended by 14 days

Manmohan Singh to visit Japan this month: Tokyo

them Rohingya Muslims, were living in Rakhine State in accommodation at risk of flooding and other damage during the rainy season, which starts this month and continues until September. The evacuations, a joint effort by the government and

aid agencies, are seen as a test of Myanmar's willingness to assist the Rohingya, an impoverished and long-persecuted people who bore the brunt of sectarian violence in Rakhine State last year and suffered before that during half a century of military rule.

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's judicial remand over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007 was extended by a fortnight on Tuesday by an anti-terrorism court. The court of Judge Chaudhry Habib-urRehman in Rawalpindi extended Musharraf's judicial remand till May 28 and also put off hearing his bail application till May 20, prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar, said. The next hearing of the Bhutto assassination case will be held on May 28.

Bangladesh garment factories shut down as workers protest

killed more than a thousand. More than 300 factories have been closed down in Ashulia region near Dhaka as owners are scared of the unrest that has been ignited by the collapse. A local police chief said that employees in Ashulia carried out protest walks demanding pay hike and also execution of the building owner. The rage was intensified by the discovery of a female survivor who was alive after 17 days of the collapse. Thousands of workers vented out their indignation as they vandalized vans and local shops. Acting in response, the Bangladesh government has decided to hike the salries of garment factory workers.

Pakistani ambassador to US resigns after election defeat

ing government, has sent her resignation to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, the embassy spokesman said. She was appointed as ambassador to Washington in Nov 2011 after then ambassador, Hussain Haqqani, quit over a controversial memo he had written to the U.S. administration for support against the Pakistani army after the death of Osama bin Laden. Sherry Rehman was a political appointee like some other Pakistan envoys in few other capitals and are likely to resign in the coming days. The ambassadorial post in Washington and some other important capitals are usually filled with non-diplomatic persons.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman, has resigned after her Pakistan Peoples Party faced defeat in general elections on Tuesday. The embassy spokesman, Nadeem Hutyana also confirmed ambassador ' s resignation. Rehman, who had served as Information Minister in the outgo-

SOCHI: Russia and Israel will continue cooperation in an effort to resolve the situation in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday following talks with Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu. "We agreed to continue contacts - both on the personal level and between our organizations, special services," Putin said following talks with Netanyahu, who is on a brief working visit to Russia. The talks also involved Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov and Defense Ministry representatives. The Russian president said he and Netanyahu agreed that continuation of the armed conflict in Syria is fraught with pernicious consequences both for that country and the entire region. Putin urged all the parties concerned to try not to aggravate the situation in Syria. It was not immediately clear w hether the two leaders discussed arms deliveries to Damascus. A high-ranking source in Jerusalem said on Saturday that Netanyahu would discuss Russian weapons supplies to Syria. Israel's Haaretz daily said Netanyahu was likely to ask Putin not to supply advanced S-300 air defense missile systems to Syria. About 70,000 people have died in Syria since the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar Assad, according to UN figures. Russia, along with China, has faced widespread condemnation over its refusal to approve UN sanctions against Assad's regime. Moscow has repeatedly stated it has no interest in seeing Assad remain in power, but is concerned that a power vacuum would lead to more violence.

Putin, Netanyahu Agree to Continue Syria Contacts

Dhaka: The owners of garment factories near Dhaka in Bangladesh have decided to pull down the shutters after employees angered by a building collapse last month continue to protest, reports said Tuesday. The move by the factory owners comes as the death toll from the last month's

building collapse The at Rana Plaza in Savar, reached 1,127. The massive rescue operation is slated to end today when the Army will hand over the place to the district administration. Workers have erupted in protests on a routine basis after the horrific collapse

TOKYO: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Tokyo this month, an official said Tuesday, in a trip that had to be scrapped last year after a general election was called in Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to inviteManmohan Singh for a four-day stay from May 27. "As India is a South Asian power that shares with us values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law, we aim to expand the partnership by discussing a wide range of issues including politics and the economy," Suga said. "The country is also strategically important for Japan as it lies on sea lanes from the MiddleEast," where Japan gets much of the oil it imports, he said. Singh's trip was originally scheduled for November and was set to include meetings with then Japanese premier Yoshihiko Noda. It was expected to include the signing of infrastructure projects deals worth $15 billion, according to reports. However, the tip was postponed after Noda called a general election for December, which ousted him and installed Abe in the top spot.

ECONOMY

NEW DELHI: Declining price of food items, including fruits and vegetables, pulled down inflation to nearly a three-and-a-half-year low of 4.89 percent in April, which may present a case for further monetary policy easing. Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) stood at 5.96 percent in March. In April, 2012, it was 7.50 percent. This is the lowest level of inflation since November, 2009 when it was 4.78 percent. As per official data released today, WPI inflation in the manufactured items category declined to 3.41 percent in April from 4.07 percent in March. Also, inflation in food articles category, which has a 14.34 percent share in the WPI basket, came down to 6.08 percent. Inflation in this

Inflation eases to 4.89% in April; lowest since Nov 2009

Foreign airlines keen on investing in Indian aviation: Ajit Singh

NEW DELH: Upbeat over the Jet-Etihad deal and the proposed launch of Air Asia India, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday said foreign airlines have realised the massive growth potential of the Indian aviation sector and were evincing keen interest in it. With the government allowing foreign airlines to invest in Indian carriers, it is clear that foreign airlines have realised the growth possibilities of the Indian aviation sector and are keenly interested, he told reporters here. Jet Airways has clinched a deal with Gulf carrier Etihad Airways, while IndiGo already has 49 per cent FDI, Mr. Singh said. Caelum Investments, a US-based firm owned and run by former CEO of US Airways Rakesh Gangwal, owns 48 per cent of IndiGo. Other stakeholders include IndiGos parent company InterGlobe Enterprises which owns 51.12 per cent. While Air India has the best deal as they have the government as their bank, SpiceJet and GoAir remain to be takenup. Only they can tell you (about their investment plans), he said, adding that as far as Kingfisher Airlines was concerned, it was non-existent. Regarding Jet-Etihad deal, Singh said the allocation of enhanced flying slots would be done only after they get the required clearances from the SEBI and FIPB. The matter will then go to the Cabinet Committee on Investments for its nod. On Air Asia India, Singh said the airline company was yet to submit names of its Directors and CEO, which are required for security clearances by the Home Ministry as per rules. I dont expect any problems. We have already sought informa-

category was at 8.73 percent in March. The easing in food inflation was helped by a sharp drop in prices of vegetables. Inflation in vegetables stood at (-)9.05 per cent in April, against ()0.95 percent in the previous month. The inflation in fruits declined to 0.71 percent during the month as compared to

4.71 percent in March. However, the rate of price rise in onion was high at 91.69 percent for the month of April, as against inflation rate of 94.85 percent in the previous month. Inflation for February was revised upwards to 7.28 percent from 6.84 percent as per provisional estimates. The retail inflation, as measured

by consumer price index, came down to single digit at 9.39 per cent in April after many months, indicating that inflationary expectation is on declining trend. The RBI will take into account the declining inflationary trend while unveiling its mid-quarter policy review on June 17. Commenting on inflation figures, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram said: "We are happy that inflation figure has come down". Inflation in wheat eased to 13.89 percent in April, as against 19.87 percent in the previous month. Potatoes too saw decline to (-)2.42 percent, from 20.06 per cent in March. Inflation rate in rice and cereals eased to 17.09 percent and 15.63 percent, respectively, in April.

tion. Regarding Kingfisher Airlines dues to AAI, the Minister and AAI Chairman V.P. Aggarwal said the state-run airports body has already filed a criminal suit on bouncing of cheques worth

Rs. 117 crore and a civil suit for recovery of an additional Rs. 300 crore in Mumbai courts. Kingfishers bank guarantees have already been encashed by the AAI, he said.

Economy to see turnaround this fiscal: Montek

NEW DELH: The sagging

economy will see a turnaround this fiscal on the back of accelerating industrial production, improvement in global conditions and likelihood of good monsoon, the Planning Commission said on Tuesday. All around the world the focus right now is, is (the year) 2013-14 a turnaround period? I think all the evidence we have for India suggests that for us it is a turnaround period, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters here. We have had not a good year, (which was) better year for many other countries. I think we are going to have much better year (2013-14), he added. Ahluwalia was responding to a question about economic growth prospects in view of

accelerated industrial production to 2.5 per cent in March, softening of inflation, improved global conditions and likelihood of good Monsoon this fiscal. The Central Statistical Organisation has pegged Indian economic growth at 5 per cent in 2012-13 in its advance States. The government hopes of registering GDP growth rate ranging between 6.1-6.7 per cent in 2013-14. The recently released industrial output data for March revealed that there is acceleration in production. The factory output grew by 2.5 per cent in March this year. Meanwhile, the inflation measured in terms of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) fell to 3.5-year low of 4.89 per cent in April compared to 5.96 per cent in March this year and 7.50 per cent in April 2012.

Sensex recovers 31 pts higher; banking and pharma gain

MUMBAI: In volatile trade, the BSE benchmark Sensex Tuesday recovered from its biggest fall in 14 months to close 31 points higher at 19,722.29 on buying in banking. After data showed WPI inflation in April 2013 posted its first sub-5 percent reading since November 2009, rate cut hopes led buying in ONGC, HDFC, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors which supported the recovery, traders said. The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 30.62 points, or 0.16 percent, at 19,722.29. On Monday, it had plunged by over 430 points due to various factors including surging trade gap. Globally, Asia closed narrowly mixed. Key indices in China, Hong Kong and Japan settled lower while Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan ended higher. European indices were also trading lower in early trade. France's CAC was down by

Sebi starts repayment to Kerry expects Syria to investors in Sahara case attend transition talks
NEW DELH:In the high pro-

The retail inflation, as measured by consumer price index, also came down to single digit at 9.39 per cent in April after many months, indicating that inflationary expectation is on declining trend. Besides, India Meteorological Department has forecast that there would be normal rainfall (this year) at 98 per cent of the long period average (LPA) of 89 cm during the monsoon.

0.34 percent, Germany's DAX by 0.24 percent and the UK's FTSE by 0.12 percent. Turning back to the local market, 15 scrips out of 30share Sensex pack ended higher. Major gainers from the Sensex were un Pharma (2.03 percent), ONGC (1.78 percent), Bharti Airtel (1.78 percent), Gail India (1.57 percent), Tata Motors (0.96 percent), Tata Power (0.91 percent) and Hindalco Ind (0.86 percent). However, Dr Reddy's Lab dropped by 2.66 percent, followed by Bajaj Auto (1.87 percent), Coal India (0.69 percent), M&M (0.67 percentt), BHEL (0.66 percent), and Reliance Industries (0.66 percent).

file Sahara case involving over Rs. 24,000 crore raised through various illegalities, market regulator Sebi has begun the process of refund to individual investors who have been verified by it. The money is being refunded only in those cases where Sebi has not found any multiplicity during its verification process. Refund for others will have to wait till the next direction from the Supreme Court, which is likely to hear the case on July 17. The refunds are being made from Rs. 5,120 crore that has been deposited by the Sahara group, which claims to have already returned close to Rs. 20,000 crore to the bondholders of two Sahara firms directly. This claim of direct refunds, which Sahara says were made before the Supreme Court order of

August 31, 2012, is yet to be verified independently, sources said. There are numerous instances of one investor being named at hundreds of places, while there are also cases of multiple addresses for one single investor and hundreds of investors sharing the same address, sources said. However, the largest number of anomalies suspected by Sebi involves untraceable addresses and other investor details. Sources said the refunds are being made to the genuine investors whose credentials have been verified, although the number of such cases is so very small when compared to initial claims of about 3 crore bondholders from whom two Sahara firms had raised over Rs. 24,000 crore.

STOCKHOLM: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is dismissing suggestions that the Syrian government might not join a U.S.Russia initiative to negotiate a peaceful transition in Syria. Syrias information minister said Damascus needs more details about the proposed initiative before it decides whether to attend. But Mr. Kerry said he expects Syrian officials to join the international effort and that the U.S. is aware that Syrian negotiators have been selected for the proposed conference. Mr. Kerry made his comments during a trip to Sweden on Tuesday. Washington and Moscow, which are on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict called last week for an international conference to start talks that would be accompanied by a ceasefire in the two-year-old war.

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STUDENT AGE WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013

MISC

Gilchrist powers Kings XI Punjab to 7-wicket win vs RCB

BANGALORE: Skipper Adam Gilchrist finally led from the front with a dazzling unbeaten 85 to guide Kings XI Punjab to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers in an Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday. Chasing a stiff target of 175, Gilchrist blazed his way to a 54-ball-85 which had 10 fours and three huge sixes as his team romped home with 11 balls to spare, thereby keeping doors of the playoffs open. Kings XI with 12 points from 14 matches now are in sixth position -- courtesy better net run-rate than defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders who are also on 12 points. was laid by two veterans Gilchrist and 'T20 freelancer' Azhar Mahmood, who added 118 runs for the second wicket. Mahmood scored 61 off 41 balls with eight fours and a six. The duo, whose cumulative age is 79 years, proved that there is no substitute of experience as they both brought in their oodles of experience in international cricket to pave the way for an easy win. The Aussie dasher brought up his half century with a straight six off Zaheer. The stand-out hit will however be the inside out six over extra cover off Muttiah Muralitharan. He followed it up with another six -- a slog sweep over deep square leg.

Anand held by Svidler; Carlsen beats Karjakin

SANDNES (NORWAY): World champion Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw against Russian Peter Svidler as black while world number one Magnus Carlsen turned the tables on Sergey Karjakin of Russia for a twist in the tale of Norway Chess 2013 Super Tournament. After a shocking loss at the hands of American Hikaru Nakamura, Anand played it solid as black and did not have any problems in warding off the challenge of Svidler who played the white side of a Sicilian Najdorf. Carlsen, after four draws, was in a difficult situation against Karjakin but the Russian missed the thread and allowed a devastating attack on his king to suffer his first defeat after four victories. In other games of the fifth round, Jon Ludvig Hammer came to the Norwegian party defeating Wang Hao of China. Nakamura split the point with former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria while Azerbaijani Teimour Radjabov did not give scope of any action to Levon Aronian of Armenia. With four rounds remaining, Karjakin still leads the tournament on four points out of a possible five and he is now trailed by Carlsen and Nakamura a full point behind. Aronian, Anand, Radjabov

The win also helped Gautam Gambhir's men stay in contention as an RCB victory would have decisively shut the doors. The defeat for RCB also made the situation

tricky for Virat Kohli and co, who now have 16 points from 15 games and will need to win their final game at any cost. The foundation of this win

and Svidler share the fourth spot on 2.5 points each a half point ahead of Topalov. Wang Hao and Hammer are joint ninth in the 10-player round-robin event having 1.5 points apiece in their kitty. Anand faced a recently popular system in the Sicilian Najdorf as black.

The Indian ace yet again showed his fine preparation by going for a temporary pawn sacrifice early in the middle game and Svidler could find no way to push forward and reached a symmetrical structure after all queen side pawns were traded.

Hamstring injury sidelines Messi for rest of season

MADRID: Barcelona have confirmed that striker Leo Messi will miss the rest of the season as a result of the muscle injury which forced him out of his side's 2-1 win away over Atletico Madrid. The fact that Messi's injury is a relapse of the hamstring problem, which he originally suffered in the quarter-final of the Champions League April 2 and which has troubled him ever since, is a key factor in the decision made by the club Monday, reports Xinhua. As a result, Messi will miss Barcelona's last games of the season, which are at home to Valladolid and Malaga and away to local rivals Espanyol. Messi was forced out of the game against Athletico in the second half, leaving Barca to struggle on with 10 men, which they did with great again for Barca this season, playing 48 matches for his club (not counting internationals with Argentina) and scoring 58 goals in all competitions, with 46 of them coming in the league. With the league won there is no need to rush Messi back to fitness and the player will now be able to recover slowly and hopefully return fresh at the start of the 2013-14 campaign, which promises to be a long season given that it begins in mid-August in Spain and ends with the 2014 World Cup, which will be held in Brazil. It is not yet known whether he will be able to play for Argentina in their World Cup qualifying matches in early June. Argentina entertain Colombia, June 4, and away to Ecuador four days later.

effect, overturning a 0-1 deficit thanks to a goal from Alexis Sanchez and an own goal with 10 minutes remaining. The Catalans are already assured of the Primera Liga title as of this weekend and they currently hold a 10-point lead over second placed Real Madrid with a game in hand. Messi has been vital once

JAMAICA: Sprint legend Usain Bolt has announced that he will compete at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich in August. The Jamaican runner confirmed his appearance at the meet in a statement on the International Association of Athletics Federations website Monday. Bolt says he is eager to return to Switzerlands largest city, as he loves the electric atmosphere at the stadium. "I am excited to go back to Zurich, he said in a statement on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) website. I love the electric atmosphere at the stadium and both

Bolt to compete in SC directs de-sealing of stadiums Zurich Diamond League stands for IPL match
the competition and the events during the week of the meeting are always extremely well-organised." The fastest man on the planet says he will decide whether to run the longer or shorter sprint nearer to the time of the meeting August 29. Bolt's appearance will be his first outing after the World Athletics Championships in Moscow from August 10-18, where he will be hoping to regain the world title he lost to training partner Yohan Blake in Daegu, South Korea, in 2011. Bolt won last year's 200metre at Zurich in 19.66 seconds. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court directed Chennai Corporation to de-seal three stands with 12,000 seats in M A Chidambaram Stadium for todays IPL match between Chennai Superkings and Delhi Daredevils. A bench of justices B S Chauhan and Dipak Misra, however, said that the stands will remain closed for other matches and they cannot be opened without its permission. Without going into the merits whether the construction of the three stands was illegal or not, the bench allowed their usage, saying that tickets had already been sold for the stands and it would create law and order problem if people were not allowed to get in to watch the match. The court was hearing a petition filed by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) seeking its direction to deseal the three stands. The Association assured the bench that the stands will not be used in any match without the courts permission. TNCA had challenged Chennai Corporations action of sealing three stands I, J and K on the ground that they had been constructed without prior permission from the authorities concerned. It had submitted that the three sealed stands were part of renovation work going on in the stadium and six stands had already been allowed by the Corporation. The cricket body had pleaded that the stands be de-sealed as tickets had already been sold for todays IPL match. Seven IPL matches had been played in the stadium this year without any hitch, it had said.

French PSG cancels celebrations after clashes

PARIS: Newly crowned French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-German (PSG) cancelled a championship celebrations with players on cruise on the Seine river scheduled Monday evening after clashes between fans and police escalated at the crowded Trocadero Plaza. Tens of thousands of PSG supporters converged into the celebration platform in Trocadero in the evening, waiting to cheer their heroes, the PSG players who had just won the first French league title since 1994. With nearly 800 riot policemen deployed to the scene, the fans were so excited that they celebrated by lighting flares, climbing scaffoldings and waving club flags on rooftops. The clashes erupted when they threw stones and other objects towards riot police, while the police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowds. Some were wounded in the clashes and were sent to hospital immediately. For security reasons, after receiving the trophy, the PSG shortened the celebration ceremony. No one gave speeches in the five-minute ceremony and the PSG very soon announced the cancellation of the cruise. French BFMTV reports said that glasses of some shops and cars were also broken along the Paris`s iconic avenue, Les Champs Elysee. The police prefecture confirmed that 30 people were wounded including three policemen and 21 were arrested.

Wozniacki woes continue with Rome defeat Under 19 tournament

ROME: Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki is still without a win in a major clay-court tournament this season as the French Open approaches after losing a marathon match to Bojana Jovanovski 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) at the ATP/WTA Rome Masters on Tuesday. The 10th-seeded Wozniacki laboured for almost three hours in a struggle which ended in front of a standingroom only crowd as she lost to her 48th-ranked opponent in their first-round match. With her victory, the 21-yearold from Belgrade ended a poor run of form and claimed her first win since midJanuary at the Australian Open. Wozniacki had beaten the Serb in both of their previous meetings, but was burdened with six double-faults in her Rome defeat while losing serve seven times. Russian Maria Kirilenko restored order for the seeds at the Foro Italico as the number 12 beat Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-3. Meanwhile, German Julia Goerges advanced over Czech Andrea Hlavackova despite losing the opening set and Varvara Lepchenko of the US defeated Lesya Tsurenko 6-4, 6-2. In the men's ATP draw, Mikhail Youzhny provided the first minor upset as he put out German 13th seed Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3. The 35-year-old Haas won the Munich clay title little more than a week ago and reached the third round in Madrid. In other first-round results, Spain's Fernando Verdasco beat Argentina's Horacio Zeballos in three sets, while Frenchman Jeremy Chardy also needed three sets before beating Spaniard Feliciano

Kho-Kho, Kabaddi, Volley Ball kick started in Srinagar

SRINAGAR: To boost the sportsmen in the Valley, District Youth Services and Sports Officer, Srinagar has organised different sports activities including Table Tennis, Chess, Badminton Yoga, Jump Rope, Rope Skipping and Carom besides Inter-Zonal tournaments in Kho-Kho, Volley Ball and Kabaddi for Boys and Girls in the age group of 14 and 17 years were also organized in the district.. Under 19 tournament for Boys and Girls for KhoKho, Kabaddi and Volley Ball have been inaugurated at S.P Higher Secondary School and GHSS, Rajbagh were large number of teams are participating.

CWG-fiasco in mind, Delhi now wants to cancel Asian athletics event

NEW DELHI: With less than two months left before the 20th Asian Athletics Championship, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Tejendra Khanna has asked the chief ministers office to reconsider its decision to host the event in New Delhi. The request came in view of the utter failure to organise Commonwealth Games properly in 2010 which had left the entire country red faced. The event, which is scheduled to be held in the first week of July in the capital, was initially slated to be organised in Chennai but it was shifted to Delhi following Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithas opposition to the participation of Sri Lankan athletes in the event. A leading newspaper reported that Khanna has asked the CMs office to review its decision to organise the event as it coincides with the monsoon, which would hamper the event and would "result in a poor picture of the country and its infrastructure being projected". It was also learnt that the Delhi government is in a dilemma to organise the event after the letter from the Lieutenant Government. If Delhi finally rejects to host the event the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) could shift the event either to Pune or Bangalore.

Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4). Top seed and two-time champion Novak Djokovic was due to open later in the second round against Albert Montanes while Roger Federer, seeded second, was

playing Italian wild card Potito Starace. Argentine seventh seed Juan Martin del Potro was making his return to action after a virus, taking on Russian Andrey Kuznetsov.

Roberto Mancini sacked by Manchester City

LONDON: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has been sacked. As reported by Goal.com on Sunday, the club`s defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup final proved the last straw for the City owners, who said in a statement that the Italian had failed to achieve any of the team`s targets for the season. The decision comes exactly one year to the day since Sergio Aguero`s dramatic late goal saw Mancini`s side clinch their first league title for 44 years, with Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini expected to be unveiled as his replacement at the Etihad Stadium. "It is with regret that Manchester City announce that Roberto Mancini has been relieved of his duties as manager," read a statement on the club`s official website. "This has been a difficult decision for the owner, chairman and board to make and it is the outcome of a planned end of season review process that has been brought forward in light of recent speculation and out of respect for Roberto and his extensive contributions to the club. "Despite everyone`s best efforts, the club has failed to achieve any of its stated targets this year, with the exception of qualification for next season`s Champions League. This, combined with an identified need to develop a holistic approach to all aspects of football at the club, has meant that the decision has been taken to find a new manager for the 2013-14 season and beyond." Club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak declared: "Roberto`s record speaks for itself and he has the respect and gratitude of Sheikh Mansour, myself and the board for all of his hard work and commitment over the last three-and-a-half years. He has clearly also secured the love and respect of our fans. "He has done as he promised and delivered silverware and success, breaking the club`s 35-year trophy drought and securing the title in 2012. I would like to personally and publicly thank him for his dedication to the progress that he has overseen and for his support and continued friendship." Mancini`s assistant, Brian Kidd, is to take temporary charge of the team for their final two matches of the Premier League campaign and their post-season friendlies in USA

OCA urges IOC to meet only Sports Ministry delegation

NEW DELHI: The Olympic Council of Asia has thrown its weight behind IOA`s disgruntled Acting-President V K Malhotra and Secretary General Randhir Singh and has urged the IOC against meeting officials from the suspended IOA during tomorrow`s crucial joint meet to end India`s Olympic suspension. The IOC will meet delegations of the IOA and the Indian Sports Ministry tomorrow in Lausanne to chart a way forward for India`s return to the Olympic fold. Malhotra and Randhir pulled out of the meeting a day after the IOC agreed to include Hockey India General Secretary Narinder Batra and Jharkhand Olympic Association R K Anand in the IOA delegation for the meeting, in addition to the fourmember list submitted earlier. The OCA has now come out in support of the duo. "As you are aware the IOA and IOC members in India have withdrawn from participating in this meeting for reasons mentioned in their respective letters. As guardians of Olympic Charter, it is therefore our duty to protect the interest of its member NOC," OCA President Sheikh Ahmad AlFahad Al-Sabah said in a letter to IOC chief Jacques Rogge. "I would therefore suggest that on May 15, 2013, the meeting takes place only between the IOC and the government of India delegation headed the Minister, wherein they should be clearly informed that adherence to the Olympic Charter is of paramount importance and any government guideline and amendment to the IOA constitution should be in lien with the Olympic Charter," he added. The OCA suggested another meeting next month which would also include its representatives to end the deadlock. "Furthermore, a meeting should be called in mid of June in Lausanne between the IOA, the government of India and the IOC/OCA where further roadmap should be laid down for lifting the suspension of the IOA," the letter stated. Tomorrow`s meeting will also be attended by Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, Sports Secretary P K Deb, Beijing Olympics goldmedallist shooter Abhinav

Bindra and Olympian sailor Malav Shroff. The joint meeting will be from 9 am to 12 noon (local time). It would be followed by the Sports Ministry delegation making a courtesy call to IOC President Jacques Rogge between 12 to 12:45 pm followed by the IOA delegation, which would get just 15 minutes starting 12:45 with the IOC chief.

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