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

STUdenT aGe
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

JKENG/2012/41612 Vol. 1 No: 171

EFFECTIVE DETERRENCE MUST TO PROTECT NATION: PRANAB MUKHERJEE

LAW AND ORDER HAS WORSENED IN TAMIL NADU: KARUNANIDHI

GO FOR SOLAR ENERGY, NO INDUSTRY WITHOUT POWER, DR FAROOQ

IN BRIEF
IMC on media content issues to meet tomorrow: I&B Min
NEW DELHI: The InterMinisterial Committee on media content issues will meet tomorrow. Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tiwari said in reply to a supplementary in the Lok Sabha today that the alleged Jindal-Zee TV extortion matter will also figure in the meeting. contd on page 2

Outrage in Parliament over Delhi crime, Rajya Sabha condemns it

NEW DELHI: Cutting across party lines, Rajya Sabha members Tuesday condemned the gang-rape of a young woman on a moving bus in Delhi, with several demanding capital punishment for rapists. Anger and emotions filled the house as anguished members of parliament told the government to ensure that no such incident takes place again. The 23-year-old woman, who was gang-raped by at least seven men and thrown off the bus along with a male friend Sunday night, is critical and on ventilator support at a hospital here. Samajwadi Party's Jaya Bachchan broke down in the house saying she wondered

Sushma demands capital punishment Jaya Bachchan gets emotional in RS

what would happen to the girl's family, while Trinamool Congerss's Derek O'Brien said as the father of a teenaged girl he was scared. Bachchan, the BJP's Najma Heptullah, Shiv Sena's Manohar Joshi and Rashtriya Janata Dal's Ram Kripal Yadav were among the members who said death sentence should be the punishment for the rapists. Appalled at the horrific gang-rape in a Delhi bus, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday called for capital contd on page 2

Shinde shares plans to protect women; Guilty to be tried in fast-track court

Need to educate men to respect women: Bedi

NEW DELHI: Former top cop Kiran Bedi on Tuesday stressed on the need to educate men to respect women. The remark came in the wake of horrifying incident of gang-rape of a paramedical student in Delhi. The victim is said to be very critical, as per doctors. Bedi today tweeted, "Mothers of India should ask their sons to take an oath that they will never disrespect women." Bedi also stressed on the need to improve policing in the national capital, which has contd on page 2

Second arrest in Samjhauta Express blast case by NIA in MP

BHOPAL: Samajwadi Party workers stop trains at Varanasi Another accused in the Samjhauta express blasts, Ram Lakhan Maharaj alias Dhan Singh alias Swami, has been arrested by Satna police in Madhya Pradesh. He was handed over to the National Investigation Agency, NIA. This is contd on page 2

NEW DELHI: Amid national anger over the gangrape of a medical student in Delhi in a moving bus, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde outlined for parliament how the government plans to increase the safety of women in the capital. Shinde informed the Lok Sabha contd on page 2

Health Min for PPP to fill gaps in healthcare service delivery

NEW DELHI: The Centre today stressed strengthening of public health systems at all levels focusing on primary and secondary care. Addressing the 9th India Health Summit in New Delhi, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad called for Public Private Partnership to fill in contd on page 2

Girls outshine boys in class Xth exams in Kashmir

SRINAGAR,DEC 18: Girls continue to outshine boys and dominate the merit list in the class 10 examinations in Kashmir, securing nine of the top ten positions. The results, which were announced yesterday by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE), recorded an overall pass percentage of 68.21 per cent. Two girls - Iqra Bashir Makhdoomi of Model Public High School, Sopore in north Kashmir?s contd on page 2

10 people killed and 6 injured as minibus falls in gorge near Reasi

JAMMU,DEC 18: At least 10 people were killed and six others injured Tuesday when a minibus rolled down a mountainous road while negotiating a turn in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. The minibus carrying 16 people was on its way from Mahore to Jammu. The vehicle rolled down a 500 feet deep gorge at Malai Nallah, about 150 km from here. Police said 10 people, including the driver of the bus, were killed in the accident and six others injured. The injured have been shifted to the Reasi government hospital. Four of them

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JAMMU,DEC 18: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Governor, N.N.Vohra, The Minister for Transport and Consumer Affairs, Mr Qamar Ali Akhoon and Minister for Higher Education, Mr Abdul Gani Malik have expressed grief over the loss of lives in a road accident near Mahore area of in the Reasi district Tuesday. In his condolence message,

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ill-fated minibus rolled down into a 500 feet deep gorge at Malai Nallah. are in critical condition, hospital sources said. "It appears that the driver of the minibus lost control over the steering while negotiating a...curve," a police official said. Eight people were killed in an accident in mountainous Doda district Sunday. The mountainous roads of Jammu and Kashmir are notorious for frequent accidents.

Lalu Prasad irks Meira Kumar

NEW DELHI: RJD leader Lalu Prasad Tuesday irritated Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar by intervening and speaking out of turn in the House. "Please don't play politics in running down a member. All members are respectable to me," said the speaker. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief was upset as the contd on page 2

Lok Sabha discusses media regulation

NEW DELHI: "We need to give time to the self-regulation mechanism to flourish and take roots as it is linked to the basic democratic issues, but we are ready for a debate and will go by the sense of the house," Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told the Lok Sabha during the Question Hour. Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav said the media needs to be accountable and the government should strengthen the Press Council of India or parliament to do so. "Media needs accountability. The government should strengthen the Press Council of India or parliament to do so," he said. Congress MP Lal Singh wanted the government to cancel the license of Zee TV Group which allegedly demanded a bribe from party MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal. Tewari responded by saying that a criminal investigation was on in the case. Replying to a query contd on page 2

Forging PPPs in healthcare the way forward: Azad

Punishment should acknowledge sanctity of human life: SC

NEW DELHI: Lack of legislative or judicial guidelines for trial courts to determine punishment to be awarded to the guilty is the "weakest" part of criminal justice system in India, the Supreme Court has said. "Giving punishment to the wrongdoer is at the heart of the criminal justice delivery, but in our country, it is the weakest part of the administration of criminal justice. "There are no legislative or judicially laid down guidelines to assist the trial court in meting out just punishment to the accused facing trial before it after he is held guilty of the charges," a bench of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai said. The court's observation came on an appeal by one of the persons convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Kerala High Court in a case of death of 31 persons due to consumption of spurious liquor in October 2000. Dismissing the appeal, the court held that "punishment should acknowledge the sanctity of human life" and laid down points to be considered by trial courts while awarding sentence, prominent among them being "proportionality and deterrence" of the imprisonment. The other points included, "consequences of criminal action," "sentence being commensurate with seriousness or gravity of the offence" and "attribution of unintended consequences to offender if they are reasonably foreseeable." In its 23-page judgement, the bench, referring to the decision of the Kerala High Court in the case, answered the question if the social consequences of a culpable act and its impact on other people can be a relevant consideration for giving a heavier punishment. The high court had taken into account the death due to consumption of the illicit liquor sold by appellant, Soman, to increase the sentence of two years awarded to him by the trial court to five years. The apex court while upholding the decision of the high court as "fully justified," however, reduced Soman's sentence to three years on the ground that punishment of another convict, the supplier, in the 2000 case was also modified. "It is noted above that a number of appeals against the judgement and order by the high court came before this court at the instance of a number of accused. "One of them happened to be accused no. 25 who was the supplier of the illicit liquor contd on page 2

RBI keeps key rates unchaged

MUMBAI: Maintaining a status quo, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today kept the key rates unchanged with Repo Rates and Reverse Repo Rate at 8 and 7 per cent respectively. Cash Reserve ratio also remained unaltered at 4.25 per cent in RBI's mid quarter review for the third quarter of the current fiscal. Markets were expecting the RBI to continue to tinker with the Cash Reserve Ratio by a contd on page 2

NEW DELHI, DEC18: Forging partnerships between the public and private sector is the way forward for the healthcare sector in India, said Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday. "Though India has earned international accolades for its collective efforts at containing polio, significant reduction in infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate (MMR), the delivery and outcomes of healthcare facilities need to be improved further", said Azad contd on page 2

Five militants killed in encounter

SRINAGAR,DEC 18: Five militants, belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba, were killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Sopore area in north Kashmir's Baramulla district today. The militants were killed in a joint operation by army and police at Sadhpora, some 55-km from here, an army official said. They belonged to Pakistan-based militant outfit LeT, he said adding the gunfight lasted over 13 hours. The security forces raided the place following contd on page 2

HIV cases down by 57% in India: Health Min

NEW DELHI: India is witnessing a significant reduction in fresh cases of deadly HIV, which have come down by as much as 57 per cent, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Tuesday. "There have been significant falls in MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella), IMR (Infant Mortality rates) and TFR as well as reduction in new HIV cases by as much as 57 percent," he said, while addressing the India Health Summit organised by CII here. Azad said this will be the second successive year which will see a polio-free India, which is the longest polio-free period ever since eradication efforts were launched. "We have stepped up efforts to meet public health challenges such as Influenza A- H1N1 pandemic and the credit goes to ICMR and our Indian manufacturers to have contd on page 2

KPs appeal J&K govt to enhance monthly cash relief

JAMMU,DEC 18: Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) today appealed the Jammu and Kashmir government to immediately enhance the monthly cash assistance to the community. "We appeal to government to enhance the monthly cash assistance immediately," president of Jagti Tenement Committee (JTC), Shadi Lal Pandita said during a meeting here. contd on page 2

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danger", doctors attending on her said on Tuesday. The minister said a new committee, headed by the Home Secretary, will evaluate what needs to change, based partly on suggestions made in parliament Tuesday by members of the opposition. He also said that routes used often by women at night are being identified and will be patrolled at night by police vans and cops on motorcycles. Call centres have been ordered by the police to ensure that women workers being dropped home after late shifts are escorted to their door-step. Mr Shinde also said that a proposal will be made to fast-track the trial in Sunday night's case with daily hearings to ensure that justice is delivered quickly. the delivery of service in the rural sector. The creation of the HSSC is step in this direction, he further added. Shivinder Mohan Singh, Executive ViceChairman, Fortis Healthcare Limited, in his address remarked that to ensure availability of affordable healthcare services in the country, forging public-private partnerships is the only way forward. Additionally, there is also an urgent need for improving the transparency and accountability on the cost of delivery of healthcare services, he added. Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, added that time has come for the healthcare sector to be accorded infrastructure status in order to improve the sector's outcomes and platform of delivery access across different sections of the society. In his concluding remarks, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry, highlighted the vast untapped potential of the healthcare sector in India. D Subbarao maintained a status quo in the policy, stating that Liquidity conditions will be managed with a view to supporting growth as stated in the second quarter review, thereby preparing the ground for further shifting the policy stance to support growth. RBI said GDP growth is evolving along the baseline projection of 5.8 per cent for 2012-13 set out in the second quarter review. The recent policy initiatives by the Government and further reforms should help to boost business sentiment and improve the investment climate.

Subhash Joshi new BSF chief, Ajay Chadha to head ITBP

NEW DELHI,DEC 18:Subhash Joshi was on Tuesday appointed as the new chief of Border Security Force (BSF) while Special Secretary in Home Ministry Ajay Chadha would now head the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Joshi, who is at present Director General of elite National Security Guard, will lead the 1.8 lakh strong border force BSF as the post had fallen vacant on December 1 due to retirement of U K Bansal. A 1976 batch IPS officer from Uttrakhand cadre, Joshi is due to retire in February 2014. He has also served in CRPF as Special Director General of Police. In another appointment cleared by Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chadha, Special Secretary (Internal Security), has been appointed as Director General of ITBP. A 1977 batch IPS officer of AGMU cadre, Chadha will have a tenure till August next year. The post had fallen vacant after Ranjit Sinha was appointed as Director of CBI. Special Director General of BSF Arvind Ranjan has been appointed as Director General, National Security Guard (NSG). Ranjan is a 1977 batch IPS officer of Kerala and has service till April 2015. All the appointments will be effective from the dates these officers assume charge of their posts and till their superannuation or until further orders, whichever event takes place earlier, an official order said.

Contd. from page 1...

Outrage in Parliament....
punishment for those guilty of such crimes. She was speaking during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha. "There are no words to condemn such incidents. A victim of rape is neither dead nor alive. Even if the wounds of the victim heal physically, the mental trauma makes her a living dead," said Swaraj. Sushma Swaraj was followed by Girija Vyas who decried the decline in law and order situation in the city. She said, "There has been a laxity in police patrolling. There is a huge security lapse. When a woman gets murdered, she gets killed once. But when she gets raped, she dies again and again." Speaker Meira Kumar exhorted the government to take strict measures over the issue without delay. "This is a serious issue. This is a heinous act. I will allow you to raise the matter during Zero Hour," she said. Raising the issue in the upper house of parliament, BJP member Maya Singh proposed that there should be no legal recourse for such criminals."There should be toughest punishment for them and no one should argue their case," she said. Her party colleague Najma Heptullah demanded capital punishment for rapists "so that people are afraid". Backing her, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said: "There should be fast track courts. They should get life sentence."Bachchan also said rape should be treated at par with attempt to murder. "I am very worried about the parents of this girl. What is going to happen to them? All will forget but she will remember for the rest of her life. It'll be a scar," she said, her voice laden with emotions. While Janata Dal-United's Shivanand Tiwari blamed growing commercialisation and projection of women as commodity in the media for increasing rape incidents, O'Brien said he was not only shaken by the incident but was also nervous as father of a teenaged girl. "I stand here nervous and scared as the father of a 17-year-old daughter," he said. "Rape is not just a women's issue. It's about men who stop behaving like human beings and start behaving like animals," he said. BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde should take responsibility. "Home minister should take moral responsibility and assure the house that such an incident will not happen again," Naidu said. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati advocated tough punishment for the criminals and said the punishment should be publicised to discourage any more such incidents. "Delhi is the capital and in Delhi for a long while I have been seeing every day there are cases of exploitation, rape of innocent girls and women," Mayawati said. "When culprits are arrested, the case is forgotten. If there is publicity of what happens to the accused, their morale will be down," she said. Opposition members were joined by those from the ruling party in condemning the incident, with Congress member Renuka Chowdhary suggesting that all woman MPs should go and meet the Delhi chief minister and the city police commissioner. "I suggest women MPs should meet the commissioner of police and Delhi chief minister to work out an action plan whereby such incidents do not happen again," she said. Earlier, the house was adjourned twice during the question hour over the incident with opposition demanding a statement from the home minister. The incident occurred after the woman and her male friend boarded a private bus after watching a movie to go from Munirka to Dwarka. Addressing a press conference, amid massive outrage in the country, including inside the Parliament, Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar said the Delhi Police will request the court to put the case through a fast-track court so as to ensure that the guilty are punished at the earliest. The four arrested for the crime are: Bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Vinay Sharma a gym instructor, Pawan Gupta - a fruit seller. Two others are absconding and will be nabbed soon, the Commissioner said. The girl, along with a male friend, had boarded a chartered bus with tinted glass windows from Munirka in South Delhi around 9.45 PM to go to Dwaraka after watching a movie. As soon as the bus started to move, the group of men present inside the bus assaulted them with an iron rod. The woman was beaten up and raped by the men inside the bus. There were seven men in the bus. Both the woman and her male friend, who was also beaten up when he resisted, were thrown off the bus near Mahipalpur. The Delhi Police chief said that the bus was washed after the crime to eliminate evidence. Most of the accused are residents of the slum in Sector three

Five militants .....

specific information about the presence of militants in the area, the official said. Three militants were killed in two operations in Sopore area on Thursday.

Need to ....
registered a spurt in such cases of crime. "There is a compelling need for a combined police and community patrolling plan in Delhi," she added. Meanwhile, students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University in South Delhi protested outside the Vasant Vihar Police Station in connection with the case.

CM, Gov ...

the Chief Minister conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved families and prayed for early recovery of the injured. Omar directed the Divisional Administration and Health Department to provide all necessary medical treatment to the injured. Expressing concern over the frequent road accidents in Chenab valley region, Omar directed the concerned authorities to review the scenario and work out strategy to curb the mishaps. In a message, the Governor conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of all those injured in this accident. Expressing sympathy with the bereaved families, Mr. Malik prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls and speedy recovery of injured. The Minister issued instructions to the local authorities to shift injured to hospitals and extend all possible medicare to them. The Transport Minister announced a relief of Rs 25,000 each to the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 10, 000 each to the seriously injured and Rs 5000 with minor injuries out of Passenger Welfare Scheme. The Ministers asked the GMC authorities to provide best medical care to the injured persons with provision of free medicines. The Ministers also conveyed heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family and prayed for early recovery of the injured. The Chairman Legislative Council, Mr Amrit Mahlotra, Minister of state for Power, Shabir Ahmed Khan have also expressed grief over the loss of human lives in the mishaps.

HIV cases down.....

domestically develop testing regents and vaccines to combat H1N1," Azad said. He said ICMR is currently working on 75 leads of potential public health importance for development and evaluation of affordable diagnostics, including indigenously developed test for diabetes, TB and cancer. The minister said the health ministry in the last three years have focused on reforming policies related to medical and paramedical education in order to meet the acute shortage of human resources in health. "For these several policy decisions the availability of MBBS seats and PG seats will increase by 40 and 80 percent respectively. I am sure that by next year the increase in MBBS and PG seats will touch 50 percent and 100 percent respectively," said Azad. To meet shortage of nursing staff, Azad said his ministry has sanctioned 269 nursing schools with an outlay of Rs 2,030 crores. These institutions will produce an additional 20,000 nurses annually.

Girls outshine....
Baramulla district and Samma Malik of Mallinson Girls Higher Secondary School Sheikhbagh here ? topped the examination by securing 498 marks out of 500 (99.60 per cent). The first three positions were shared by seven girls and as many as 255 students have shared the top 20 positions, out of which five are from government-run schools. The JKBOSE officials said a total of 49,027 students - 26,697 boys and 22,330 girls appeared in the Class 10 examination this year, out of which 15,483 failed to qualify. Over 1370 students (612 boys and 766 girls) secured A1 grade (90 per cent or above marks), while 3727 students have secured A2 grade, securing the pass percentage of 80-89 per cent and 4834 got B1 grade securing 70-79 per cent, the officials said. The overall pass percentage of 68.21 is better than last year's 66.13 per cent. However, the overall pass percentage of boys this year, 71 per cent, is higher than that of girls, 64 per cent. The result continues the recent trend of girls outperforming boys in most board and competitive examinations in Kashmir. Last year, 90 out of the 150 students figuring in the merit list were girls, with first three positions bagged by them.

Effective Deterrence must to Protect Nation: Pranab Mukherjee

KPs appeal....
"We also appeal to the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to provide necessary funds for completion of the pending works at Jagti Township," he said. The committee also lauded the role of Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner R K Pandita in this regard. Pandita assured all possible help in this direction and also directed the concerned department to complete the work in order to facilitate the migrants.

CHENNAI, DEC 18: Achievement of India's foreign policy goal of peace is based on the its defence policy of "effective deterrence" which, in turn, necessitates maintenance of a force to protect the country's sovereignty, President Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday. Mukherjee was speaking at a function at the Indian Air Force's (IAF) station at Sulur near Coimbatore to present the Presidential Standard to the IAF's 25 Squadron and 33 Squadron. "India stands for peace and its foreign policy is focused on the achievement of this objective. Therefore, effective deterrence is the cornerstone of our defence policy," Mukherjee said. "Effective deterrence requires the maintenance of a force that can be called upon at any time to secure the sovereignty of our nation. Our armed forces, of which the men and women who stand before us, symbolises, this capability," Mukherjee added. He said the 25 and 33 Squadrons have a rich tradition of valour and courage and have rendered distinguished service to the nation since their inception. Praising the IAF, which has been in existence for over 80 years, Mukherjee said it has grown into "one of the most powerful and professional forces in the world, capable of facing any threat to our national integrity". He said the operational capability of the IAF constitutes an important cutting edge of the nation's military strength. Besides safeguarding the nation, the IAF has always been available for humanitarian assistance during disasters within and outside the country. "I remember that the air force had flown relief supplies in 2005 to as far as the US when (hurricane) Katrina had struck New Orleans. In 2008, the Indian Air Force flew relief supplies to the earthquake hit southwestern province of Sichuan in China," Mukherjee said. "Our air warriors have also been selected to be a part of UN peacekeeping missions. This is a testimony to your capabilities, discipline and excellence," he added. Lauding the 25 Squadron, Mukherjee said "the Himalayan Eagles" have been the lifeline of the armed forces, personnel and citizens in the northern frontiers for over five decades, in times of peace as well as war. During the 1965 and 1971 wars and Kargil operations, aircraft of the 25 Squadron airlifted critical supplies for troops and performed some very important operations, he said. "The 33 Squadron is a premier transport squadron of the Indian Air Force that participated in both the 1965 and 1971 wars and also played a major role in the Indian Peace Keeping Force operations in Sri Lanka in 1989," he said.

Lok Sabha....
related to incidents of paid news, the minister said the challenge was to decide what qualifies as paid news. He said an inter-ministerial committee would meet Wednesday to discuss the Zee TV vs Jindal case.

Punishment should ....

to the appellant and from him the appellant had received the fatal supply that led to the death and sickness of a number of others. "Since this court has deemed fit to reduce the sentence given to accused no 25 from a life term to ten years rigorous imprisonment, we feel that it will not be fair not to give the same concession to the appellant who was the last and weakest link in the chain," the bench said. The court cancelled Soman's bail and directed that he be taken into custody to serve his remainder sentence.

IMC on media....
Mr Tiwari said there is no consensus among the stakeholders on setting up an independent Regulatory Authority to monitor and control media content including news. He said Paid News continues to be the biggest challenge because it defies any definition. Mr Tiwari assured the House that his ministry will continue its efforts to find a common ground on which the stakeholders could agree on self-regulation of the broadcast content.

Forging PPPs....
at the 9th India Health Summit organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here. He also released the report prepared by McKinsey for CII, titled, "India Healthcare: Inspiring possibilities, challenging journey", which provides various stakeholders with an integrated view of the healthcare sector in India by 2022. Despite the laudable efforts made by the government in the field of healthcare, significant challenges in the form of inadequate infrastructure, shortage of funds and efficient human resource faculty continue to confront the policymakers, Azad added. The Indian healthcare is envisaged to grow from the USD 65 billion industry currently to USD 100 billion by 2015. However, in order to reach this ambitious target, collaboration between public and the private sector in all areas of delivery is crucial, he stressed. Azad applauded the CII's initiative to create the Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC) to address the skill gap in the area of allied healthcare professionals. P.K Pradhan, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, highlighted that there is an urgent need to strengthen the public healthcare system in such a way that there is a seamless transition between primary and secondary healthcare facilities in the country. The government is working tirelessly towards ensuring that accessible and affordable healthcare services are available to all in the years to come. However, in order to ensure this, it was necessary for the public and private stakeholders to work in tandem with each other, he added. Rahul Khosla, Chairman, 9th India Health Summit, in his welcome remarks said that the healthcare summit in the last few years has become the most definitive platform to discuss and deliberate issues related to healthcare service in India. In his special address, Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman, CII National Committee on Healthcare, remarked that the quality of medical education needs to be improved in India with special focus on the up hauling of both the quality and quantum of doctors in the country. The skills of the ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers need to be enhanced, in order to improve

Second arrest .....

the second arrest in Samjhauta Express blast case in three days. Earlier, on Saturday, the NIA had nabbed another accused, Rajender Chaudhary alias Samundar from Nagda in Ujjain. - NIA believes that the connection of Dhan Singh was with right-wing Hindu outfits, involved the 2006 and 2008 Malegaon blasts, Samjhauta train blasts, Ajmer and some other incidents.

Authorities floating Statues, University delays result by 180-200 days:NSF

JAMMU,DEC 18: In a press conference held here under the chairmanship of Vikram Madhyal Chairman National Secular Forum (NSF) University Unit has take a strong note against the mismanagement of Jammu University for playing with the future of the students. NSF flays the Controller of Examination for none functioning of examination Wing and for not following the statues as it has not come up with the result of various exams on time. He said that nothing is being done for the welfare of the students and they have being taken for granted. He said that where 45 days have been fixed by the university for coming out with the result but more than 180 -200 days are being taken by the university and university authorities are least concerned for the same. Vikram said that MA Hindi 4th Semester exams where held on 5th June 2012 and where 232 days have passed the result is still awaited,MA Sociology 4th Semester which was held on 30th June 2012 is delaying be 207 days, MA History 4thSemester exam which was held on 2nd June 2012 is delaying be 235 days where as English 4th Semester exam held on 15thJune 2012 is delaying by 222 days, MA Economics 4thSemester which was held on 26th June is delaying by 211 days,MA Maths 4th Semester which was held on 1st Aug 2012 is delaying by 139 days. Whereas MA commerce 4th Semester which was held on 12thJune 2012 got its result after 182 days on 17th Dec 2012, MA Pol. Science which was held on 15th June 2012 got its result after 177 days on 7th Nov 2012, MA Geography 4th Semester which was held on 25th May 2012 got its result after 200 days on 11th Dec 2012 and same is the case of other courses.

Health Min....
the gaps in service delivery for optimal utilization of resources. Mr Azad said there is a need to create affordable health facilities in rural and remote areas. The minister also pitched for using information and technology to enhance efficiency of health care delivery. The Health minister said, 269 nursing schools have been sanctioned to overcome the shortage of nurses and auxiliary nurses and midwives in the country. He said these institutions will provide 20 thousand nurses annually. Mr Azad also informed that National Institute of Paramedical Sciences at Delhi and 8 Regional Institutes have also been sanctioned to increase the number of paramedical professionals in the country. He said more than 10 thousand paramedics are expected to be trained per year when these institutes of excellence are fully functional.

Lalu Prasad irks ....

speaker had asked him not to stand up and speak out of turn. The former Bihar chief minister first shouted back but soon realised his mistake and sat down smiling at the speaker's observation."I need to say something to a member to run the House. I will be sad if politics is played over the issue," said the speaker.

Shinde shares ....

that the guilty will be punished at the earliest and that he will personally follow the progress in the case. Shinde also said that efforts would be made to ensure that the guilty are tried in a fast-track court. Admitted to a city hospital, the victim is "better than yesterday" but she is still "not out of

RBI keeps....
quater per cent and expected the rate cut to happen in the fourth quarter. However. RBI Governor

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NEWS IN BOX

Disaster Preparedness Training Programme held at IMPA

SRINAGAR, DEC 18: A Disaster Preparedness Training Programme organized by Divisional Disaster Management was held at Institute of Management and Public Administration here today. In the training programme about 31 KAS probationers of batch 2011 participated and were acquainted with various disaster management techniques on the occasion. On the occasion, various precautionary and safety measures regarding gas leakage, fire incidents and other natural and manmade disasters were demonstrated through PowerPoint presentation besides a live demonstration of rescue equipments used in Fire and Emergency Services was also presented. Among others, Officer on Special Duty to Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Mr. Aamir Ali, Course Coordinator IMPA, Dr. Jehan Ara Jabeen, Dr. Samia Jabeen, Joint Director Fire and Emergency Services, Mr. R T Dobay, Dr. I P S Bali, Secretary Red Cross, Senior officer sales HPCL, Mr Haroon Hameed, besides trainers Sartaj Ahmad, Abdul Gaffar and Shakeel Ahmad were present on the occasion.

Chib reviews pace of developmental projects in R S Pura

JAMMU, DEC 18: Minister for Medical Education, Youth Services & Sports Mr. R S Chib on Tuesday said the development of border areas was the top priority of government and various initiatives have been initiated in this regard. The Minister was speaking at a meeting convened to review the pace of on-going developmental projects being executed in the border tehsil R S Pura. Mr. Chib reviewed status of projects taken-up under different schemes and sectors and got first hand appraisal of the same. He directed the field functionaries to accelerate the pace of work and ensure timely completion of all under-execution projects so that people get the desired benefits. Issuing on-the-spot directions, he asked the concerned authorities to prepare Detailed Project Reports of public importance projects in

'Development of border areas Govt's priority'

MAM PG College students stage a massive protest

JAMMU,DEC 18: Students of Government MAM PG College today stage a massive protest under the banner of Shoromani Akali Dal and alleged that some political parties are playing with the future of students and harassing administration of RS Pura Degree College. Lucky Singh, college president led the protest and addressed the gathering of students. Speaking on the occasion, Lucky Singh said that some political parties for their personal benefits are playing politics and are framing charges of misbehave on a professor. Lucky alleged that political parties are also mounting pressure on police, Principal of college to take action against the professor but none of the parties have any evidence against the professor. Lucky further added that every day one or another party is disturbing the peaceful atmosphere of the college over the issue owing to which studies of the students is suffering. Others who were present on the occasion included Sandeep Thakur, Ankur, Dilpreet Pritpal Singh Ramneek, Jaswinder.

Minister for Medical Education, Youth Services & Sports R S Chib reviewing status of projects taken-up under different schemes at Jammu. consultation with Panchayat representatives so that the spirit of grass root level democratic institutions could be translated in reality. The Minister asjked to expedite the pace of work on the the vital roads of Badyal Qazian- Samadhi, Sai- Mula Chak, Mehmoodpur-Kotli Mian Fateh, being constructed under NABARD. He said after completion these roads would help to improve communication facilities and give fillip to trade and commerce in these areas. Mr. Chib said that the work on Sub-Divisional Revenue Complex R S Pura would be taken up soon as funds for the same have already been allocated. The Minister said that various playfields are being developed in the Tehsil to provide added facilities to the youth, adding that more playfields would also be developed under Panchayat Yuva Khel Krida Abhiya (PYKKA) in the area. He said a

wrestling pavilion is being constructed at Bana Singh Stadium, R S Pura, adding that an indoor table tennis court would also be created there. The meeting was informed that against a total allocation of Rs. 87 lakh, an amount of Rs. 20 lakh has been disbursed to the BPL beneficiaries under Indira Awas Yojna so far. As many as 25 hand pumps and 20 High Mast Lights would be installed in various parts of the border area, the meeting was informed. Among others, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu Mr. Sanjeev Verma, SubDivisional Magistrate, R S Pura, Suraj Parkash Rakhwal, Chief Planning Officer Mr. Harihar Dutt, Superintendent Engineer PWD (R&B) Er. P L Bhushan, besides senior engineers of PDD, UEED, RDD and PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control were present in the meeting.

ABVP & YAC protest against FDI Scam and corruption

JAMMU,DEC 18: ABVP & YAC (Youth Against Corruption) J&K today jointly lodged a strong protest demonstration against FDI scam and corruption, under the leadership of Kailash Goswami, State Jt. Sect. ABVP demanding immediate revocation of FDI bill and eradication of corruption from India. A large number of ABVP & YAC activists led by Kailash Goswami gathered at Parade chowk and shouted slogans against FDI and UPA govt. who is hell bent to bring slavery back in India. While addressing the gathering Kailash Goswami said that FDI in multi brand retail will harm small shopkeepers, adversely affect domestic manufacturing sector and create joblessness in the country, as about 5crore retailers and about 25 crore people will get affected by this move of govt. He termed this move of UPA govt. as anti people, as the foreign retailers will not only destroy the domestic traders, but take away the hard-earned money of the people to their respective countries. He further said that ABVP and YAC will fight tooth and nail against UPA govt.'s corruption scams chain i.e. 2G scam, Commonwealth scam, Coal gate Scam and recent FDI bill scam in which Govt. plays with the future of India and its economy. Kailash Goswami further disclosed that ABVP & YAC is holding same protest demonstration at Kathua, Samba, Ghagwal, Vijaypur, R.S. Pura, Udhampur, Hiranagar, Chadwal and other places across the state and these protests will continue till the eradication of corrupt congress from India. Others who addressed on this occasion include Rahul Singh, Shakti Uppal, Ankush Rajput, Atul Sharma and others.

Basic facilities for all govt's priority: Bhalla

JAMMU, DEC 18: Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Mr. Raman Bhalla today said that the Government has prepared a comprehensive plan to develop every area of the State with improved basic amenities like safe drinking water, road connectivity, health, education, besides better lanes and drains. This was stated by the Minister while interacting with the residents of Rampura W No. 23 after launching Rs 12 lakh development works, here today. Mr. Bhalla said that the Government was making all out efforts to redress all the development related problems of the people on priority basis adding that there was no constraint of funds to meet the improved basic amenities of the people. He said instructions have been issued to all the officers to reach the people and assess their development needs. The Minister called upon the people to personally monitor the ongoing development works and its quality in their respective areas. He said the Government has resolved to provide durable assets to the people. He asked them to protect public property in their respective areas. Listing the measures taken by the Government to improve the basic amenities in his home constituency, Mr. Bhalla said Government has spent Rs 250 crore on commissioning of 25 deep drill tube wells including laying of water supply in periphery areas, besides newly developed colonies. He said the Government has spent Rs. 5 crore for providing relief to the people from uninterrupted power supply by installating 50 MVA transformer at Gladni in Narwal. The Minister said Govt has earmarked RS. 4.78 crore for construction of 133/11 KVA receiving station at Shastri Nagar, adding that the project would be completed by January next year. He said after its completion the power supply scenario would improve in Shastri Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Gangyal, Nai Basti and some areas of Digiana and Rani Talab areas. For facilitating the people of Shastri Nagar, Mr. Bhalla said, the Government has earmarked Rs. 3.37 crore for construction of parking slot on Landoi Choi nallah near Cremation Ground. He said people have faced lot of hardships due to non-availability of such facility in the area particularly during their visit to cremation ground.

PDP accuses the Centre and State of step motherly treatment

JAMMU, DEC 18: PDP Migrant Cell has accused the Centre and State Govts of stepmotherly treatment and discriminatory attitude towards internally displaced KP's. Addressing a meeting of displaced Pandits at Jagti Township today PDP Migrant Wing Peresident Ashok Bhat, said that both NC collection and centre Govt's have taken KPS forgranted thus ignoring them on all fronts because being a minuscule minority they are not vote bank. He said that KP's have played a vital role in every elections in the State. In coming elections too this small margin of vote can again play a significant role, He also said that the return polcy of displaced pundits to Kashmir the NC Collection and Center Govt's are not interested for their proposeful rehabilitation and resettlement in the valley, but for a token return they have given lollypops to some selected members of the community. He said NC-Congress collection are never sincre and honest towards KP's community, which is evident from its delay in passage of Shrine Bill, rehabilitation of over aged youth's and cold response of enhancement of relief,allotment of shops, Quarters and other related issues. Ashok Bhat said instead of providing healing touch to KP's community the NC-Congress Govt policies are aimed at providing heating touch to displaced community from the valley. Ashok Bhat said that it is unfortunate that State Gove has used police force on peaceful migrant relief holder's rally, who were demanding enhancement of cash relief on 17 Dec 2012. at Jammu. Bhat also said the KP's should thinkover attitude towards Present NCCongress Govt. He stressed on KP's to strengthen the Janab Mufti Mohd hands and his polices towards KP's. The meeting was also addressed by Mr RK Paradsi, Mr Sunil Bhat, Mr Veerji Raina, Mr Ramash Koul, Mr Babloo Singh,Mr Chandji Khar,Mr Ravi Ji, Mr Chand Ji Bhat & Mr Gagan Ji.

Symposium on plant pathology from today

JAMMU, DEC 18: Two days national symposium on Emerging Trends in Plant Pathology and North Zone meet is being organized by Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences & Technology of Jammu at its main campus at Chatha in collaboration with Indian Society of Mycology and Plant Pathology (Udaipur, Rajasthan) from December 19. Dr. B. L. Jalali, eminent plant pathologist of international repute shall be chief guest in the symposium. Eminent scientists from different institutes of the country shall converge in Jammu to deliberate on various aspects of diseases of agricultural, crops, fruits, vegetables and flower crops, eco-friendly management through bio-pesticides and mushroom cultivation, besides deliberating on other important issues in plant diseases such as trends in plant diseases and scientific advances in their management, molecular diagnostics and biotechnology, microbial diversity and its utilization, epidemiology and crop losers.

Rs. 847 cr advances in district Srinagar

SRINAGAR, DEC 18: An amount of Rs. 847.22 crores have been advanced by the various financial institutions in district Srinagar during the current financial year upto ending September 2012 for which 26315 income generating units have been established. This information was revealed in District Consultative Committee (DCC) meeting held here today under the Chairmanship of District Development Commissioner, Srinagar, Mr. Baseer Ahmad Khan. The meeting was attended by Joint Director Planning, Srinagar, Mr. Basharat Ahmad Makhdoomi, Lead Bank Officer, Mr. Manzoor Ahmad Tantray, District Officers and the representatives of Reserve Bank of India, Mr. Dinesh Chandra and NABARD, Mr. Desraj Jaryal. While reviewing the achievements of financial institutions, the meeting was told that under the Agriculture sector Rs. 37.52 crore were advanced during the same period in the district, while as Rs. 107.73 crores were advance under the Small Enterprises sector and Rs. 12.83 crore were also advanced under the Micro Credit sector in the district. The meeting was also told that Rs. 9.86 crore were sanctioned under the Education sector in the district while as Rs. 117.90 crore were advanced under the Priority sector. As many as Rs. 562.17 crore were advanced under the NonPriority sector in the district Srinagar during the same period. The District Development Commissioner, Srinagar on this occasion impressed upon the District Officers and representatives of financial Institutions for implementation of policies framed by the Reserve Bank of India in toto so that the dissemination of credit is made expeditiously. He said this will not benefit the weaker sections of the society but will also ensure overall growth of our economy.

Cash relief for accident victims

REASI, DEC 18: As per the directions of Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, a cash relief amounting to Rs. 1, 20,000 is being disbursed to the next of kin of dead, injured persons who met with a tragic accident at Malai More, Mahore Sub Division in district Reasi today. According to the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, S. Rajinder Singh Tara , Chief Medical Officer Reasi, who is also the Treasurer of District Red Cross Society, has been instructed to release Rs. 1,20,000 from District Red Cross Fund and keep the same amount at the disposal of Sub Divisional Magistrate, Mahore for further disbursement. The next of kin of dead would receive Rs.10, 000 each and Rs. 5,000 has been kept for each injured person. In the accident ten persons died and others suffered serious injuries.

Tarigami grieved over loss of lives in road accidents

JAMMU, DEC 18: The State Secretary CPI (M) and MLA Kulgam Mr. M. Y. Tarigami has expressed his profound shock and grief over the loss of precious human lives in the road accidents that occurred in Mahore and Badherwah areas for consecutive two day. In his condolence message, M. Tarigami while expressing sympathies with the bereaved families.

Mir stresses on close co ordination between Agri Dept, farmers, market agencies
JAMMU, DEC 18: Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Ghulam Hassan Mir today stressed on the need of close coordination between the field functionaries of the Agriculture department, farmers and market agencies to facilitate smooth implementation of National Vegetable Initiative in the State. The Minister said this on the occasion of power point presentation on Establishment of FarmerProducer-Organization in the state. He said the main objective of outsourcing is to abolish the middleman ship and provide direct market linkage to the vegetable growers for strengthening their economy and pricing their produce. He suggested registering more and more farmers under the programme and organizing Farmer Interest Groups

Sadhotra chairs House Committee meeting

JAMMU DEC 18: The House Committee constituted to look into the violation of Master Plan in the cities of Jammu and Srinagar, including the use of residential property for commercial purpose, was held under the Chairmanship of Member Legislative Council Mr. Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, here today. Legislators, Sheikh Ghulam Rasool, Mr. Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Mr. B. R. Kundal and D. S. Oberoi, besides Commissioner Secretary, Housing Urban Department Mr Jeet Lal attended the meeting. The members reviewed the steps taken by the enforcement agencies to contain the violations and called for furnishing a detailed report on the violations of the Master Plans. The members asked the concerned departments to produce the record in next meeting. The Members also stressed upon the people to come forward and register complaints and grievances with the Committee. Secretary Legislative Council Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Deputy Secretary Legislative Council Mr. A. Ahmad Wani, besides Officers and Official of Council Secretariat also present on the occasion.

Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Ghulam Hassan Mir chairing a meetinig at Jammu. (FIG) for creation of Farmer Producer Company (FPC) which will assist the farmers to produce quality production and also provide them market linkage. The Minister was informed that 5000 farmers of urban clusters of Jammu have been registered with details of their land holdings, soil composition and other agriculture information. Similarly 1000 farmers of Srinagar urban cluster have also been registered with the same detail and 3000 farmers would also be registered in coming days. Mr. Mir was further informed that Actech Information System Ltd would also establish Kissan Call Centres (KCC) in twin urban centers for registered farmers to provide them technical guidance from agriculture experts. Besides they would also establish weather stations in the state also. Commissioner Secretary, Agriculture Production, Mr. Shaleen Kabra, Director Agriculture, Jammu, Mr. Ajay Khajuria, Director Command Area Development, Mr. Tariq Ahmed, Director Agriculture, Kashmir, Dr. Farooq Ahmed Lone, Director Command Area Development, Jammu, Mr. Asgar Ali were present in the meeting.

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EDITORIAL & STATE WATCH

lines of credit amounting to $5.4 billion were announced for the period 2008-2013. The number of ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) programme slots was increased from 1000 to 1600 per year. There was also a doubling in the number of scholarships for graduates and post graduate students. The second summit in May 2011 took the initiative forward. Another $ 5 billion line by credit (LOC) $ 700 million for new institutions and training programmes and $ 300 million for the Ethiopian-Djibouti railways line were announced. Clusters in areas of food processing, textile weathers forecasting and agricultural and rural development are to be established. The aim is to train Africans in these sectors in their own countries. The total commitment in scholarship for the next three years will be more than 22,000. India's involvement with Africa goes back to a long way in the early days of the independence movements in that continent in the 1960's and before. Its presence was notable in infrastructure projects, with finance and building of railroads in east African countries, besides its assistance in setting up small scale industries in Tanzania and Kenya, joint ventures in textiles etc. In the next several decades India provided technical expertise, doctors, educational scholarships and various other forms of aid under the Indian Technical and Economic cooperation (ITEC) programme. ITEC, a potent component of cooperation with the developing world in general and India's Partners of Africa in Particular, is clearly set for a major expansion. India's policy towards Africa is founded on a mutually beneficial basis, mainly on the agenda of south cooperation. Throughout its history of cooperation with African nations, India has emphasized that it has 'given what it could" in terms of financial aid and technical support and it continues to do so even as its ability (to promote relations through economic incentives primarily trade, tourism and investment) has grown. India has actively pursued capacity building and a development agenda in Africa. India as actively pursued a capacity building and development agenda in Africa Since the 1960's. It was first Asian country to become a full member of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) in 2005, and assured $1 million to its sustainable development and poverty alleviation capacity building initiative. One of the most important initiatives that India has taken is its Focus Africa Programme, launched under Exim Policy 2002-07. Through this programme, the Government of India provides financial assistance to various trade promotion organizations, export promotion councils and apex chambers and Indian mission in the form of market development assistance. In 2004 India pledged $500 million in the form of concessional credit facilities to eight energy and resource-rich West African countries. Burkina Faso, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Coted' Ivoire Mali and Senegal - to help private Indian firms carry out development projects in those counties. This imitative has been named Team-9. It is reported that under this scheme 4 280 million worth of projects have already been approved against concessional lines of credit. These include $970,000 for the construction of a national post office in Burkina Faso, $30 million for rural electrification in Ghana, $4 million for a bicycle plant in Chad, $12 million for a tractor assembly plant in Mali, $ 15 million for drinking water projects in Equatorial Guinea. The Exim Bank of India has extended lines of credit (LOCs) to several regional organizations in Africa such as the common Market for Eastern and Southern African Countries (COMESA), Economic cooperation of West African States (ECOWAS) and southern African Development community (SADC). These LOCs supplement the Focus Africa programme. At present sixty-six LOCs are in operation amounting to $ 2.25 billion and covering forty-seven countries. The "e-net work" project launched and financed by Indian Government is aimed to enhance internet connectivity in Africa, linking five regional universities, five specialty hospitals, and fifty three regular hospitals and fifty three educational institutions across Africa to Indian Universities and hospitals via a satellite and fiber optic network. For this brainchild of former President of India, APJ Adbul Kalam, India has offered $ 100 million already twenty nine African countries have signed up for the project. The first centre for Indian Studies (CIS) started operations in the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Taking the lead in the infrastructure sector in Africa are India's state owned engineering companies like IRCON and RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Services). RITES has bagged contracts to refurbish and ran railways in Mozambique, Sudan and Tanzania. IRCON has constructed railways in Algeria and is also working in railway projects in Sudan Nigeria and Zambia. There is also financial support of $300 million for the development of a new Ethiopia-Djibouti rail line. In addition, India has contributed to UN peace keeping operations in Africa. According to the Ministry of External Affairs India is the largest contributor of peace keepers to the continent. There are 3500 Indian troops as peace keepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo; the 1400 strong Indian Military Contingent constitutes the largest contribution to the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. India has also supplied UN peace keeping missions with helicopters and medical communication equipment. The author can be contacted at mahmed709@gmail.com

4
Rehman Malik's visit has been disastrous

INDIA'S ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE TO AFRICA

BY: MUKHTAR AHMED MEHMOOD n the words by S.M Krishna, erstwhile India's External Affairs Minister, "this is the century of Asia and Africa". The rapid growth of the emerging Indian economy alerted the African countries to reorient their traditional economic links. India on its part has taken unprecedented initiatives, including holding two Africa-India Forum summits one in New Delhi and other at Addis Ababa. India's strength in cooperation with the developing countries lies in the sectors of capacity building and human resources development. Over the last six decades, thousands of Africans have benefited from India's ITEC programme and have acquired skills to build successful careers. Besides, Indian universities have been home to thousands of young students from the continent seeking knowledge and learning. India contributions in the areas of agriculture and small and mediums industries have also been successful in Arica. It is also argued by Indian statesmen that India has the potential to lead new industrialization and the new human resource development in Africa. Indian aid and investments are not tied to any political conditions; this helps the African counties to frame their infrastructure and other developmental programmes on their own terms. India's non-interference in political activities of African countries has been highly appreciated by several African governments. Indian investment also helps the African economies to improve the price of their primary commodities and their terms of trade. They also help them to enhance sub regional economic integration and to maximize the benefits thereof. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the first India-Africa forum summit in New Delhi in 2008 expressed the optimism of India' role in Africa in the following words: "The Twenty first century is often described as the century of Asia and African, with the people of the two continents working together to promote inclusive globalization". India's political commitment has been amply underlined by the two India-Africa Forum Summits held in 2008 and 2011. Financial resources, including lines of credit (LoCs) have been committed in pursuant of specific agreed objectives. The value of its investment works out to well over's $10 billion. The focus on proposed establishment of over a hundred new training institutions, proposed creation of new Africa Virtual University, grant of 22,000 scholarships and expansion of Indian Technical and Economic cooperation (ITEC) programme are all admirable initiatives.

So is the identification of seven specific sectors, mentioned in the Addis Ababa Declaration dated 25 May, 21011 of socio-economic and political activity, where enhanced cooperation is being promoted with in a jointly agreed framework. INDIA'S STAKES IN AFRICA It is obvious that the robust engagement with Africa is vital for India. At the political level, Africa represents 54 votes in the UN and other multilateral forums. If India is to play a global role, its visions and ideas will have to be supported by a large section of the international community and that is where Africa could become important. It is all the more significant that Africa has traditionally supported India more importantly on the question of UN reforms and the expansion of the UNSC, which is a high priority issue for India. Then there is the question of resources and raw materials the need for which is only going to rise in India. With its expanding African market with a healthy growth in consumer spending, India cannot afford to ignore this huge market. There is also the question of the Indian Diasporas in the continent. They have been doing a great job in projecting India's soft power there and this could be further encouraged. The Indian telecomm giant Bharti Airtel has managed to introduce a new business model in Africa to drastically bring down rates. Companies like Tata and Mahindra have been expanding their traditional business. India pharmaceuticals like Ranbaxy and Cipla have an impressive foot print in the continent. ONGC, IOC and Essar are investing in the hydrocarbon sector. Total investments from India in Africa are estimated to be over $ 50 billion out of which roughly $15 billion are by private sector. About 250 Indian firms have investment linkages with Africa. Agriculture is a sector that many Indian corporate are investing in. The hugely successful Kirloskar rice project in Senegal is going to make that country self sufficient. Karturia Global has made significant investment in Ethiopia and Kenya to promote horticulture and grain farming. Seeing these success stories, more entrepreneurs are venturing into new areas in Africa. A long term strategy in agriculture should include small and medium industries in agro based and food processing sectors. The Pan African e-network, an idea of President A.P.J Abdul Kalam, is a unique project on a continental scale. It has started contributing positively to e-education and e-medicine. The project won the 2012 famous awards for Innovation. India's economic assistance in Africa is an example of south-south cooperation. In the India-Africa Forum Summit of 2008, India Unilaterally offered preferential market access to exports from their four least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa. Additional

akistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik's just concluded three-day visit to India has been one of the most disastrous diplomatic initiatives which that country has taken in recent months to supposedly boost bilateral relations. After making a slew of indiscreet comments that only served to offend and outrage this country and this sentiment has been reflected in the manner in which the Opposition took the Government to task in Parliament on Monday - Mr Malik offered his equally injudicious parting shot on Sunday. He has claimed that 26/11 handler Abu Jundal, who was deported from Saudi Arabia early this year, was in fact an operative of an Indian intelligence agency. Of course, he couldn't be bothered to put forth a shred of evidence supporting his outlandish statement, which has since then been both refuted by the Union Home Secretary as "ridiculous" and also dismissed by commentators as the mindless musings of a motormouth. But the damage has already been done. Yet, it didn't have to be this way. Mr Malik was in India to operationalise a new visa agreement. But instead of focussing on this one development, which some amanki-aasha types croon is a revolutionary step towards better ties, Mr Malik chose to carpet-bomb Indian sensibilities. From claiming that it was the inclement weather that killed Kargil hero Captain Saurabh Kalia to equating the demolition of Babri Masjid with the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, he fired his shots thick and fast, finally blaming even the media for misrepresenting his statements. Clearly, the Pakistani Minister was determined to put his foot firmly in his mouth right from the

moment he landed on Indian soil. But then again, he is a known offender and has often got into trouble even in his home country for making nonsensical off-thecuff remarks. However, being an equal-opportunity offender does not take away from the fact that his statements are in perfect consonance with the official Pakistani line of thought. For instance, Islamabad has routinely trashed every single piece of evidence put forth by India in the 26/11 case. And Mr Malik did exactly the same in these past three days: He sneered at Indian forensic evidence that points to official Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai carnage and once again summarily dismissed Ajmal Kasab's statement pointing to Jamaat-udDawa'ah chief Hafiz Saeed's role in the attack. Of course, in the aftermath of Mr Malik's visit, Union Minister for Home Affairs Sushil Kumar Shinde has been whining that, on the issue of Hafiz Saeed's arrest, he was misled by his Pakistani counterpart whom he had so graciously hosted. Shockingly, the Pakistani Minister was allowed full freedom to carry out his campaign of disinformation - much like General Pervez Musharraf, the man who waged war against India, was allowed to cock a snook at us while speaking at a venue here a few months ago. So, the blame for India's humiliation this past weekend lies as much with the Indian establishment led by a hapless Prime Minister and his spineless Home Affairs Minister, as it does with Mr Malik. Given the development, is it any wonder that the vast majority of the people in this country believe that confidence building measures like playing cricket with Pakistan are meaningless endeavours.

STATE WATCH

Assembly adjourned amidst Cong protest

CHANDIGARH: Punjab assembly was adjourned till Wednesday following the protest by the opposition Congress members on Tuesday as they wanted the discussion to be initiated on the law and order situation in the state, as had been agreed upon, allowed by the Speaker and listed in the scheduled business for the day. Although the government had agreed to the debate on law and order situation in the state, it virtually backed out by on the floor of the house provoking protest by the angry Congress members. They alleged that it was a well planned strategy by the ruling party first to agree to the debate but sabotage it in the house and not allow it by raising other issues. The house gathered twice but was adjourned both the times as the Congress members insisted on the debate on law and order situation while the government wanted to discuss other issues first. The Congress members were protesting against the delay in initiating the discussion on the law and order situation in the state as allowed by the Speaker on Monday. The Congress Legislative Party leader Sunil Jakhar said, according to the minutes of the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee discussion was to follow immediately after the question hour. However, after the question hour, the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal immediately rose to speak on the issue of alleged siphoning off some fund in his home constituency. He said, it had already been listed for the day's business as he wanted to clarify the government's position on the issue. To this Congress members objected and protested. They went towards the well of the house demanding immediate discussion on the law and order situation in the state. Meanwhile the Speaker adjourned the house for about an hour. Former Chief Minister and President Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Capt Amarinder Singh alleged that the Chief Minister had deliberately risen to make the statement to ensure that the debate on the law and order was delayed and not initiated on time. He told reporters outside the house that although the government claimed to agree to the debate on the law and order situation, later it actually tried to run away. He remarked, it was surprising that the government wanted to discuss other issues while trying to sideline the main issue that is the prevailing law and order situation in the state.

PUNJAB

'Maoist problem biggest security threat for CRPF'

AGARTALA: The Maoist problem is the biggest security threat for the CRPF currently, para-military forces Chief Pranay Sahay said here Tuesday. "It (Maoist terrorism) is definitely the largest threat in terms of task given to the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force)," Sahay told reporters. He said that the CRPF troopers are also geared up with all modern weapons and gadgets to curb the Maoist terrorism in India. The CRPF director general arrived here Monday on a two-day state visit to review the para-military forces' preparedness ahead of the Tripura assembly elections, due in February next year. According to Sahay, of the total of 207 CRPF battalions, around 37 to 38 percent forces have been deployed in the Maoist affected areas of the country alone, followed by 33 percent in Jammu and Kashmir, 28 percent in the northeast region and remaining in various parts of the country. "Our thrust area right now is in the Maoist area only," said the CRPF chief. Quoting from the union home ministry's report, he said Tripura is the 'model state' in the country in the context of containment of four and a half decades old terrorism. "In all circles, including the ministry of home affairs, Tripura has been referred to as the model state in terms of taming violent activities of the separatist outfits and there is no doubt about it." On Jammu and Kashmir, Sahay said: "The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is well contained but we are very much alert so that there are no problems in the future. Only two days back in Kashmir, we along with the Rashtriya Rifles and state police have killed three militants." He asserted that the para-military force is wellequipped and have the latest arms and technology to counter Maoist and other

TRIPURA

Kerala tackles rising rice prices amid opposition fire

T H I R U VA N A N T H A P U R A M : Rice is considered the staple food in the southern state but in the last four years, prices of the grain have more than doubled -- from Rs.19.70 to Rs.48 per kg. Prices of common rice varieties have gone up by Rs.5 to Rs.10 per kg in the last three weeks. The opposition Left Democratic Front, at a meeting Tuesday, decided to hold a sit-in in front of the state secretariat December 31 against the rising rice prices. All top leaders of the Left, including legislators and members of parliament, would take part in the sit-in against the government's alleged inability to make market interventions and check the rising prices, a leader said. Kerala buys rice from neighbouring states since the area under paddy cultivation in the state fell from 3, 11,000 hectares in 2002-03 to 2,13,000 hectares in 2010-11. As a result, production too dropped from 689,000 tonnes to 522,000 tonnes during the same period. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) held a meeting Monday evening over the ers and unscrupulous traders. But traders attribute the rising prices to a reduced supply of rice from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. "Raids appear to have yielded results. But another problem is shortage of railway wagons to bring supplies from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh," state Food Minister Anoop Jacob told reporters in the Kerala assembly. Chandy has asked the state police to ensure that more raids are conducted so that rice prices can be brought down before Christmas. The government has also decided to open special trade fairs for the Christmas rush.

KERALA

issue as tempers ran high among the allies. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy then Tuesday morning held a meeting with some cabinet ministers, asking them to intensify raids and take tough action against hoard-

threat. "In modernisation, we have procured very high degree of equipment especially with reference to the threat to Maoist areas. In fact, the CRPF uses the best weapons. We are much better than our adversaries," Sahay added. He said: "We also used unmanned aerial vehicles and observe the movement of unwanted people on the ground." "Our cadres have got expected skills. We don't have problem." Sahay, former director general of Tripura Police, during his stay here met Governor D.Y. Patil, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Chief Secretary S.K. Panda and senior security officials and discussed the various pre-poll strategies.

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palace and the beautiful heartless Queen spread as far as the most distant alpine valley, the home of a fearless chamois hunter. Fascinated by the tale, he decided to set out and try his luck. Leaving his valley, he journeyed for days on end, climbing the snowclad mountain faces, scaling icebound peaks and defying the bitterly cold wind that swept through the alpine gullies. More than once he felt all was lost, but the thought of the lovely Snow Queen gave him new strength and kept him moving onwards. At last, after many days climbing, he saw glinting in the sunshine before him, the tall transparent spires of the ice palace. Summoning all his courage, the young man entered the Throne Room. But he was so struck by the Snow Queen's beauty that he could not utter a word. Shy

and timid, he did not dare speak. So he knelt in admiration before the Queen for hours on end, without opening his mouth. The Queen looked at him silently, thinking all the while that, provided he did not ask her hand in marriage, there w a s n o need to call the goblins.

Then, to her great surprise, she discovered that his behaviour touched her heart. She realised she was becoming quite fond of this hunter, much younger and more handsome than her other suitors. Time passed and the Snow Queen dared not admit, not even to herself, that she would actually like to marry the young man. In the meantime, the goblins kept watch over their mistress; first they were astonished, then they became

more and more upset. For they rightly feared that their Queen might be on the point of breaking the Law and bringing down on the heads of all the Mountain People the fury of Fate. Seeing that the Queen was slow to give the order to get rid of her suitor, the goblins decided to take matters into their own hands. One night, as dusk fell, they slipped out of the cracks in the rock and clustered round the young chamois hunter. Then they hurled him into the abyss. The Snow Queen watched the whole scene from the window, but there was nothing she could do to stop them. However, her icy heart melted, and the beautiful cruel fairy suddenly became a woman. A tear dropped from her eye, the first she had ever shed. And the Snow Queen's tear fell on to a stone where it turned into a little silvery star. This was the first edelweiss ... the flower that grows only on the highest, most inaccessible peaks in the Alps, on the edge of the abyss and precipice.

FAMOUS LEADERS: CHITTARANJAN DAS

Though a lawyer by p r o f e s s i o n , Chittaranjan Das or C.R. Das went on to play a very important role in Indian struggle for independence from the British. He was born on 5 November 1870 and acquired his education from England. His career in law kicked off in the year 1909 when he successfully defended Aurobindo Ghosh when the latter was involved in the Alipore bomb blast case. Fondly, he was called Deshbandu by near and dear ones. Read this biography to know more about the life history of Chittaranjan Das or CR Das, who was an important personality in Bengal during the time of the noncooperation movement from 1919 to 1922. It was he who started the boycott of British or western dresses. He set an example for others to follow by burning his own western clothes and in its stead, adopting the handmade desi khadi garments. He later set up the Swaraj Party to propagate his non-moderate views with Motilal Nehru. CR Das also launched a newspaper named Forward to spread his message to the public and fight the British raj, but later rechristened it as Liberty. He was appointed the mayor of Calcutta Corporation after it was formed and also supervised the Gaya round of the Indian National Congress. Deshbandu was continuously ill throughout his political life. But despite this, he showed spunk and unwavering determination in opposing the foreign rule. Chittaranjan Das was a staunch non-believer of nonviolence and advocated the adherence of constitutional ways in order to attain independence for India. He preached communal concord and supported the cause of national education. After him, his teachings and legacy was taken forward by his followers like Subhas Chandra Bose and others. Chittaranjan Das will always remembered for his struggle in the Indian war of independence.

Curse of Mummy
fter the discovery of the king Tutankhamen's tomb, some terrible events occurred which gave birth to the story of curse of the mummy. In ancient Egypt, one or two messages, written in hieroglyphics along with various magical powers were closely associated with the mummy. The king Tutankhamen's mummy was not an exception as well. A message which said "Death Shall Come on Swift Wings to Him Who Disturbs the Peace of the King" was linked to his mummy too. At that time this message got great media hype. Many newspapers and magazines reported that there was a curse on the king Tutankhamen's tomb. The

Born - 5 November 1870 Died - 16 June 1925 Achievements - CR Das was an important personality in Bengal during the time of the non-cooperation movement from 1919 to 1922. It was he who started the boycott of British or western dresses. He was appointed the mayor of Calcutta Corporation after it was formed and also supervised the Gaya round of the Indian National Congress.

hype of the curse of the mummy reached its pick when a British Lord namely Carnarvon who was associated with the discovery of the king Tutankhamen's tomb died due to the mosquito bite on his cheek shortly after the opening of the tomb. Surprisingly, at the same time his pet dog also had took its last breath. It is believed that due to some unknown mysterious events all the lights of the city of Cairo went out as well. The interesting fact is that Howard Carter who had discovered the king's tomb was alive for 10 more years after his great discovery. He died naturally at an age of 65. Recently, the archaeolo-

gists and scientists have found out that the poisonous bacteria that grow on the tomb wall release spore into air and surprisingly people who come into contact with the tomb fall sick due to that. It might be the cause of the death of Lord Carnarvon too. Nowadays the archaeologists and scientists wear masks while exploring tombs and mummies. It protects them from being affected by the harmful bacteria and plants. The mummy's curse may be a fact or fiction but even today people are really interested to listen to the stories of the curse. The entire Hollywood fraternity is also interested in making films on the story of the curse of the mummy.

FUN TIME
1. POLICE INSPECTOR : Have you caught the thief? HAWALDAR : No, but I found some trace of him. POLICE INSPECTOR : What? HAWALDAR : Finger prints. POLICE INSPECTOR : Where? HAWALDAR : On my cheeks. 2. Santa and banta jungle mein, saamne aayaa sher Banta ne sher ki aakhon main matthi phenki, aur bhaagne lagaa aur santa ko bhi bhaagne ko kahaa. SANTA : Main kyun bhaagu, matthi to tune phenki hai. 3. Nayi(new) doctor ne apni life ka pehla operation kiya! Operation ki thodi der baad hi marij mar gaya! Marij ke marne ke baad doctor ne diwar par tangi bhagwan ki taswir ki ore haath jodkar sir jhukate hue puri shradha ke saath kaha: Hey prabhu meri ore se yeh pehli bhet swikar kijiye!

Magic for Kids: Sugar Cube Trick

Note: To perform this, you need a pencil, a sugar cube and a glass of water. The effect: Call an audience to show your magic. Ask a volunteer from the audience to pick a number between 1 and 10. Write the number on the sugar cube. Then, drop the cube into a cup of water and say," The cube goes into the cup". Now hold the volunteer's hand over the water. Turn the volunteer's hand over and MAGIC! The number is on the volunteer's hand. The secret: When the volunteer picks the number, write it onto the sugar cube with a pencil (pressing hard). Then, hold the cube between your thumb and one finger and press it as hard as possible so that the number transfers onto your thumb. Next, you put the cube into the water and call your volunteer. When you hold the volunteer's hand above the water, make sure your thumb is in his/her palm so that the impression of the number from your finger is trans-

Fast Facts
1. There are 206 bones in the adult human body where as a child has 300 bones. 2. Located in the middle ear, stapes or stirrup is the smallest human bone. 3. Brain cells which can live for an entire lifetime are the longest living cells of the human body. 4. 2.3 kg is the weight recorded of the heaviest human brain. 5. Along with 2 gigabytes of central memory and 16 parallel central processor units, the fastest computer of the world is CRAY Y-MP C90 supercomputer. 6.Approximately 50,000,000,000 galaxies exist in the entire cosmos. 7. Sound travels four times faster in water than in air. 8. With an estimated surface temperature of 864 F, Venus, is said to be the hottest planet in the solar system. 9. A normal galaxy consists of 100,000,000,000 and 1,000,000,000,000 stars approximately. 10. Motor neurons are the longest cells of Human body. A 4.5 feet long motor neuron can run all the way from the toe to the lower spinal cord.

ferred onto the hand of the volunteer. Tip: Adults would find out your trick easily. So, it

would be a good trick to show this magic to smaller kids, who would not be able to figure it out so easily.

Rhyme: The Little Maid

A little maid went to market, She went into the town, And all the things she had to buy She carefully wrote down. The coffee, sugar, tea, and rice- The currant cake for tea, And then she had to reckon up, And see how much they'd be. She sat her down as she came back, She sat her down to see What they had cost-the currant cake, The coffee, and the tea. She could not make her money right, And yet, how she did try! She could not make her m o n e y right, And oh! how she did cry. She's counting still, my dears, my d e a r s , S h e ' s counting day and night, But though she counts for years and y e a r s , She'll never make it right. She'll never make it rightright-right, Oh! never any more, Though she sits counting-count-count-count, Till she is ninety-four.

IMAGE TO COLOUR

SUDOKO

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NATIONAL

Quota bill row: Samajwadi Party workers stop trains at Varanasi Shiv Sena removes Bal Thackeray
VARANASI: Many workers of the Samajwadi Party have stopped trains in Varanasi to protest against the quota in promotions bill. They are also threatening self-immolation. "We are doing this protest against promotion in reservation bill. All the parties are trying to bake political breads with the help of this bill. We want that this bill should be taken back otherwise we will continue to do this. We can also self-immolate, if this bill is not take back," said Shailesh Singh, Samajwadi Party worker. "The way BJP, Congress and other political parties are doing this is too bad. Samajwadi Party is against this and we are protesting to support this move of Samajwadi Party president. We demand from President of India to take this bill back othBut the bigger hurdle is in the Lok Sabha where the Samajwadi Party has a larger chunk with 23 MPs. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath has said that he will speak to Mr Yadav. Since the bill seeks to amend the Constitution, it needed a two-third majority to be passed. In the end it was no contest in the Rajya Sabha, with the main Opposition party - the BJP - agreeing to support the bill with some amendments. The bill's biggest advocate has been Mr Yadav's rival from Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati, who heads the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Her party has 15 Rajya Sabha MPs. Article 335 of the Constitution provides that the claims of Scheduled Castes and Tribes have to be balanced with maintaining efficiency in administration. The Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha last week would override Article 335. The BJP shared it concern over this; the government has reportedly agreed to remove this reference through an official amendment to the bill. There was much chaos in the Upper House all of last week because of protests by Mayawati and Mr Yadav's parliamentarians. The government is worried about squandering more time because it wants Parliament to take up important reforms in the pension and insurance sectors. It has also promised to ensure that the Lok Sabha too approves the quota in promotions Bill before this session of Parliament ends on Thursday, December 20.

memorial from Shivaji Park

memorial will have to be moved from Shivaji Park. The development came following a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) notice to the party. The memorial will now be shifted to another location and the party is in talks with the BMC to find the same. Last Thursday, the party had in its mouthpiece 'Saamnaa' said that it will move the structure to the outskirts of the Shivaji Park. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had earlier given a stern message to the Shiv Sena, asking

erwise we will do mass movement," said Raju, another party worker. In Samajwadi Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh, 18 lakh government employees are on strike since last Friday. Yesterday, the government had managed to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha, despite strong opposition from the Samajwadi Party. The party is aggressive-

ly opposing the bill, mainly because it would upset the party's core vote bank that comprises backward castes and Muslims. In Rajya Sabha, the bill got the backing of 194 members while 10 voted against the legislation in a House of 245. The Samajwadi Party has nine Rajya Sabha MPs, all of whom voted against the bill.

MUMBAI: After a long tussle with the Maharashtra government, the Shiv Sena early Tuesday removed the temporary Bal Thackeray memorial at Shivaji Park. As per reports, the party began shifting the memorial last night and completed work early this morning. "Yes, early this morning, we have removed the urn containing Balasaheb's ashes and other things, and vacated the cremation site," senior party leader Rahul Shewale said. The party had earlier said that it will not shift the temporary structure, where party founder Bal Thackeray was cremated last month. The state government had categorically told the Shiv Sena that the makeshift

them to vacate the Shivaji Park. "Shivaji Park was given for Bal Thackeray's cremation on the grounds that it will be returned in the same condition. We want the Shiv Sena to abide by the conditions and follow the law," Chavan had said. Bal Thackeray, who died on November 17, was accorded a state public funeral at Shivaji Park ground in South Mumbai.

AP govt orders withdrawing criminal cases against Jagan

HYDERABAD: Overruling the Director General of Police's (DGP) recommendations, the Andhra Pradesh government issued orders withdrawing criminal cases against Kadapa MP and YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy and 30 others at the Pulivendula police station. "After careful examination of the matter, the government decided to direct the Collector and District Magistrate, to instruct the Assistant Public Prosecutor to initiate immediate action in accordance with law for withdrawal of prosecution under Section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and guidelines issued in government order No 54 of Law (LA&J - Home Courts B) Department, dated March 30, 2000, against the accused," Law Secretary R Damodar said in the orders. The state government took a policy decision last year to withdraw all criminal cases filed against those who agitated for and against bifurcation of AP since December, 2009. Accordingly, these cases are being withdrawn in a phased manner both in Telangana and Andhra-Rayalaseema regions. Jagan is accused number 30 in three cases filed at Pulivendula (Urban) police station against him and 30 others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, and the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932. These cases related to agitating for a unified Andhra Pradesh where government

Gujarat elections: Modi set to improve 2007 tally, exit polls predict
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat's hardline Chief Minister Narendra Modi seems all set to make a hat-trick even as the state witnessed a record 70% turnout in the second phase of polling on Monday. Major exit polls have predicted a landslide for Narendra Modiled BJP in the two-phased assembly elections, a possibility that may have ramifications for national politics. Although the official results will be declared on December 20, all exit polls said that Modi will improve his 2007 tally and the Congress would be staring down the barrel. The Ananda Bazar Patrika-AC Nielsen survey gave 116 of the total 182 seats to the BJP. The Congress was placed a distant second with 60 seats. C voters (Centre for Voting Opinion and Trends in Election Research) agency said Modi could bag up to 124 seats. It put 54 seats in the Congress kitty. Chanakya poll predicted a much higher 140 seats for the BJP and 40 to the Congress. Similarly, a Headlines Today-ORG survey indicated that the ruling BJP would again sweep the state with its final tally likely to be between 118 and 128 seats in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly. The post-poll survey conducted by CSDS for CNN-IBN and The Week shows that Modi's leadership is once again set to trounce the Congress. The survey is restricted to just the first phase of polling which took place on December 13 in 87 seats out of the 182. The seat projection shows that BJP is far ahead with 53-63 seats (the party had won 117 in 2007). The Congress will trail far behind with only 19-27 seats (the party had won 59 in 2007) with other smaller parties are likely to win three to nine seats (others had won six seats which included three by the NCP, one by the JD(U) and two Independents on 2007). A supremely confident Modi, who has ruled Gujarat since 2001, gave a broad smile and flashed a V-sign with both hands after casting his ballot in his constituency Maninagar. "The people of Gujarat will vote the BJP to power for a third consecutive term," he told Actor-politician Irani was referring to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul who spearheaded their party's election campaign, repeatedly targeting Modi on a variety of counts. Congress leader Girija Vyas, however, asserted that Modi would lose this time. "People have voted in large numbers and they have voted for change. We are sure the Congress will win." Political pundits, however, seemed to agree broadly with exit poll predictions that Modi was set to get another five years -- a result which could cast a shadow on national politics ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha battle. In an undisguised comment on the Congress, political analyst Yogendra Yadav said the BJP was set to win due to "TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor". The BJP contested all 182 seats. Both exit polls and pundits appeared to agree that former BJP chief minister Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) had not hurt the BJP as feared. The Election Commission said 5,573 of the voters, who cast their votes in the second phase, were over 100 years old.

property at BSNL, irrigation and revenue offices were allegedly damaged, were pending trial before the Assistant Sessions Judge's court in Kadapa. In letters to the state government between February and June this year, DGP V Dinesh Reddy had "not recommended withdrawal of prosecution" against the accused, based on the Kadapa District Superintendent of Police's report. However, the government decided to overrule him and withdraw prosecution proceedings against the accused.

the media triumphantly. The Election Commission put today's voting percentage in 95 constituencies at 70.2 percent -- higher than the 64.39 percent recorded in 1995. Gujarat has 37.8 million voters. The first round of polling in 87 constituencies Dec 13 also drew 70.75 percentage of the voters. BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Parshottam Rupala told reporters, "We will win, and we will better our record of 2007." Five years ago, the BJP bagged 117 seats while the Congress got 59. His colleague Smriti Irani called the heavy polling "a victory for development" and warned that the expected Congress rout would be a defeat for "dynastic politics".

NDA women MPs to hold Dharna to raise issue of women's safety

NEW DELHI: Women parliamentarians belonging to the NDA will hold a Dharna before Parliament tomorrow to raise the issue of safety of women in Delhi. This was announced by the BJP spokesman, Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi Tuesday. The decision to hold the dharna comes in the backdrop of the rape of a young woman in a bus in the national capital. Meanwhile the Delhi Police and the National Commission for Women, NCW, are investigating Sunday's gang rape incident in the national capital. Regretting the incident, Minister for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath told media persons outside Parliament today that she has written to Delhi Chief Minister to tighten up security for women. She said she has suggested to Mrs. Shiela Dikshit to ensure proper character verifications of bus drivers and conductors before issuing them licenses. She said, law alone cannot be effective in curbing such incidents. There has to be a campaign to make the people change their mentality.

Differences among BJP members on promotions quota

NEW DELHI: Differences cropped up among BJP MPs on the issue of providing reservation in promotion for SC and ST government employees a day after a bill in this regard was passed by the Rajya Sabha. "On the issue of reservation, yes there were discussions and different voices also came about. But the leaders explained that whole Constitutional amendment has been changed substantially because of the intervention of BJP," party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Tuesday. He was talking to reporters after BJP Parliamentary party meeting here. Prasad said the leaders explained that the norms of efficiency (in governance) under Article 335 of the Constitution shall not be ignored even while giving promotion to SC/ST employees. "Those who have been promoted post 1995 will not be reverted. Government has given an assurance that this being an enabling provision, the Centre will write to all the states to ensure that those who have been promoted, their interest is not adversely impacted due to the amendment," he said. While BJP had supported the measure, its NDA partner Shiv Sena is opposed to it, besides Samajwadi Party which was isolated during voting in the Upper House where the Bill was passed by overwhelming majority.

Consumer protection system to be strengthened: Govt

NEW DELHI: Govt. on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that in order to safeguard consumers, it proposed to amend the Consumer Protection Act by introducing digital adjudication and establishing circuit benches at district level. Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution KV Thomas said during Question Hour that the government proposes to amend the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to strengthen consumer protection system and to make it more responsive to the needs of the consumers. "Salient features of the proposed amendment are introduction of digital adjudication, deemed admission of complaint after 28 days, provision for clubbing neighbouring district forum, provision for circuit benches at district level and increase in deposit amount for filing appeal," he said. The Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2011 has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution. When Thomas was replying, members from JD(U) and SP raised the issue of increasing support price of paddy. Members of these three parties soon trooped into the Well to press their point.

CHANDIGARH: Cold wave conditions were yet to grip Punjab and Haryana, where minimum temperatures on Tuesday hovered above the normal levels. The minimum at Chandigarh, where residents woke up to a bright sun shine, rose by couple of notches since yesterday to settle at 11.4 degrees Celsius, four above normal range, the MeT office said here. In Haryana, Ambala registered a low of 11.8 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal while Hisar's low of

Minimum temperatures above Mulayam raises Muslim normal in Punjab, Haryana quota issue in Lok Sabha
8.5 degrees Celsius was up by two degrees. Narnaul and Bhiwani recorded respective above normal lows of 8.3 degrees Celsius and 8.2 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, the minimum at Ludhiana settled at 10.8 degrees Celsius, up by four notches while Patiala's minimum of 10.4 degrees Celsius was also up four degrees. The minimum at Amritsar rose by over three degrees since yesterday to settle at 10.6 degrees Celsius, seven notches above normal level. NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav Tuesday pressed the government to give reservations to the Muslims in proportion to their population. A day after the SP disrupted the Lok Sabha functioning over the issue of reservation to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in job promotions, Mulayam Singh said in the house: "Muslims and farmers have contributed 80 percent in the growth of this country... Muslims are still very backward as noted by the Sachar Committee report. They should be given reservations as per their population." The SP raised the issue Monday also. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath responded by saying the government had implemented parts of the Sachar

panel report and was seriously considering the other recommendations. "We have acted on some of the suggestions; we are seriously considering the other recommendations of the Sachar panel," he said.

India to see a dip in malaria cases by 2015: WHO report

UNITED NATIONS: New A report by World Health Organisation, WHO, said, India will see a decrease of 5075 per cent in malaria cases by 2015. The WHO's World Malaria Report 2012 said, a concerted effort by endemic countries, donors and global malaria partners during the past decade has led to strengthened malaria control around the world. It, however, warned that a significant slowdown in global funding of anti-malaria campaigns threatens to roll back the gains made against the preventable mosquitoborne disease over the last 10 years. In the south-east Asia Region, Bhutan, Korea, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand have registered decreases of 75 per cent or more in the malaria incidence rates between 2000 and 2011. The report said, India, Nepal and Thailand could also potentially move from the control to the pre-elimination phase by continuing their progress. The report indicates that international funding for malaria appears to have reached a plateau well below the level required to reach the health- related Millennium Development Goals and other internationally-agreed global malaria targets.

Law and order has worsened in Tamil Nadu: Karunanidhi

CHENNAI: DMK president M. Karunanidhi Tuesday said the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu has worsened during the last one year of the AIADMK rule. Leading the party's protest here against the severe power shortage in the state, Karunanidhi said: "Since May 2011 when the new government took over, 928 murders and 768 thefts have taken place. There have been 476 cases of chain snatching." He was referring to the statement of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at the conference of district collectors and police officers here Monday that law and order situation in the state is good. According to Karunanidhi, the incidents of chain snatching have increased in the state due to power cuts. He said the party is holding state-wide protest against severe power cuts. Karunanidhi said a ruler would lose his kingdom if he does not have proper counsel offering constructive criticism. At its executive committee meeting here Dec 13, the DMK accused the AIADMK government of disinterest in tackling the acute power shortage in the state and decided to hold a peaceful state wide protest Dec 18. Citing reports that power generation was getting stalled due to the absence of generators and coal and the equipment failures, the DMK said these show the disinterest of the government in sorting out the power woes of the state and hence the protest

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INTERNATIONAL & ECONOMY

India, ASEAN to Clinch FTA on Services Wednesday
NEW DELHI, DEC 18 : India and 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to conclude negotiations on a free trade agreement on services and investment Wednesday, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said Tuesday. "Tomorrow is the ministerial meeting where we would be able to finalise on the last leg of our negotiations on the ASEAN-India free trade agreement on services and investment," Sharma said here, inaugurating the second IndiaASEAN business fair. Trade ministers of all ASEAN member nations were present on the occasion. Services and investments were the two remaining "pillars" of the India-ASEAN economic cooperation after the existing FTA on merchandise goods was signed in 2009, Sharma said. Added Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh: "We may be able to give you good news tomorrow." "It will be a game-changer for the nature of economic relations between the two zones," said Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan. Sharma said the existing FTA in goods with the Southeast Asian grouping that came into effect in 2010 had yielded rich dividends by way of a 30 percent rise in annual trade that could touch $100 billion by 2015. "We are aiming that the trade between the two sides will touch $100 billion by 2015." Currently, the trade between India and ASEAN is at $80 billion. India is also negotiating a market opening agreement bilaterally with the members of the bloc. Srirat Rastapana, director-general in Thailand's Department of International Trade Promotion, said talks between India and Thailand for the market opening accord may be concluded by next month. "We are at the last leg of negotiations. We started with early harvest scheme. FTA will help to drive economic relationship bilaterally," he said. The latest FTA is expected to pave the way for talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Wirjawan said the FTA in services would be announced at this week's A s e a n - I n d i a Commemorative Summit, although its implementation could take up to a year. Heads of all 10 ASEAN countries and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are scheduled to attend the India - ASEAN Commemorative Summit beginning Dec 20. Perhaps last summer's electrical blackout would have been avoided if some of this money had remained in India and been used to invest in the nation's power grid," he said. While progress has been made in recent years, India continues to lose a large amount of wealth in illicit financial outflows, said GFI director Raymond Baker. "Much focus has been paid in the media on recovering the Indian black money that has already been lost. This focus is for naught as long as the Indian economy continues to hemorrhage illicit money. Policymakers and commentators should make curtailing the ongoing outflow of money priority number one," he said.

India lost $123 billion in black money in a decade

NEW DELHI, DEC 18: India lost a whopping $123 billion in black money during 2001-2010, making it the eight largest victim of illicit financial outflow, a USbased research and advocacy organisation said in a report. However, India's black money loss of $123 billion in 10 years is far less than that of China, which according to the report suffered a loss of $2.74 trillion during the same period (2001 to 2010), followed by Mexico ($476 billion), Malaysia ($285 billion), Saudi Arabia ($201 billion), Russia ($152 billion), the Philippines ($138 billion) and Nigeria ($129 billion). India is the eight largest victim of black money loses, said the report 'Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 20012010,' released by Global Financial Integrity (GFI). India is the only South Asian country to figure in the top 20 list of such nations. In 2010 alone, the Indian economy suffered $1.6 billion in illicit financial outflows. "$123 billion is a massive amount of money for the Indian economy to lose," said Dev Kar, GFI lead economist and co-author of the report. "It has very real consequences for Indian citizens. This is more than $100 billion which could have been used to invest in education, healthcare, and upgrade the nation's infrastructure.

Iraqi president dies at 79

BAGHDAD, DEC 18: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani died Tuesday after being admitted to a Baghdad hospital following a brain stroke. He was 79. He had been confronting various health problems in recent years. "President Talabani died today after fast deterioration in his health in a Baghdad hospital," reported Xinhua quoting presidential sources. It was earlier reported, citing a medical source, that Talabani had been admitted to Baghdad hospital in a critical condition late Monday night. He was unconscious due to brain stroke. The presidential office, in an earlier statement, had said Talabani was admitted to a hospital in Baghdad "because of fatigue and tiredness". Talabani had held a meeting Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to discuss means to ease latest tension between Baghdad and the autonomous region of Kurdistan.

NASA mulls new lighting system on ISS

WASHINGTON, DEC 18 : NASA plans to help combat astronaut insomnia aboard the International Space Station (ISS) with a new lighting system. NASA plans to replace the fluorescent bulbs in the US section of the ISS with a system that switches between blue, white and red lights depending on the time of day. The new bulbs are scheduled to be installed in the space station by 2016. "The station is noisy, carbon dioxide is high, you don't have a shower, there's a lot of angst because you've got to perform," Smith Johnston, NASA flight surgeon, told Space.com about the unusual environment and demanding schedules that can cause some astronauts to have problems sleeping."Imagine if you have a camera on you 24 hours a day," he said, adding that everyone has a day-night schedule that must be respected, including astronauts. Half of the astronauts aboard space shuttles rely on sleep medication at some point to receive rest, and according to Space.com, NASA is investing $11.2 million into a new lighting system that should help regulate their body clocks and decrease the need for sleepinducing drugs. Astronauts on average receive six hours of sleep even though they are allowed 8.5 hours. With the new lights, NASA hopes to reduce astronaut sleep deprivation, which can cause irritation, depression, illness and mistakes leading to potential problems in the shuttle's confined quarters.

UAE, Russia sign nuclear deal

ABU DHABI,DEC 18: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia Monday signed an agreement for cooperation in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The agreement was signed by Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, and UAE's Deputy Energy Minister Mohammed bin Zain al-Hamli. "This is a comprehensive agreement encompassing cooperation in all areas of nuclear energy, including uranium mining and processing, fuel production, research and building nuclear power plants," Kiriyenko said. It lays the legal groundwork for technology transfers and the delivery of nuclear materials to the energy sector.

Britain may opt out of EU, says Cameron

LONDON,DEC 18: British Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted for the first time that he was imagining the country quitting the European Union (EU). He mentioned the prospect of Britain pulling out of the EU after some parliamentarians grilled him about last week's Brussels summit, The Sun reported. In the Commons, the prime minister was asked by Labour MP Gavin Shuker if he could ever imagine Britain quitting the EU, which joined the grouping in 1973. "That is not a position I support, so I do not spend my time thinking about it," Daily Mail quoted Cameron as saying Monday night, but adding: "Clearly, all futures for Britain are imaginable. We are in charge of our own destiny, we can make our own choices." "I believe the choice we should make is to stay in the European Union, to be members of the single market, to maximise our impact in Europe. But where we are unhappy with parts of the relationship we shouldn't be frightened of standing up and saying so." Cameron, however, stressed withdrawal was not his "preference". He wanted Britain to stay on in the EU and to renegotiate relations with the EU -- based in Belgium -- to seize back key powers. The British prime minister said he would make a longawaited speech in January, spelling out his EU vision. Cameron is preparing to offer a referendum on Britain's future in Europe in a speech next month.

139 journalists killed on the job in 2012

GENEVA, DEC 18 :A total of 139 journalists from 29 countries lost their lives while doing their job in 2012, a 30-percent increase over 2011, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) said Monday. Many of those deaths came among reporters covering the conflict in Syria, PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen said. PEC said that, after the Iraq war, the civil strife in Syria has become the bloodiest episode for journalists since the beginning of the 21st century, with a total of 36 slain. 11 journalists were killed in drug-war incidents. Brazil has recorded 11 fatalities up to now, and in Honduras there were at least six. The PEC investigation says that from Jan 11, 2008 to date, the number of journalists slain totals 569, or an average of 114 a year. During those five years, the 10 countries where the most journalists died on the job were the Philippines, Mexico, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Honduras, Brazil, Russia and India, which together accounted for two-thirds of the victims.

Somalia ranks second after Syria among the world's most dangerous countries for journalists with a death toll of 19, while Pakistan comes in third with 12. Meanwhile three Latin America countries remain on the most-dangerous list this year. In Mexico, ranked fourth in the world, at least

ECONOMY

India's US government debt holding dips to $58.9 billion, China's rises

WASHINGTON,DEC 18: India's holding of US government debtsecurities has declined for the second consecutive month, even as many other countries including China, Japan, Brazil and Russia hiked their exposure toAmerican treasury bonds. As per the latest data released by the US Department of Treasury, India's holding of treasury securities stood at $58.9 billion (over Rs 3,20,000 crore) at the end of October 2012 marking the second straight month of decline after an uptrend for seven continuous months. However, the holdings of countries like China, Japan, Brazil, Switzerland, Russia, France and Canada rose during October. At the end of the month, India was the 18th largest holder of the US treasury bonds, while China was the largest foreign owner of these securities followed by Japan, Brazil, Taiwan, Switzerland, Russia, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Belgium and the UK in the top ten. Others with higher holding than India included Singapore, Ireland, Norway, France, Canada, Germany and Mexico, US Treasury data showed. India's holding of treasury securities stood at $60.6 billion at the end of August and fell to $59.7 billion in September. However, India's holding of the US government debt securities is still considerably higher than the year-ago level of $40.1 billion in October 2011. The Indian holding of the treasury securities mostly comprises of the bonds held through the Reserve Bank. China held $1.16 trillion worth of treasury securities at the end of October, while Japan's was $1.13 trillion. The countries whose holdings declined during the month included Taiwan, Luxembourg, Singapore, Ireland and the UK. Overall, the foreign entities increased their holdings of long-term US securities in October with a net purchase of $28.4 billion. Out of this, the net purchases by private foreign investors were $22.3 billion, and net purchases by foreign official institutions were $6.2 billion. At the same time, US residents increased their holdings of long-term foreign securities, with net purchases of $27.1 billion, the Treasury said. The overall foreign holding of the US treasury securities rose by about $six billion to $5.48 trillion in October.

Cash Transfer to be provided only when beneficiary has Aadhar, bank account
NEW DELHI,DEC 18: Money will be transfered to beneficiaries of Direct Cash Transfer scheme only when they provideAadhar card and bank account number by the cut-off date in 30-35 districts which are expected to be ready for the roll out on January one. This is one of the decisions expected to be taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take stock of preparations for roll out of the UPAgovernment's flagship programme, sources told. The meeting, to be attended by 16 ministers, is expected to be told that there should be no phased roll out within any particular district and the entire district should switch to Direct Cash Transfer at one-go on a given date. The sources said 30-35 districts would be covered on January one and rest of the 51 identified districts would be covered by January 10, next year. With the government working on the roll out on war footing, the meeting is expected to press for according of priority to digitisation of beneficiary databases with names, addresses and Aadhar numbers. All ministries are to ensure this immediately, the sources said. There must be 95 per Aadhar penetration level for all beneficiaries and over 95 per cent beneficiaries should have bank accounts, with all banks being Aadhar-compliant. The meeting will also discuss if it is appropriate to roll out same schemes in all the selected districts or separate schemes. For LPG subsidy, which is being rolled out separately as per separate timeline of February one, 2013, food, fertiliser and kerosene are not included at the moment. For rural development schemes, the postal system has said it will be ready by June one, 2013 in all the 43 districts. The scheme will begin in 43 districts, excluding eight in Gujarat and Haryana, in January and by April 2013, 18 states are expected to be covered.

GO for solar energy, no industry without power, Dr Farooq

SRINAGAR, DEC 18: Advising people to go for solar energy which is cheap, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah said that big industrial houses are hesitating to come to Jammu and Kashmir because of shortage of power. He said a 500 MW solar power station will be constructed at Leh which can be used in the state. People should take advantage of subsidy and other benefits available from the Centre to adopt solar energy as alternative to power in their day-today life, Dr Abdulllah said. He said if people will go for solar and wind energy the country can save power, a main source for industrial development. "I am also using solar energy in my geyser for hot water," he said and advised people, particularly in the Kashmir valley to use such to import solar power to

Indo-Asean trade could touch $100 billion by 2015

NEW DELHI,DEC 18: The two way trade between India and the ten member ASEAN block could touch USD 100 billion by 2015 on the back of increasing economic engagement between the regions. Currently, the trade between India and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) stood at USD 80 billion. "We are aiming that the trade between the two sides will touch USD 100 billion by 2015," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said while inaugurating 2nd India-ASEAN business fair here today. India and ASEAN, which have already implemented free trade agreement in goods, are expected to conclude the negotiations for the free trade pact in services and investment this week. Speaking on the occasion, Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh said that: "We may be able to give you a good news tomorrow". He also expressed hope that negotiations for the Regional Cooperations and Economic Partnership (RCEP) is likely to be concluded by 2015. Trade ministers of all the ten ASEAN nations were present during the occasion. Srirat Rastapana, Thailand's Director General of Department of International Trade Promotion said the ongoing talks between India and Thailand for the market opening pact may be concluded by next month. "We are at the last leg of negotiations. We started with early harvest scheme (EHS). FTA will help to drive economic relationship bilaterally," he said. Besides, the free trade pact with ASEAN, India is negotiating market opening pact bilaterally with the members of the block. India has already implemented FTA with Singapore and Malaysia and is negotiating with Indonesia in this regard. Heads of all the ten Asean countries and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are scheduled to attend the IndiaASEAN Commemorative Summit tomorrow.

solar geysers which are available on subsidised rates here. There is need for hot water, particularly during winter in the Kashmir valley, he said adding that people can use solar geysers in the absence of electricity. Dr Abdullah said that a 500 MW solar power station will be constructed at Leh which can be used in the state. "Since there is not enough demand of power in Leh, the power can be used elsewhere in the state, including Kashmir valley, he said adding for which we have to construct a transmission line

other parts from Leh." It will take some years, he said adding solar energy will also generate employment in the state. He said in some areas of the country, the solar energy is being used for recharging of solar lantern and mobile phones by people, including women who are earning out of this. "We need people to train our youths, including women to operate these solar system," he said and announced the government will ask some IITs to introduce the solar energy in their syllabus to train engineers.

Indian economy: Some issues and concerns of govt's mid-year review

NEW DELHI,DEC 18: Government's mid-year review has raised some issues and tried to address some concerns. ET LISTS SOME IMPORTANT ONES. Inflation may be moderating: The number of commodities experiencing double digit inflation down sharply. Seasonly adjusted annualized rate of infl ation (SAAR) momentum of nonfood manufacturing inflation down. Inflation in consumer durables down Changes in dietary habits because of incomes making certain foods expensive. Inefficient intermediation and losses causing vegetable prices to be volatile. Declining forex reserves: Reserves first line of defence against volatile capital flows. Decline in reserves as a percentage of GDP, which needs to be watched closely. Inflation, Repo on the Cover: In a departure from the plain covers of the mid-yr economic analysis, this edition has a graph that shows movement of repo rate, infl ation & SAAR. Coming a day before RBI review, the choice of data for the cover raised an interesting question. Was the govt telling the RBI something? Chief economic advisor Raghuram Rajan was quick to dismiss any such suggestion. "I don't think you should read too much ...We were looking to give some vibrancy beyond the coloured page. He said the role of govt is to increase the real side growth, the RBI will look at the monetary side. Govt has implemented: 70/81 announcements made in budget.

MSP for wheat yet to be fixed for current year: Pawar

NEW DELHI, DEC 18: The Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat is yet to be fixed as report of the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) has been sent back for review, the Lok Sabha was informed today. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said during the Question Hour that the CACP in its report on price policy for Rabi crops for 2012-13 had recommended that the MSP of wheat be freezed at last year's level. However, the CACP has been asked to review its report. Therefore, new prices were yet to fixed, he added. Mr Pawar had to face opposition of the members of the House when he tried to give data telling despite no revision in the MSP, how farmers are getting benefits.

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MISC

8 No question of calling off Indo-Pak series: BCCI

NEW DELHI: The BCCI on Tuesday shot down BJP's demand of cancelling the Indo-Pak limited-overs cricket series in the wake of visitingPakistan interior minister Rehman Malik"insulting" India, insisting that the matches would be held as scheduled. "There is no question of calling off the tour. All the arrangements have been made and the tour was planned much earlier. Politics should not be mixed with sports and the tour will go on," senior BCCI official and IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said. On Monday in the Parliament, the BJP had accused home minister Sushi Kumar Shinde of remaining silent by not responding appropriately to Malik, who triggered controversy by equating 26/11 Mumbai attack with Babri Masjid demolition and describing LeT terrorist Abu Jundal as an operative of Indian intelligence agency. New Delhi has rubbished Malik's assertions. Senior BJP leader Yashwant Singh said, "The Indo-Pak cricket series (commencing on December 25) should be cancelled. "What kind of goodwill we are creating by playing cricket matches after Malik's visit," he told reporters outside Parliament House. "...our Home Minister has shown weakness by not responding to Rehman Malik in kind. He should have immediately responded, if he (Malik) used hard words, he (Shinde) should have used hard words," Sinha said. "If you (Malik) insulted India, you (Shinde) should have said we don't accept it. He (Shinde) should have contradicted the Pakistani Interior Minister's statement then and there." India are scheduled to play two Twenty20s and three one-dayers against Pakistan starting December 25.

1st Test: Australia crush Sri Lanka by 137 runs

HOBART: Mitchell Starc claimed five wickets as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 255 runs on Tuesday, giving Australia a 137-run win over Sri Lanka in the final session of the first Test. A dogged Sri Lanka had 36 overs to survive after going to tea at 186-4, but lost its remaining six wickets for just 26 runs as Peter Siddle tore through the middle order before Starc claimed a second-innings 5-63. Man-of-the-match Siddle mixed up line and length on the cracked Bellerive Oval pitch to remove Angelo Mathews and Thilan Samaraweera within eight overs of the evening session, leaving Starc to take the last four wickets. Australia's first win in four Tests this southern summer gives it a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Sri Lanka has now lost nine of 11 tests in Australia. Starc and Siddle, who came close to being the first man to take 10 wickets in a Test at Bellerive Oval, will be Australia's key weapons in the second Test in Melbourne starting Dec. 26. Ben Hilfenhaus joined the long list of injured pacemen during Sri Lanka's first innings, leaving Australia a bowler light for almost the whole match. For much of final day it looked as though Sri Lanka stood a chance of saving the match through the efforts of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Samaraweera. Chasing an unattainable 393 to win after Australia's 450-5 declared and 278-9, Jayawardene and Sangakkara were concerned only with survival and barely looked for scoring shots but still took their career partnership tally to 5,628 runs at an average of 56.28. Already the fourth most prolific partnership in Test history, Sangakkara and Jayawardene resumed on 65-2 and took their third-wicket stand to 65 before the captain edged Siddle to his Australian counterpart Michael an over just before tea, took the catch to dismiss Mathews for 19 from 61 balls. Wade's over was a maiden. Samaraweera's gritty innings ended in an lbw to Siddle after 49 runs from 140 balls and Sri Lanka's tail was suddenly exposed. Australia pushed all nine fielders into close attacking positions to pressure the inexpert batsmen. Mitchell Starc had Prasanna Jayawardene (21) caught by Mike Hussey, who scored a first-innings 115 not out. Starc then got rid of Nuwan Kulasekara for 9 with an outswinger that nicked through to Wade. That made it 247-8 with Starc bowling to four slips and two gullies and he proceeded to bowl Rangana Herath via his boot for 8 to wrap up the match, finding some extra bounce for an edge from Shaminda Eranga through to Wade. But it wasn't all good news for Australia, with Siddle finding himself at the center of a ball tampering allegation.

Australian players celebrate their win over Sri Lanka on the fifth day of the first Test at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. Clarke, who seemed untroubled by a right hamstring injury he sustained Monday. It was 144-3 at lunch and Sri Lanka scored just 42 runs from 24 overs in a rain-affected second session for only the loss of Sangakkara, who was trapped lbw by Siddle. Sangakkara successfully referred an earlier lbw decision, but there was no reprieve this time, departing for a 226-ball 63 that means he now averages 57.25 in Australia where Sri Lanka has never won a test. The draw still looked a strong possibility against a tiring bowling attack, but Mathews needlessly played at a ball outside his off stump and edged through to Matthew Wade. Wade, who earlier handed the wicketkeeping gloves to Phil Hughes while called on to bowl

India remain at fifth position in ICC Test rankings

DUBAI: Despite losing to England 1-2 in the home Test series, India retained their number five position as per the latest ICC Test Championship rankings issued on Monday. India, however, dropped a ratings point to 105, and are now four-points behind archrival Pakistan who are placed at the fourth position. England, on the other hand, consolidated their number two slot by adding a point after drawing the final Test at Nagpur, thereby winning a Test series in India after a long gap of 28 years England now stand just five points behind leaders South Africa who are at 123 points. Australia are positioned at number three in the rankings. A total of USD 3.8 million prize money will be given to the top-4 Test teams after the April 1 deadline next year.

Saina Nehwal top seed at Syed Modi Indian Grand Prix

LUCKNOW: Olympic bronzemedallist Saina Nehwal has been given the top billing in women's singles, while flamboyant former world champion Taufik Hidayat leads the men's line-up for the USD 120,000 Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championship starting from Tuesday. In men's singles, Olympics quarter-finalist P Kashyap is the top Indian, seeded second in the field. The other star attractions for the six-day Championship are 2010 CWG women's doubles gold-medallist Ashwini Ponnappa, London Olympics quarter-finalist Parupalli Kashyap and other leading names such as Ajay Jayram and Saurabh Verma. India's teen sensation PV Sindhu will also feature in the in the women's section. Overall, 150 top shuttlers from 12 countries, including hosts India, will clash for the top honours in singles, doubles and mixed doubles categories, being organised by the UP . BAI President Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta said, "The India Grand Prix Gold Championship is increasingly becoming a major draw for international players. I'm confident our players will benefit hugely with this opportunity to play against some big stars and formidable internationals."

No reason to doubt AFI polls: IAAF

NEW DELHI: Faced with the Sports Ministry`s threat of derecognition, the Athletics Federation of India has got a massive shot in the arm as the international body (IAAF) has made it clear that it continues to "recognise the current officebearers of AFI". The sports ministry had quashed the election of the president, secretary and treasurer of the AFI earlier this month, and had asked the national sports federation (NSF) to hold fresh polls within 60 days, or before February 28, whichever is earlier. The ministry has also directed the AFI to amend its constitution, failing which it will withdraw recognition of the NSF. But the IAAF stood firmly behind its member association and said it has no reason to follow in the footsteps of the Indian sports ministry. "The IAAF has no reason to doubt the results of the elections held by AFI earlier this year, so consequently also recognise the current office bearers. The IAAF will inform the Indian Ministry that this is our position," IAAF`s Deputy Secretary General and Director of Communication, Nic Davies said. Earlier this month, the ministry had termed the April elections to the three key posts of AFI invalid as they were conducted in violation of the Sports Code. Adille Sumariwala of Maharashtra was elected the president, CV Valson of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka`s Satyanarayan were elected secretary and treasurer, respectively. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recently asked the international sports federations to carefully examine the "complicated" situation in India in the wake of Indian Olympic Association`s (IOA) suspension and take appropriate action to "protect the autonomy of national federations" in the country. But the IAAF maintained that the IOC`s move will have no effect on Indian athletes` participation in events conducted by the world body. "The IAAF has noted the action of IOC regarding its NOC in India, but we do not want to mix this with something that is completely distinct, namely the Indian Athletics Federation and its relationship with the IAAF," Davies said. "In other words, we do not think that the IOC action against its NOC in India directly affects the participation of the Indian Athletics Federation in competitions organised by the IAAF or Area Associations of the IAAF," he insisted. Davies also said that the tainted Suresh Kalmadi will continue to represent Asia in the IAAF and his representation has nothing to do with his association with the IOA. Asked about the status of Kalmadi in the IAAF Council after he ceases to be the IOA president, Davies said, "Again this is a case of apples being compared to oranges. "Suresh Kalmadi`s position on the IAAF Council is a direct consequence only of him being President of the Asian Athletics Association, by which route he enters the IAAF Council as `IAAF Area Representative` for Asia. It has nothing whatsoever to do with his position as IOA President," he added.

Facebook testing 'self-destructible' messages app

SYDNEY: Social networking giant Facebook is currently testing a new messaging app that would allow users to send 'sexts', or sexually explicit content, a report has claimed. The new feature will be Facebook's own in-house version of a "Snapchat-like" application, which allows users to send pictures and videos that disappear after a set time period. Facebook plans to launch the app in the coming weeks, sometime before the end of the year. Like Messenger and Camera, Facebook's new app is standalone and separate from the main Facebook app, the tech blog said. Snapchat rose to prominence over the last year due to its capacity for sending private, "self-destructable" messages. A user can send a photo message to another friend inside the service, choosing the amount of time that the photo will be available for viewing (usually a matter of seconds). After the user views the photo message for the allotted amount of time, the photo deletes itself from the sender's phone and the receiver's phone, and Snapchat deletes the message from its servers.

Calicut to host south zone inter-varsity kho-kho tourney

KOZHIKODE: Forty nine universities would be seen in action in the South Zone InterVarsity Women Kho-Kho Championship, scheduled to be held here from Dec 19 to 23. The top four placed universities would qualify for the All India Inter-zone Kho Kho Championship scheduled at Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar in February 2013, Dr V P Sakir Hussain, Organising Secretary and Calicut University Deputy Director, Physical Education, said on Tuesday. The matches will be played in a knockout-cumleague basis in the floodlit courts prepared for the event, he said. Hussain said they planned to modernise an indoor stadium in the varsity with the facilities for conducting volleyball, basketball, handball and badminton tournaments. The University had also approached the State Government for financial aid for construction of a 400 metre Synthetic track, estimated to cost Rs 5.5 crore, he said. Calicut University are defending champions. Calicut had won All India inter-zone championship five times and South zone title on eight occasions, he said.

Bhedaghat may make it to UNESCO list soon

JABALPUR: Bhedaghat, the majestic waterfall among marble rocks here, could soon find itself in the coveted list of UNESCO's world heritage sites (WHS). Superlatives used to describe it's grandeur in the organization's "revised tentative list of WHS in India and its recommendations" have raised hopes of the state government, which is preparing to hard sell its one of the biggest tourist draw as the fittest case under the natural site category. Bhedaghat is one among the only three sites in this slot that made it to the pan India nomination this time. The tentative list, compiled by the advisory committee on the world heritage matters (ACWHM), had named Bhedaghat, along with Kanger valley Bastar and the Aravali hill range, said R K Sharma, state convener of INTACH. Aravali seems to have lost out as the committee felt that due to its location spanning Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and even Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh it could present several protection and management issues. Bhedaghat, he feels, has a much stronger case and the words used to describe it in UNESCO's status of existing properties and recommendations for new additions makes it all too clear. "The site offers a unique view, offering one of the greatest breathtaking views of mighty Narmada River falling from the height of 105ft and rushing with full fury through magnificent white marble rock hills creating a deep dent and huge gorge resulting in the formation of a natural and geographical phenomenon seen nowhere else in the world. Bhedaghat is also known internationally for its archaeological wealth that dates since pre-historic times," said Sharma. "We are in the midst of compiling additional facts to strengthen the case," Jabalpur divisional commissioner Deepak Khandekar said on Monday. The government, he said, has already approached ASI and Geological Survey of India (GSI) to dispatch their respective teams to sort out a few issues even though 40 slides shown to UNESCO team had made a deep impact. Not even famous Colorado river, which flows through the American desert of Arizona, can compete with the splendour of Bhedaghat and this is what we are highlighting, he added. MP has only three WPS namely Sanchi stupas, Bheem Baithika and Khajuraho and all are man made and as UNESCO revises its list only once in 10 years now, said Khandekar, is our big chance. ?

New lizard species discovered in Australia

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Pictured are the brightly coloured males of the Elegant Rainbow Skink (L) and the Orange-flanked Rainbow Skink (R). SYDNEY: Researchers have discovered two new species of lizards, which are small skinks belonging to the genus Carlia, in tropical Australia. Conrad Hoskin from the James Cook University's School of Marine and Tropical Biology, and Patrick Couper from the Queensland Museum said the new lizards were named as Elegant Rainbow Skink and the Orange-flanked Rainbow Skink. "The species' names are in reference to the bright colours sported by breeding males of each species. Decora (first one) means 'beautiful' in Latin, with males of that species marked with vivid orange and blue, while 'rubigo' (second one) translates to 'rust,' referring to the rusty orange of males of that species," Hoskin was quoted in the journal Zootaxa. Hoskin said the Elegant Rainbow Skink was "one of the most common skinks in Townsville gardens and would be familiar to many Townsville residents as the small skink that scurries away into the garden bed," according to an university statement. Hoskin said a third species was also described in the paper, the Whitsunday Rainbow Skink (Carlia inconnexa). "This species had previously been recognized as a subspecies of another skink species, but our research found that it was sufficiently different from all other populations that it should be elevated from subspecies to full species status," he added.

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CHIEF-EDITOR, PUBLISHER, OWNER: Rohit Singh Rana, ADMINISTRATIVE HEAD (J&K):Pawan Rathore, DY. CHIEF EDITOR : Vikram Singh Shan, Bureau Chief Kashmir: Allayee Faizan, LEGAL ADVISOR: Advocate Ashok Parihar EDITORIAL BOARD: NATIONAL AFFAIRS: Shweta Bhat, STATE AFFAIRS: Jaswant Singh Rana, SPORTS EDITOR: Naina Jamwal, GRAPHIC DESIGNER : Baleshwer Bali, DESIGNER: Gagandeep Kour, Abhishek Kashyap CIRCULATION TEAM: Sunil Gupta, Rohit Bakshi, Nikhil Raina. PRINTED AT JK PRINTING & PUBLICATIONS, SUJWAN, JAMMU TAWI. For Contributing articles mail us at callme.ranasahib@gmail.com, editor.studentage@gmail.com. For Complaints, Querries or Advertisement Contact us: 0191-2459701, 2459702. Address: Sector-12, H.No-12 Nanak Nagar, Jammu (All disputes are subjected to the exclusive jurisdiction of Jammu District courts only.)