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Eight-year ban on Satyam can be reviewed, says World Bank

2009-02-15T00:21:00.001-08:00

Giving some hope to crisis-ridden Satyam, the World Bank has said it could review the eight-year ban imposed on the company provided
the software exporter takes "corrective action".

A World Bank official said Satyam has to show it has again become a responsible vendor to do business
with, when asked whether the multilateral lending agency would relax the ban on the software exporter.

"The vendor would have to demonstrate (that) corrective action had been taken to address the original causes of the ... ineligibility," a World Bank official from Washington said in an emailed statement.

The official further said action should substantiate that Satyam is "again a responsible vendor with whom the Bank can do business".
The World Bank banned Satyam Computer Services for eight years in 2008 for providing "improper benefits" to Bank staff and for failing to maintain records relating to fees charged for sub-contractors.

Satyam has a strong case for a review of the ban since its old board and management have been changed after its disgraced founder Chairman B Ramalinga Raju admitted to fudging accounts to the tune of Rs 7,800 crore.

MEA computers hacked again

2009-02-15T00:20:00.000-08:00

The ministry of external affairs on Sunday said that no classified information has been stolen, after over 600 of its computers were
hacked. ( Watch )

According to Times Now, the machines were infected by spyware — a bug that gets into a computer taking control of the user's actions.

The infected computers include those in the ministry's sensitive Pakistan section.

However, the MEA insists that no national secrets have been breached.

They said that each senior official has two computers, one that connects to the Internet and the other for classified work, which is not connected to the net.

This is not the first such instance of hacking.

In May 2008, the MEA’s internal communication network was said to have been broken into by Chinese hackers.

In fact, a series of intrusions into secure systems in the MEA were then traced to China.

Pak to grill 26/11 'mastermind' Lakhvi

2009-02-15T00:18:00.002-08:00

The judge issued the order after reviewing evidence produced by investigative agency against them, the sources were quoted as saying, PTI reported.

The judge recorded the suspects' statements before sending them to physical remand, the report said.

Meanwhile, 'Dawn' on Sunday reported, quoting an unnamed security official, that the suspects, including Lakhvi, were produced before judge Sakhi Mohammed Kahut of the anti-terrorism court at an undisclosed location.

The FIA is expected to submit a chargesheet against the suspects at the end of the remand, it said. The agency has already conducted preliminary investigations into the case.

Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, was arrested in December near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Both Lakhvi and Shah, another accused named in the FIR is Hamad Ameen Sadiq, a key militant linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, western diplomatic sources told news agencies.

Pakistan on Saturday briefed foreign envoys on the steps taken by it to cooperate with India in bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice and to eliminate terrorism and militancy.

The heads of diplomatic missions in Islamabad were also briefed by foreign secretary Salman Bashir on Pakistan's perspective on "peace, security and stability, with particular emphasis on the situation in South Asia".

Meanwhile, Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik on Saturday said that his country may demand from India the custody of Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor among the accused of the Mumbai terror attacks.

"So far, we have not asked India for the custody of Kasab. But we may seek it if the investigation demands," Rehman Malik said in the southern port city of Karachi, adding that at the moment, it would be premature to say anything else in the matter.

India was quick to react, saying there was no way this could happen.

"The crime was committed in India. There is no question of handing Kasab to them. In fact, Pakistan should hand over to India the other suspects they've arrested because they were responsible for this terror attack. It can't be the other way around," sources in the Indian external affairs ministry said in New Delhi.

"On what basis do we send Kasab out there? The crime was committed out here (in Mumbai), therefore logic and reasoning demands that the suspects who they've rounded up be sent here (to India)," the sources told IANS.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the state had gathered enough evidence to show that Kasab, the only surviving November 26 Mumbai terror suspect, had been a part of the criminal conspiracy hatched in Pakistan to orchestrate the terror strikes at pre-decided sites in Mumbai.

"We have all the evidence required. The chargesheet will be filed within a couple of days," Nikam said.

"He is not educated and (is) poor and the concept of religion was wrongly projected to him," he said.

IANS reported that Nikam said while victims of such systematic brainwashing by extremist forces needed proper handling, there was a need to distinguish between a freedom fighter and a terrorist.

Recession-hit BPO employees 'on the bench'

2009-02-15T00:18:00.001-08:00

BPO employees
were once thriving with so many job opportunities, but are now feeling the heat of the economic slowdown, as call centres have begun cutting back on jobs.

In the NCR region - Noida and Gurgaon - worried about actually laying off people, some companies are resorting to putting them on the bench.

For three months, Anshul Kumar has not reported to the call centre where he has worked for two years. Officially, he hasn't been sacked. He's been told he's "on the bench" and his id card has been taken back. He can't show up at work and he doesn't get paid.

"The process we moved to after spending more than two years in the programme faced a lot of issues due to recession. It was downsizing at that time so they decided to put us on bench. Like any other employee, I wanted to grow with the company and get recognition but it didn't go that way. It really feels bad," said Anshul Kumar.

Putting young workers on the bench is one way of controlling costs. Here's another.

A Noida-based BPO no longer offers transport to employees who live further than 45 km away. So employees in Gurgaon and Faridabad, or parts of Delhi like Rithala, need to assemble at a pick-up point even at 3 am.

"Cost cutting is essential today. It's important to be more productive and reduce all the wastages we are living with. When four cabs are going to the same location, you can get a bus to do the same job," said Deepak Ohlyan, president, Business Process.

With the deepening financial crisis in the US, that accounts for 70 per cent of the BPO business, cost reduction and productivity improvement are the two most commonly heard words in call centres in the past few months.

In simple English, that means longer and tougher hours.

Those who answer phones have to spend nine hours instead of eight taking calls, which means longer shifts for answering calls. Administrative and support staff also have to take calls now and vacation time has been shortened.

"Stopping free meals or deducting money for transport, that is still ok. We are still earning, but if we loose our jobs after that due to recession, it really hurts because you don't know what's going to happen to you after that," said Anshul.

Amar-Pawar meet: Is poll alliance on the cards?

2009-02-15T00:17:00.000-08:00

In a bid to tie-up a seat-sharing formula in Maharashtra for the coming Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Sunday met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on New Delhi.

The interaction was followed by a meeting Pawar had with national office bearers of his party, including Praful Patel, Deepti Tripathi and Tariq Anwar, NCP sources said.

NCP leaders from the state, who have been touring various districts, had met Pawar on Saturday in New Delhi and conveyed their assessment of the party's strengths and weaknesses ahead of the polls.

"We are in favour of taking along the RPI factions and the Samajwadi Party with the Congress-NCP alliance," NCP leader and state Power Minister Sunil Tatkare had told reporters after the meeting.

The negotiating teams of the Congress and the NCP are expected to meet next week to discuss the seat-sharing formula for the Lok Sabha polls. NCP leaders have been demanding an equal share in the 48 Parliamentary constituencies in the state.

In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Congress had fielded nominees in 27 Parliamentary seats while NCP put up candidates in 21 constituencies. Congress had won 13 seats while NCP was victorious on nine.

Amar Singh meets Pawar on tie-up in Maha for LS polls

2009-02-15T00:16:00.000-08:00

In a bid to tie-up a seat-sharing formula in Maharashtra for the coming Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Sunday met NCP chief Sharad Pawar here.

NCP leaders from the state, who have been touring various districts, had met Pawar yesterday here and conveyed their assessment of the party's strengths and weaknesses ahead of the polls.

"We are in favour of taking along the RPI factions and the Samajwadi Party with the Congress-NCP alliance," NCP leader and state Power Minister Sunil Tatkare had told reporters after the meeting.

The negotiating teams of the Congress and the NCP are expected to meet next week to discuss the seat-sharing formula for the Lok Sabha polls. NCP leaders have been demanding an equal share in the 48 Parliamentary constituencies in the state.

In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Congress had fielded nominees in 27 Parliamentary seats while NCP put up candidates in 21 constituencies. Congress had won 13 seats while NCP was victorious on nine.

26/11 suspects in Pak FIA’s custody

2009-02-15T00:15:00.000-08:00

A court here on Sunday sent six accused in the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks to 14-day police remand. All the accused, including prime suspect LeT leader Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, will now be in the custody of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which is probing the 26/11 strikes.

FIA officials had on Friday tried to obtain physical remand of the suspects "without producing them in the court, but their efforts proved unproductive".

Officials at Pakistan's foreign office said Saturday that the Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court has issued a 14-day physical remand of the six alleged suspects, into the custody of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The judge gave the order after reviewing the evidences produced by the agency against them, officials said, adding that the suspects' statements were also recorded in the court.

Admitting that part of the Mumbai attacks conspiracy was planned in Pakistan, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had on Thursday said that a first information report (FIR) had been registered with FIA's Special Investigation Unit. The minister also admitted that the lone terrorist caught in Mumbai, Ajmal Amir Kasab, was a Pakistani.

Eight suspects had been identified in the FIR, six of whom have been arrested. Two are still at large.

2009-02-14T23:20:00.001-08:00

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2009-02-07T20:39:00.001-08:00

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Grand Slam winners return home

2009-02-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

The winning pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza returned home amidst a rousing welcome at the mumbai Airport on Monday.

"It's a great way to come back, especially what happened in the last six-seven months," Sania, the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title, said after landing in Mumbai with Bhupathi.

While the mixed doubles champions arrived in Mumbai, Australian Open boys' singles winner Yuki Bhambri reached New Delhi.

Asked about her future plans, an elated Sania said: "I am happy to win my first Grand Slam and there are many more to go."

Sania will now fly down to her hometown Hyderabad.

Bhambri won the singles title in the boys' junior event. He is only the fifth Indian to win a junior Grand Slam title.

Bhupathi and Sania won their first Grand Slam together, crushing Andy Ram and Natalie Dechy in straight sets in the mixed doubles final of the Australian Open on Sunday.

The Indian wildcard pair thrashed the Israeli-French duo 6-3, 6-1.

The win gave Bhupathi his 11th Grand Slam title and the seventh in mixed doubles. This was also Bhupathi's second mixed doubles title at the Australian Open, following his 2006 triumph with Martina Hingis. For Sania, it was her maiden Grand Slam title.

Sania Mirza to miss Fed Cup tie

2009-02-02T17:57:00.000-08:00

In a big setback to the Indian Fed Cup team, Sania Mirza will miss the upcoming Group I Asia/Oceania zone tie, citing an abdominal injury.

The Fed Cup tie will begin in Perth, Australia from Wednesday and the Indian team has been reduced to three members now.

No replacement can be sent to the event as the last date for sending the substitute has lapsed.

Sania suffered the injury during her Australian Open campaign, an All India Tennis Association official said. "We were told yesterday that she will not play. Her father spoke to me and informed," said an AITA official.

Last year also, Sania did not play the Fed Cup matches though she was part of the team.

The Indian team comprises Ankita and Sanaa Bhambri and Rushmi Chakravarthi.

India eye series win, SL look to hit back

2009-02-02T17:56:00.000-08:00

Bolstered by two consecutive victories, a confident India will aim to wrap up the five-match series when they take on Sri Lanka in the third one-dayer on Tuesday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men have been on target in the first two matches but the Indian captain would be taking no chance under floodlights after India just about managed a close 15-run win in a nail-biting day-night affair at the Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.

Dhoni, who has led the team to seven successive ODI wins, ha swarned his teammates against dropping their guards before the series was claimed.

A few chinks were seen in the Indian armour in the second match when bowlers looked confused in the powerplay overs and Dhoni wants a more disciplined show by his bowlers.

The batting has also not fired but to be fair, the Indians have been hit hard by a few dubious umpiring decisions. But the top order batsmen have to get into the act quickly if they hope to clinch the series on Tuesday itself.

Sachin Tendulkar has been a victim of poor umpiring decisions in both the matches and the maestro will be hoping that he gets the chance to make amends on Tuesday.

In bowling dapertment, pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma have a big role to play since India do not have any experienced spinners in their ranks.

Dhoni, who is known for his calm composure in anxious moments, lost his cool when he saw bowlers clueless in the powerplay overs.

"It was tough and we did not have such a game for a long time," Dhoni said.

Although Indian batsmen did not fall prey to Sri Lankan spin wizards Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, they struggled to hit boundaries against the duo.

"We have to be careful as such wins often make us relaxed a bit. We should remember that the series is yet to be won. We want to win the series and for that each of us have to give 100 per cent," Dhoni said.

For a jaded looking Sri Lanka, it is a must win situation and they would be desparate to keep the series alive by clinching a win on Tuesday.

The hosts are struggling to find a steady opening pair even as an unimpressive middle order and blunted striking weapons leave them in a desparate position.

Muralitharan and Mendis are not as dangerous as their captain Mahela Jayawardene would want them to be. The home team's fielding is also looking dispirited.

"I would be lying if I say that we are not tired," Jayawardene said.

"During India innings we gave away too many runs when we were in control. We have to minimise mistakes and raise our game in the remaining matches," he added.

He got back among the runs with his first 50 in 14 games and that goes back a long way to the tour of Zimbabwe in November.

Murali has failed to capture in two games the two wickets required to become the greatest ODI bowler in the game's history.

It is pretty much back to basics for Sri Lanka. Consistency at the top order, restore the killer instinct to make use of the batting skills to optimum, tight fielding and bowlers doing the job.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jaywardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilina Kandamby, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilina Thushara and Angelo Mathews.

SEBI seeks SC nod to gain access to Raju brothers

2009-02-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

With Ramalinga Raju continuing to elude SEBI even after spending weeks behind bars, the market regulator on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to interrogate the tainted Satyam-founder on the Rs 7,800 crore fraud in the IT major.

In its request, SEBI said that it was constrained to approach the apex court for urgent relief related to the most serious financial scam that had large-scale national and international ramifications.

A bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan allowed SEBI to mention the matter tomorrow after Solicitor General GE Vahanvati and counsel Pratap Venugopal submitted the market regulator’s request.

Meanwhile, in another significant development that may help Satyam Computers' potential suitor to get control of the IT company at an affordable price, SEBI today said that it would amend regulations governing open offer to ensure transparent pricing.

The SEBI move followed a request from Satyam Board in this regard to relax the norm of 26-week average price to make an open offer.

"It was decided to appropriately amend the regulations to enable a transparent process for arriving at the price for such acquisition," SEBI Chairman CB Bhave told reporters in Mumbai after the Board meeting.

SEBI at SC

The market regulator moved SC today seeking permission to interrogate Ramalinga Raju on the Satyam fraud after the Andhra Pradesh High Court last week deferred to February 9, hearing on its request to quiz the tainted ex-chairman and his brother Rama Raju.

SEBI had moved the High Court challenging a lower court order, which denied it permission to interrogate the Raju brothers, who were arrested by the state police on January 9 -- the day a SEBI probe team had summoned them to appear before it in Hyderabad.

The Raju brothers, along with Satyam's former CFO Vadlamani Srinivas, are now in judicial custody.

The 6th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Hyderabad, had refused permission on the ground that SEBI was not an investigating agency and there was no provision in law under which it could interrogate the Raju brothers.

A probe team from SEBI had landed in Hyderabad on January 8, a day after Ramalinga Raju disclosed the massive accounting fraud in the IT company.

Challenging the High Court order, SEBI said that it had appointed an investigator after Raju confessed to accounting irregularities in a letter to Satyam's Board of Directors.

According to the market regulator, the High Court should have seen that the Raju brothers cannot use judicial custody as a shield to avoid probe by expert agencies.

SEBI further said that just as police apply for custody, any other agency can also apply for access or custody and the same can be granted and the refusal to permit SEBI even to record the statements of the accused while in the custody was "arbitrary, unreasonable and perverse".

According to SEBI, merely because investigations by different agencies like CID, Enforcement Directorate, Serious Frauds Investigation Office, Registrar of Companies etc may overlap, it cannot be said that they cannot investigate simultaneously pursuant to the power conferred on them under their respective statutes.

Stating that the scam in the NYSE-listed Satyam Computers was the worst in the country's history, the advocates said that the company's market capitalisation has fallen from Rs 15,000 crores to Rs 2,000 crores.

SEBI to amend open offer rules

Even as SEBI announced the move to amend regulations governing open offer, its chairman Bhave said that the amendments will be made not only for the Satyam case, but for all similar situations that may arise in the future.

The Board recognises that the issue needs to be dealt with in a general context and not as a specific case, Bhave said, referring to the Satyam request.

Though Bhave declined to give any timeframe for the amendments in pricing rule, he said: "We are aware about the urgency of the situation."

Engineering major Larsen & Toubro has increased its stake in Satyam to over 12 percent. If it crosses 15 percent, the company would have to make an open offer to purchase another 20 percent from the market.

Among the other decisions taken today, SEBI made it mandatory for listed companies to declare dividend on per share basis instead of percentage basis followed at present.

Besides, the regulator has reduced the timeline for the completion of bonus issue to 15 days if the shareholder approval is not required and to 60 days where the approval is required. At present, the timeline for this procedure is six months.

SEBI also decided to shorten the timeframe to announce the price band for IPO in today's Board meeting. With this, the price band should be declared two days prior to the opening of IPO.

The regulator has also upped the up-front margin to be paid by allottees of warrants to 25 percent as against 10 percent at present.

Obama should not link Kashmir with Pak problems: NSA

2009-02-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

Coming out strongly against any attempt to link Kashmir issue with turmoil in Pakistan's tribal areas, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan has said that US President Barack Obama would be "barking up the wrong tree" if he holds such views.
Narayanan said India had made it known to the Obama team at the outset that it would not like Indo-Pak relations to be on the agenda of Richard Holbrooke, special envoy of the US for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"References made by President Obama did seem to suggest that there is some kind of a link between the settlement on Pakistan's western border and the Kashmir issue. Certainly that had caused concern," he told audience in a programme.

He was responding to reported suggestions by Obama during his campaign that Pakistan's fight against Taliban on the western front is linked to resolution of Kashmir issue.

The NSA pointed out that Obama made such references when he was in the campaign mode or when he was president-elect.

"We tend to sort of say lets wait and see what he does when he come into office," Narayanan said, adding "I don't think we had any major exchanges with members of the Obama administration later on" though the US President had made courtesy call and discussed bilateral ties.

"I do think that we could make President Obama understand, if he does have any such views then he is barking up the wrong tree," he said.

No choice but to wait for Pak response: Pranab

2009-02-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

India has "hardly" any choice except to patiently wait for Pakistan to respond to the dossier given on mumbai attacks, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday. "We won't get anything by simply losing our patience, so hardly we have a choice," Mukherjee said here at a function of a private news channel.
He was responding when asked how long India will wait for Pakistan's response to India's demands after the Mumbai terror strikes for which Pakistan-based elements have been blamed.

India gave the dossier of evidence on January 5 and has since been waiting for Pakistan to respond officially.

Pakistan has said it is investigating the matter and would get back to India as soon as it is over.

Queried on his status now since he is discharging duties of the Prime Minister, he said, "Simply I am discharging duties, neither I am officiating nor acting, neither de-jure nor de-facto".

He said under the Constitution of the country, there can be only one Prime Minister. But "the Prime Minister can delegate some responsibility to his colleagues and I am doing exactly that".

Replying to a query on whether he had any apprehension about the Nuclear Suppliers Group giving its waiver last year, the External Affairs Minister suggested that he was not sure till it happened.

"Unless it (deal) was done, to be very frank, I was not convinced that we will be able to succeed. It was done only after the NSG waiver came on September 6," said Mukherjee who had remained awake virtually through the night as the 45-nation grouping deliberated on the issue in Vienna till early morning of September 6.

To a question on which of the many GoMs headed by him (Mukherjee) will have any lasting impact on the country, the external affairs minister said he does not take anything to his credit.

"Because in our system, we do everything in consultation and collectively. So success and failure have to be shared collectively," he said.

CEC-EC face off: Govt tilts in Navin Chawla's favour

2009-02-02T17:49:00.000-08:00

Government on Monday ticked off Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami for seeking removal of his colleague Navin Chawla, saying he is not the "political boss" and hinted at Chawla becoming the next CEC in April.
"Gopalaswami should do his work in EC and not become a political boss," Law Minister H R Bharadwaj told agencies on the sidelines of a conference here.
The CEC controversy continued to generate political heat with the Government and Congress party attacking the CEC for recommending to the President removal of Chawla. Gopalaswami had sought Chawla's removal accusing him of being partisan.
"The CEC has no Constitutional authority to embarrass or comment upon his own colleague because they are all equals. He is only the administrative head of the Election Commission and he is not the boss," the minister later told reporters.
Bharadwaj said the policy of having the senior-most in the Election Commission as the successor will continue, indicating the likelihood of Chawla getting to the key slot when Gopalswami's tenure comes to an end on April 20.
Describing the present controversy as "unfortunate", Bharadwaj said it should not effect Chawla's career as appointments in the Election Commission are based on merit.
"We will begin the process to put in place a new CEC well in time" so that the name of Gopalaswami's successor is clear before he retires, he said.
Congress spokespersons Abhishek Singhvi and Manish Tiwari said the CEC has no unilateral power to recommend removal of an Election Commissioner. The CEC does not enjoy a "status superior to that of the Election Commissioner", Tiwari said.
The rift in the Election Commission also set off a war of words between the Congress, which saw motives in the timing of Gopalswami's move, and the BJP supporting him.
Hitting out at Bharadwaj, BJP party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said "nothing better could be expected from the Law Minister" since his ministry was already "advising" Chawla for the last so many months.
When cogent reasons for bias has been given, instead of addressing the issue, Government is attributing motive on the part of the CEC which is "grossly unfair", Prasad said.
Rebutting BJP's contention, Bharadwaj said the CEC's authority flows from the President and if the President asks for his opinion, only then he can given.
"If he (President) does not ask, how can he (CEC) do so?" he asked.
"It is unfortunate that a person of such high rank and at the end of his office has made such a recommendation and, thus, troubled the good name of the Election Commission," he said.
Noting that the country was moving towards the general election, he said the main work of the EC was to prepare voters' list. "It is unfortunate that the controversy has been started at such a time," he said.
The Law Minister said the President is the appointing and the removing authority for Election Commissioner members under the Constitution. "The role of CEC is as a measure of protection, if the government wants to remove and Election Commissioner, then CEC's opinion is sought," he said.
He said the file relating to the CEC's recommendation reached his office two days back and Law Secretary T K Viswanathan is studying it.
Describing the CEC's move against Chawla as bolt from the blue, Bharadwaj said Gopalaswami had no suo motu power to recommend the removal of an election commissioner.
He cannot initiate a move on his own it is only when the government wants to remove any election commissioner then the Law Ministry can approach the CEC, he said.
Bharadwaj termed as unfortunate BJP trying to use the Election Commission for its ends. "Why should involve itself in EC politics. They went to court (to target an EC), they did not succeed. Then you start using the very Election Commission for your ends, that's very unfortunate," Bharadwaj told reporters after a conference here.
The Law Ministry is the agency through which all transactions of the Election Commission are carried out. If there is any letter by the CEC, it is supposed to be routed through the ministry, Bharadwaj said holding Gopalaswami's action as improper.
"Without the impeachment in Parliament, the CEC cannot be removed...but if the government wants to remove any election commissioner then the ministry can approach the CEC," he said.
"It is a security of tenure enjoyed by election commissioners that they are protected against the arbitrary acts of the government and it is a protection to them and not an authority to the CEC that he can get rid of his colleagues by this method," Bharadwaj said.
There have been instances of differences among Election Commissioners. There are bound to be differences and what they do within themselves, I am not bothered, Bharadwaj said.
"But this (CEC move against Chawla) is a bolt from the blue. This is no courtesy," he said.
Bharadwaj said Gopalaswami has no primacy over his colleagues.
"He is the first among equals and they are all equals like the Chief Justice of India. Do you think he (CJI) is the boss of other judges. When they sit in the court they are three and CJI can be over-ruled by a majority of two.
"Similarly, in this EC also if his colleagues overrule him then the CEC will be in a minority, he has no overwhelming Veto," he said.
Asked about the next course of action in the matter, Bharadwaj said Navin Chawla is the senior most member of the EC...I will not hesitate in performing my duty to process the appointment of the next CEC on the precedents as are prevalent today, that is, the senior most EC gets it unless he is otherwise deprived of it.
We have to complete the three-member strength of the EC and one more proposal will be sent to add the third one, Bharadwaj said elaborating on the future configuration of the Election Commission after the CEC retires on April 20.

8-yr-old kills 5-yr-old in petty fight

2009-02-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

In an unfortunate incident, an eight-year-old child killed another five-year-old child in a small fight.
Two children, eight and five years old, were playing with a plastic ball. They had a small fist fight over the ball, after which the eight-year-old child picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed the younger child.
The blow hit one of the veins on the neck, which led to excessive bleeding and the child died.
The eight-year-old has been sent to child remand home.

Don't make EC an object of public ridicule: Law Minister

2009-02-02T17:39:00.000-08:00

In an indication of government's thinking that it may not accept the CEC's recommendation for removal of his colleague Navin Chawla, Law Minister H R Bhardwaj on Monday said N Gopalaswami should do his job in the EC and not behave like a "political boss".
Speaking to NDTV's senior managing editor Sonia Singh, the Law Minister said the Election Commission should not become an object of public ridicule due to this controversy and contended that the CEC has no powers to make a recommendation for Chawla's removal.
Bhardwaj also said that Navin Chawla will be the next Chief Election Commissioner in due course.
Bhardwaj said he had received a file on the matter. "I have to see what is new in the matter," he said, adding the internal tussle within the Election Commission has been going on ever since Chawla was appointed to the post of Election Commissioner.
"Gopalaswami should do his work in EC and not become a political boss," he said on the sidelines of a conference here.
Asked if the government had taken any decision on the Chief Election Commissioner's recommendation to remove Chawla, he said "When a decision is taken, we will inform you," adding "the EC's role is to prepare electoral rolls and not to settle scores".

US GDP shrinks 3.8%, most in 26 yrs

2009-01-30T18:24:00.000-08:00

The world's largest economy US has contracted 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the most since 1982, as the worst ever financial turmoil in nearly 80 years crimped consumer and business spending.
The nation's economy which officially entered into recession in December 2007, shrunk 3.8 per cent in the December quarter, according to the advanced estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Moreover, the decline is the worst since the GDP fell 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 1982.
"Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008," the BEA which is part of the Commerce Department said in a statement today.
In the third quarter of last year, the GDP had declined 0.5 per cent.
Reportedly, experts had expected the economy to shrink 5.4 per cent in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, the figure is grim considering the worsening financial situation.
However, the BEA noted that that the fourth quarter advance estimates are based on "source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision..."
For the full year 2008, American economy grew just 1.3 per cent compared to two per cent rise in the year-ago period.
According to the statement, the drop in fourth quarter real GDP was mainly due to negative contributions from exports, personal consumption expenditures, equipment and software and residential fixed investment.
Noting that most of the major components contributed to the decrease in fourth quarter real GDP, BEA said, "the largest contributors were a downturn in exports and a much larger decrease in equipment and software. The most notable offset was a much larger decrease in imports".
Regarding the full year 2008 advanced GDP figure of 1.3 per cent, the BEA pointed out that the growth was primarily on account of exports, personal consumption expenditures (PCE) for services, federal government spending, non-residential structures, state and local government spending.
"These were partly offset by residential fixed investment, PCE for goods, equipment and software, and private inventory investment," the statement said.
On the other hand, BEA noted that deceleration in real GDP (as compared to a growth of two per cent in 2007) primarily reflected a sharp fall in PCE, a downturn in equipment and software, and decelerations in exports and in state and local government spending.
Meanwhile, American President Barack Obama is expected to come up wtih an 819-billion dollar stimulus package to bolster the nation's sagging economy and also create nearly four million jobs.

Now, Ramadoss targets 'pub culture'

2009-01-30T18:23:00.000-08:00

Closing ranks with leaders opposing pub culture in the aftermath of the Mangalore incident, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday said it was against Indian ethos and asserted that the proposed National Alcohol Policy would help curb it.
"We definitely condemn the incident where women were attacked, but the pub culture must stop. It is because of this that youth in the country have taken to drinking in a big way," Ramadoss said at a press conference in new delhi.
Linking youngsters visiting pubs to increased rates of accidents due to drunken driving, he said: "In India, 40 per cent of road accidents are alcohol-related."
These young people not only jeopardise their lives but are also a danger to others on the roads.
"It is not our culture. If it goes this way I don't think India will progress," Ramadoss said adding, most of the people losing their lives due to such road accidents and alcoholism were in their early twenties, which are the most productive years.
Unfortunately over the recent years, there has been a huge percentage of people taking to alcohol.
There is also a study which says that in the last five to six years there is an increase of 60 per cent among the youth who have taken to drinking, he said.

26/11 probe report ready; will share findings: Pakistan

2009-01-30T18:20:00.000-08:00

Responding to India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s comments that Pakistan is unresponsive over 26/11 mumbai terror strike investigation, Pakistan’s External Affairs Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the investigation report is ready.
"The Federal Investigation Agency of the Interior Ministry of Pakistan has completed the preliminary investigation and sent (its report) to the Law Department," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters here after addressing a conference at the International Islamic University.
He went on to add that the report will be sent to India and other countries soon.

After a review by the Law Department, the report on the preliminary investigation will be received by the Foreign Ministry and then it will be shared with India and the international community, he said.
"Pakistan has assured India and the world community that it is seriously making progress in the process of investigating the Mumbai attacks and wants to bring the culprits to justice," Qureshi said, adding Pakistan wants peace in the region and good relations with its neighbours.
He said Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik met Home Minister P Chidambaram today and updated him on the latest developments regarding the investigation into the Mumbai attacks.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon had on January five handed over to High Commissioner Malik in new delhi the dossier containing evidence, which included confession of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist held during the Mumbai attacks.
Qureshi said Pakistan has always condemned terrorism and extremism in all its forms anywhere in the world and it had been promoting the message of peace and brotherhood.
Pakistan does not want confrontation with anyone in the region as it wants to concentrate on its economic development and strengthening its democratic process, he said.
The country wants to promote the message of peace, love and tolerance and concentrate on trade, he said.
Referring to reports of threat to High Commissioner Malik, Qureshi said the issue was taken up with the Indian government and he had now been provided additional security.

Spice Group bids to acquire Satyam

2009-01-29T18:23:00.000-08:00

B K Modi-led Spice group on Thursday made a formal bid to acquire scam-hit Satyam Computer, although engineering major Larsen & Toubro has been courting the IT company for a while now.

"Yes, we have given the letter of Expression of Interest to the interim board of Satyam for acquiring controlling stake," diversified Spice group chairman B K Modi said.

The company, sources said, has told the government- appointed board that it has proven management track-record and was hence most suited to turn around the IT company.

Spice group is into the entire domain of entertainment, BPO, IT, retail and mobile handsets business. No price has been discussed so far.

Engineering giant L&T had last week emerged as the front runner for Satyam, which is smarting from a Rs 7,800 crore accounting fraud disclosed by its founder Ramalinga Raju, by increasing its stake in Satyam to over 12 per cent through open market transactions on Friday.

L&T Chairman A M Naik had last Wednesday called on Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta, apparently to discuss its plans for Satyam, whose board met the very next day.

Incidentally, LIC, which has four per cent stake in Satyam and is also the single-largest shareholder of L&T, had said that was not averse to the idea of the IT firm's sale. The board had this week ruled out part sale of the company, saying it was not its mandate to do so at this stage.

Stimulus packages working, 7% growth likely: Pranab

2009-01-29T18:22:00.000-08:00

The two stimulus packages given by the government to boost the economy have started working and the economic growth in the current year is likely to be seven per cent, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also holding the charge of the Finance Ministry, said here.
"The two stimulus packages have started working...That has been reiterated by the Reserve bank Governor while announcing the (third-quarterly review of the) credit policy," Mukherjee said after his first meeting with Minister of State for finance P K Bansal and senior officials of the ministry at North Block.

Mukherjee took charge of the Finance Ministry as the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was looking after the finance portfolio, is recuperating from a heart surgery at the All-Indian Institute of Medical Science.

The minister was briefed by the senior officials of the finance ministry on various issues, including preparation for interim budget which is to be presented in Parliament next month.

As regards economic growth, Mukherjee said, "though the economy will not grow at 8.9 or 8.8 per cent, it will grow around 7 per cent. There is no doubt about that ... Indian economy is sound and will bounce back ".

The RBI in its review of the credit policy projected a growth rate of 7 per cent for the current fiscal, down from 7.5 to 8 per cent estimated earlier.

On his priority as in-charge of the Finance Ministry, Mukherjee said, "My first priority is to get the vote on account passed. That is the top most priority and it is also a constitutional requirement."

As general elections are due later in the year, the government will have to present an interim budget and get the vote on account approved by Parliament to carry on the essential expenditure.

The government has already convened a fortnight-long session of Parliament on February 12 for completing the essential business.

In addition to secretaries, economic advisor Arvind Virmani and members of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) were also present at the meeting to brief Mukherjee.

Seven suitors line up for Satyam Computers

2009-01-29T18:20:00.000-08:00

New Delhi, Jan 29: Scam-hit Satyam Computer has been approached by as many as seven possible suitors, including private equity players, even as the company's investment bankers are trying to find the best match.
"So far we are aware of four (companies that have approached Satyam Computer). But we have heard that another two or three firms are also interested," Satyam Computer board member Tarun Das, who is also the chief mentor of industry body CII told reporters here.

Investment bankers are talking to everybody and finding out which firm is interested, what is the level of seriousness and are evaluating the proposal before getting back to the board. The process is likely to take six weeks, Das added.

Earlier this week, the board of Satyam Computer Services appointed Goldman Sachs and Avendus Capital as investment bankers and mandated Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to act as its management adviser.

Asked whether Satyam's founder Ramalinga Raju had inflated employee numbers as claimed by the Andhra Pradesh police, Das said: "We have done a head count using external agencies and we believe in the basis of investigation that we are well over 50,000 people in Satyam. So I do not think that there is any inflated numbers."

Earlier, Andhra Pradesh CID had claimed in a court that there were 13,000 ghost employees on the rolls of the IT firm, following which the human resources department of Satyam Computer Services conducted a verification of the head count.

Pak must ensure 26/11-like attacks don't recur: McCain

2009-01-29T18:19:00.000-08:00

Washington, Jan 29: Pakistan should take steps that reduce the threat of a reccurence of Mumbai-like terrorist attacks, US Republican Presidential candidate for the 2008 election, John McCain, has said.
"This is what would satisfy the United States," McCain told at the conclusion of a Senate Committee hearing on the Mumbai terrorist attack at the Capitol Hill here.

"To satisfy the US ... Well actions that clearly indicate they have reduced the threat of their reoccurrence (of Mumbai terrorist attacks)," McCain said, when asked what actions of Pakistan would be satisfactory to the United States.

"I think that there are variety of reasons that argue for the arrest of the people who are responsible (for the attack) and the terrorist's organisations," he said.

Referring to the testimony by experts at Senate Committee hearing on Mumbai attack, McCain said it should be a very high priority to prevent heightening of tension between the two South Asian neighbours.

"I agree with the witness that it is very high priority to prevent heightening of tension between the two countries and the United States should do everything we can to prevent escalation of tensions," McCain said.

Earlier during the hearing McCain said the Mumbai terror attack was "well orchestrated, well trained and well planned" and had outdone security forces until commandos showed up.

"They were not necessarily suicide individuals, they were able with just handful of people to hit 10 targets... I think there are a whole lot of lessons... that may be we have not paid much attention to," he said.

After Gehlaut, Karnataka CM won’t allow pub culture

2009-01-29T18:16:00.000-08:00

A day after Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlaut announced he will eliminate pub-culture, Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa seemed toeing the Ram Sena line when he said he will not allow pub culture to grow in the state.
“It is a most unfortunate that this incident (assault of women in a Mangalore pub last week) happened but we will not allow pub culture to grow in Karnataka,” he said.
"Anyhow, we are not going to allow such incidents to happen again in the state. Nobody should take law into their hands and it is very unfortunate. That is why I have taken immediate action and the situation is under control," he added.
He also dithered on the issue of banning right-wing group Sri Rama Sene whose activists have been arrested for last Saturday's pub incident in Mangalore in which girls and boys were thrashed. "We will discuss it with the police officers and I will discuss it with the cabinet."
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who has accused the erswtwhile Vasundhara Raje BJP government of bringing in "liquor culture", said in Jaipur the move to end pub culture in the State had nothing to do with the Mangalore incident.
However, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit saw nothing wrong in boys and girls going out together to malls when asked to comment on Gehlot voicing reservations in this regard.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said he is against all "uncivilised behaviour."

Gehlot said, "my feelings have nothing to do with the Mangalore episode. My feelings are my own and in the interest of Rajasthan and its culture".

He had drawn flak for his comments that he wanted to end the culture of boys and girls roaming around in malls holding hands.

Assuring strong action against the culprits, BJP’s first Chief Minister in the south said that his party has no connection with the Sena.

"Sri Rama Sena has no connection with BJP or any other political party. It is an individual organisation," the Chief Minister said.

Disclosing that the state has so far arrested 33 people including Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik, Yeddyurappa said, "From the government's side, we have taken action and we will continue to take strong action against affiliations.

The culprits, he said, are currently booked under the charges of criminal conspiracy, rioting, and also added that the police is also mulling to slap Goonda Act on the Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik and his party members who were arrested in connection with the Mangalore pub attack earlier this week.

He further accused the opposition Congress party for fuelling the matter further as it could not “digest” the growing popularity of BJP govt in the state.

Stressing that the BJP has a track record in the welfare of women, he said that the police has been given full liberty to pursue action against the culprits.

PM likely to be discharged on Jan 30

2009-01-28T18:14:00.000-08:00

New Delhi, Jan 28: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who underwent a successful coronary by-pass surgery, is likely to be discharged on January 30, according to the doctors attending on him.

"He will be discharged in another day or two, depending on his condition," one of the doctors attending on him, requesting anonymity, told media.

Doctors are discussing the future course of Singh's treatment on daily basis in their internal meetings. He has shown better than expected recovery, the doctor said.

All the Intensive Care Unit equipment, used for monitoring the Prime Minister's various health parameters, was today removed and he has been shifted to an adjacent room.

The decision to shift him out of the ICU was taken by a team of doctors which included his personal physician Dr K S Reddy and repeat by-pass surgeon Dr Ramakant Panda from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute (AHI).

Dr Vijay D'Silva, an ICU specialist also from AHI and attending on the Prime Minister, said, "His is making speedy recovery in the expected time frame". The Prime Minister has been moved to an adjacent room and only his family is allowed to meet him.

"We are not allowing any guests as the Prime Minister has himself expressed desire to meet them only after he reaches home," the doctor said.

Meanwhile, President Pratibha Patil and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met the Prime Minister's wife and daughters and wished him speedy recovery.

Lanka assures India of safe passage to Tamil civilians

2009-01-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka has assured India that the safe zone for Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE would be expanded.
Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, after returning from Colombo, told reporters here on Wednesday, that the assurance was given during his talks with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.

“We made it quite clear that our concerns are for the civilian population. Around 150,000 plus civilians are affected by the crossfire. In course of discussion, the President has agreed to expand the safe zone and also assured that there will be no shelling or firing in the safe zone,” Mukherjee said.

“We requested that international agencies like UN High Commission for Refugees, International Red Cross Society, and other international organisations, who are engaged in the relief measures, should be allowed to visit Sri Lanka,and see the situation with their own eyes,” he added.

Mukherjee said beside the recent upsurge in the military offensive against Tamil rebels, issues like implementation of the 13th Amendment was also discussed with Rajapakse, who assured that his government would pay attention to the issue.

“The President (of Sri Lanka) assured me that it will be the area of his urgent attention and he will try to explore the possibilities, and also try to improve the conditions further,” Mukherjee concluded.

Prabhakaran living in bunkers: Lanka army

2009-01-28T18:09:00.000-08:00

Cornered LTTE chief V Prabhakaran is now fighting a last ditch battle in the jungles of Mullaitivu and moving from bunker to bunker to avoid being detected, Sri Lankan military sources have said.

In Killinochchi, the army found one abandoned bunker where Prabhakaran used to stay.

These reports have come amidst the news that Sri Lankan ground forces have captured a key defensive position of the Tamil Tigers at Visuamdu, deep in the jungles of Mullaitivu.

The Sri lankan Air Force has reportedly launched simultaneous precision strikes against crucial LTTE resistance positions although it is it is not clear whether civilians have been hit too.

Raju created 300 firms to divert funds: Govt

2009-01-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

The government said today that Satyam Computers' disgraced founder Ramalinga Raju created a network of about 300 companies and diverted funds from one company to another in a complex but carefully planned process.
"There has been an issue of siphoning (off of) funds. This is what we have understood from the information we have received from (the) RoC, SFIO and various other agencies (probing the Satyam case)," Union Minister of Corporate Affairs Prem Chand Gupta said in a TV interview.
Gupta said, "Our information is that there was a network of almost 300 compnaies and funds were diverted from one company to (another) and then to (a) third."
"So like this, it was a very complex process he had adopted," Gupta said, but added that "unless the investigation is complete we can't say what exactly happened".
Asked if it meant a carefully planned process to avoid detection, Gupta said, "...Well, to some extent I would agree with you that it was a carefully planned operation, but ... still what we personally feel it was a complex process."
Asked if other people might also be involved in the scam, Gupta said, "I feel there are other people involved."
"But if you go into the systematic inspection and investigation of the structure of the company, you come to the conclusion that the whole thing (revolves) around the Raju family only."

India start Lanka campaign with a win

2009-01-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

Sanath Jayasuriya's hundred went in vain as India won the opening match of the five-ODI series by 6 wickets in Dambulla on Wednesday.

Riding on Jayasuriya's sparkling 107, Sri Lanka set a target of 247 runs that India achieved with 11 balls to spare. That, however, did not deprive the Lankan opener of the 'Man of the Match' award. Jayasuriya raised 28th hundred, his 7th against India with the help of ten fours and a six.

Chasing that total, India stumbled early as they lost Sachin Tendulkar for just 5 runs. Sachin on Wednesday opened the innings with Gautam Gambhir, as the regular opener Virender Sehwag was ruled out because of an injury. Sri Lanka bowler Thilan Thushara trapped him in front of his wicket for 5 runs. It was an unfortunate decision as the ball pitched outside the leg stump and straightened to hit Sachin high on his pads. Not the best of the decisions, it was umpire Kumar Dharmasena's first in international cricket.

Suresh Raina joined Gambhir after Tendulkar's dismissal. The duo added 113 runs before Gambhir perished. Carrying his good form into the new year, Gambhir (62) struck 14th ODI half-century, his third against the hosts. In his attempt to loft Murali over the mid-off region, Gambhir erred and was taken by Thilina Kandamby at long-off as spin wizard's 501st victim.

Raina, too, fell soon after he raised his fifty. Raina (54) slammed ninth ODI half-century, his fourth against the Lankans. He gave away his wicket while trying to steal a second run off Mendis. An alert Murali did him in.

Yuvraj Singh fell as the fourth Indian wicket after Sri Lanka pacer Farveez Maharoof dismissed him for 23 runs. The Punjab left-hander added 44 runs with skipper MS Dhoni before he failed to get the desired elevation and was caught by Muralitharan who came charging from the long-on.

This middle-order collapse did not deter Dhoni who led from the front and slammed an unbeaten 61 runs. It was his 26th half-century and eighth against Jayawardene's team. He was well supported by Rohit Sharma (25*) for the fifth wicket and guided India to victory.

Earlier, electing to field first, India got the first breakthrough in the form of Tillakratne Dilshan's wicket as the Lanka opener was caught short of his crease. It was an utter mess in the middle. Dilshan played a Zaheer's delivery towards square leg and rushed for a single but Jayasuriya was not very keen and sent him back from halfway. Meanwhile, Yusuf Pathan collected the ball and knocked the stumps to see Dilshan tread back without scoring.

Losing Dilshan early on, Jayasuriya accompanied by Sangakkara added 118 runs for the second wicket. In the process he also completed 13000 ODI runs. India spinner Pragyan Ojha broke the dangerous partnership between Sangakkara and Jayasuriya as he dismissed the former for 44 runs. The wicketkeeper-batsman, playing across the line, lofted an Ojha-delivery at mid-on where Raina took a simple catch.

Jayasuriya was dismissed by India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan as he holed out a full toss delivery to Munaf Patel at mid-off.

Oldest player to score a hundred

Player	Age	Runs	Team	Against	Ground

ST Jayasuriya	39y 212d	107	Sri Lanka	India	Dambulla
G Boycott	39y 51d	105	England	Australia	Sydney
SM Gavaskar	38y 113d	103*	India	New Zealand	Nagpur
DL Haynes	38y 18d	115	West Indies	England	Port of Spain
CG Greenidge	37y 321d	117	West Indies	India	St John's

India's lanky pacer Ishant Sharma finished with three wickets. His victims were Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Farveez Maharoof and Thilina Kandamby.

Kandamby, who was sent ahead of Jayawardene, contributed just 17 runs in the 51-run partnership with the demolishing opener. He tried to launch Ishant over mid-off but could not back it with power. As a result he was caught by Zaheer.

Jayawardene, who's been struggling with his form of late, played him across the line and gifted Rohit Sharma a simple catch at mid-on. Maharoof added a quick 35 runs before a slow delivery from the Delhi bowler took an inside edge of his bat and crashed into his stumps.

The last Sri Lankan wicket to fall was of Chamara Kapugedera's. Raina knocked down Kapugedera's stumps from the extra cover as the Lanka batsman struggled to make it to his crease on time.

India: MS Dhoni (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Tillakratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Kapugedera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Farveez Maharoof, Thilana Kandamby, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis.

IBM quietly cuts thousands of jobs

2009-01-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

With the recession forcing tech companies to announce thousands of layoffs, IBM Corp. is joining the fray — but not advertising it.
The Armonk, New York-based company has cut thousands of jobs over the past week, including positions in sales as well as the software and hardware divisions. IBM says the cuts are simply part of its ongoing efforts to watch costs, and the company won't release specific numbers, even as reports of firings stream in from IBM facilities across the country.
Workers have reported layoffs in Tucson, Arizona; San Jose, California; Rochester, Minnesota; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; East Fishkill, New York; Austin, Texas; and Burlington, Vermont.
Meanwhile, other tech companies such as Intel Corp.,Microsoft Corp., Texas Instruments Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Google Inc. have all publicly revealed job cuts as part of their strategies for riding out the economic crisis. More than 20,000 jobs will be lost from those companies.
One of IBM's biggest rivals — Hewlett-Packard Co. — is also laying people off. HP is shedding 24,600 jobs, nearly 8 percent of its 320,000 employee work force, as it digests the acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp.
IBM says it doesn't have to reveal the number of jobs it is cutting, since the Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies to disclose only "material" events. And IBM considers its job cuts a regular part of the company's business model, since thousands of jobs are cut every year but are usually added back in other places.
Because of that, IBM contends it doesn't have to break out its layoffs in regulatory filings unless it suddenly changes course and makes substantially more or fewer job cuts.
That's why while IBM's head count keeps growing, topping 400,000 at the end of 2008, laid-off IBM workers have flooded online job boards with complaints about the company's stealth cuts.
One estimate of IBM's recent cuts put the number at more than 4,000 jobs lost since IBM's fourth-quarter earnings announcement last week. Those earnings contained an unexpected surprise: IBM forecast at least $9.20 per share in profit in 2009. IBM shares are up more than 10 percent since then.
To get the cost savings that will help spur the higher profits, IBM appears to have acted quickly. The estimate of at least 4,000 jobs cut comes from AllianceAtIBM, a union that is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America and represents a small number of IBM workers.
The Associated Press reviewed one document sent to laid-off workers that identified some of the positions that were cut. Employees weren't identified by name, but positions and the workers' ages were listed. The document listed nearly 3,000 jobs.
In Vermont, IBM remained tightlipped about layoffs at its Essex Junction facility, but state Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden said the total number would be less than 500.
IBM recently employed 5,300 workers at the Essex Junction plant, down from 8,500 in 2001.
Jim Gallo, 48, who said he worked in IBM Software support for 27 years, was among those let go from that facility. Gallo, drinking a Grey Goose and ginger ale at nearby Lincoln Inn on Tuesday, said he hadn't told his four children yet.
He said he has until Feb. 26 to find another job in IBM, but he put his chances at "slim to none." Gallo said he gets six months' pay as part of a severance package.
"It's too bad they're not doing what they were doing before. They offered some sweet packages for people to jump out," he said.
IBM's ongoing labor adjustments have led the company to add bodies in cheaper and higher-growth parts of the world, like India.
In 2007, the last full year for which detailed employment numbers are available, 121,000 of IBM's 387,000 workers were in the U.S., down slightly from the year before. Meanwhile, staffing in India has jumped from just 9,000 workers in 2003 to 74,000 workers in 2007.

Five get life term for raping German girl

2009-01-28T18:03:00.002-08:00

A local court on Wednesday sentenced five youths to life imprisonment for raping a 20-year-old German girl after abducting her from outside a five-star hotel last September.

All the five were convicted on Tuesday by Additional District and Sessions Judge Raj Shekhar Attri in a speedy trial that lasted just a week.

The judge announced the sentence after hearing arguments in camera from both the prosecution and the defence for three hours.

The five are Pankaj Punia, Manvir Singh Jolly, Harpreet Singh Dalli, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi and Sompal.

Pak incapable of action against terror: Pranab

2009-01-28T18:03:00.001-08:00

As it awaits a concrete response from Pakistan on steps taken against perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks, India has raised questions on whether the government in Islamabad was deliberately not taking action against terrorists or incapable of doing so.

"Yes, one way you can make a differentiation that they are deliberately not doing or are incapable of doing. But as far as India is concerned, the net impact is the same ... the perpetrators are launching terror attacks from the territory of Pakistan," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

"The infrastructural facilities there (are) used by them (for) committing crimes in India, not necessarily in this case but in a large number of cases in the past," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera news channel.

Mukherjee said India expects the Pakistan government to act against the perpetrators of terror acts operating from Pakistani soil.

"We expect Pakistan to act. Whatever is to be done from our side we are doing so ... but Pakistan has to act because the handlers and planners (of Mumbai attacks) were from Pakistan," he said.

Mukherjee said India expects three things from Pakistan -- dismantle terror infrastructural facilities, take strong action against perpetrators of terror attacks and look for fugitives of Indian law who have committed crime in India and taken shelter in Pakistan.

Pakistan cannot shrug its responsibilities to the international community, Mukherjee said when pointed out that several areas in the neighbouring country were out of control of the government there.

"Every country is responsible to protect its territory, to protect its citizens and also to ensure that its territory is not misused by miscreants to cause trouble in neighbouring countries," he said.

Petrol prices slashed by Rs 5, diesel by Rs 2

2009-01-28T18:02:00.001-08:00

The government on Wednesday announced further reduction in petrol and diesel prices by Rs 5 and Re 2 a litre, respectively. In second round of cuts in as many months, the domestic LPG rate was also brought down by as much as Rs 25 per cylinder.

The reduction, which will be effective from midnight Wednesday, will help further ease inflationary pressures and benefit common man.

Petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 40.62 a litre instead of the present Rs 45.62 per litre from Wednesday midnight, while diesel will be sold at Rs 30.86 per litre as against current Rs 32.86 a litre. Similarly, a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder will now cost Rs 279.70 in place of Rs 304.70.

"The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has decided to reduce petrol, diesel and LPG prices to pass on the benefit of softening international oil prices to consumers," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.

While state-run oil firms were making a neat Rs 9.86 a litre profit on petrol before this price reduction and Rs 3.48 on every litre of diesel, they were still losing Rs 32.97 per LPG cylinder and Rs 12.16 per litre of kerosene. The reduction could have been sharper but for the losses on LPG and kerosene.

Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey said no decision on raising excise and customs duty to mop up any extra revenue has been taken. Also, the parallel proposal of freeing petrol and diesel prices from administrative control has not been acted upon.

"The Government," he said, "will made good all of the losses of state-run retailers after accounting for Rs 32,000 crore contribution from upstream firms, through issue of oil bonds."

Deora said, "This is the first time the retail selling price has gone down below the rates in June 2006. There is no inflationary impact at all because of fuel now." Petrol on June 6, 2006 was priced at Rs 47.51 a litre in Delhi, diesel at Rs 32.47 and domestic LPG at Rs 294.75.

"After reduction, petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 40.62 a litre, diesel Rs 30.86 and domestic LPG Rs 279.70 per cylinder," he said.

"We believe in keeping the promises. We had promised to reduce prices when international prices come down and now we have done it. This is a big step that will help common man," Deora said.

2008-09 had witnessed an unprecedented volatility in international oil prices. While on the one hand, the Indian basket of crude oil touched $142 per barrel on July 3, on the other, it plummeted to $35.83 a barrel on December 24.

In spite of the softening in oil prices, the PSU oil marketing companies (OMCs) incurred under-recoveries of more than Rs 106,000 crore during April-December 2008 on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene.

To compensate the public sector OMCs, the Government has already approved issue of oil bonds of Rs 60,967 crore and the upstream oil companies - ONGC, GAIL and OIL - have contributed Rs 32,000 crore.

"Whatever is the under-recovery (revenue loss) at the end of the fiscal, will be compensated by the Government through issue of oil bonds," Pandey said, adding more oil bonds could be issued.

Ram Sena chief arrested for Mangalore pub violence

2009-01-28T17:58:00.000-08:00

The Mangalore police on Wednesday arrested Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik in the Mangalore pub-assault case, hours after he got bail in another case in Davanagere.
Muthalik was taken into custody on Jan 27 for an inflammatory speech in Davangere. He got bail in the case but was re-arrested by the Mangalore police for pub-violence on January 24.
Police had requested the Davangere court to hand over Muthalik for interrogation, IGP (Western Range) A M Prasad told agencies here today.
He told a TV channel that the Davanagere police wil hand over Muthalik to Mangalore police which will interrogate him in connection with the pub-attack case. He said cases have been registered against the 27 others under criminal interrogation, trespass, molestation, criminal conspiracy. Charges will be fixed against Muthalik once he is questioned, Prasad added.
Earlier, all the 27 Sri Ram Sena workers in a local court, who have been arrested in connection with the attack on girls in a Mangalore pub.
The investigators believe that Muthalik’s custody will help police in obtaining more information about other prominent members of the organisation who are still at large.
All schools and colleges across Mangalore remained closed today and the students' community has started a signature campaign demanding stringent action against the culprits while expressing sympathy towards the victims.
Prior to Muthalik’s arrest, police also picked up the Sri Ram Sena vice president Prasad Attavar and 10 others in connection with the case.
However, Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik later apologised for the attack on weekend revellers at a Mangalore pub, saying the way the right-wing group acted "was wrong" but insisted it was done to "save our mothers and daughters".
Muthalik also denied his affiliation with the BJP and said he was only working for Hindutva.
The BJP government in the state has earned sharp criticism for its insufficient and slow response to the shameful act.
In view of the increasing public pressure, BJP president also condemned the incident as an "unacceptable act of hooliganism".
Complicating things for the BJP government, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday constituted a three member panel to probe the incident.

Israel pounds Gaza as it mulls unilateral ceasefire

2009-01-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

There was no let up in the Israeli attacks on Hamas-held Gaza as Tel Aviv weighed a unilateral ceasefire proposal to the 22-day-old war which has killed nearly 1,200 people, half of them civilians.

Israel on Sunday bombarded Gaza ahead of a meeting of its security cabinet that is expected to decide on a proposal for end to the war after the Tel Aviv received pledges from Washington and Cairo to help prevent arms smuggling into the Islamist-run enclave from Egypt.

The Israeli government is expected to vote today to decide whether to declare a unilateral cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip that would being to an an end the three-week-long 'Operation Cast Lead'.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni signed a deal with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday under which Tel Aviv would end its offensive even without a reciprocal agreement from Hamas. Israeli forces would remain in Gaza and the territory's border crossings with Israel and Egypt would remain closed until security arrangements are made to prevent Hamas arms smuggling.

"This campaign is not a one-time event. We will need to have our hand on the pulse," she said. "The test will be the day after. That is the test of deterrence," she told the Israeli YNet news Web site.

"I hope we are entering the endgame and that our goal of sustained and durable quiet in the south is about to be attained," Prime Minister Ehut Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said.

Khaled Meshal, the exiled Hamas leader in Damascus, rejected the ceasefire demands yesterday, insisting that Israel should withdraw its troops immediately. Israels offensive has killed nearly 1,200 Palestinians half of them civilians. Ten Israeli 10 soldiers and three civilians have been killed in combat or in rocket strikes.

Dutt promises Gandhigiri, not to contest against vajpayee

2009-01-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

Sanjay Dutt made his political debut in style in Lucknow on Saturday, with a roadshow which he himself led riding on a bike. But the newly minted ‘neta’ also declared he would not contest against Vajpayee.

"I respect Atalji a lot. He is like my father....If he contests election from here, then netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) has also asked me not to contest elections", Dutt told reporters here.

Asked about the reaction of Congress MP Priya Dutt to Sanjay's contesting the elections, Amar Singh said that she was like her younger sister and he himself, if Priya would permit, would campaign for her along with Sanjay in the coming Loksabha polls.

In reply to a question, Dutt, who appeared in the Munnabhai series of films based on Mahatma Gandhi's ideals, said his plank would be Gandhigiri in coming elections.

About what would he do against Mayawati government charged with corruption by SP, Dutt, reflecting Gandhigiri, said he would like to give her flowers.

On whether he would prefer Manyatta to be in fray for the seat if he would not be allowed by the court to contest the elections, Dutt said it would be decided by SP leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh.

Sanjay Dutt, who will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Lucknow constituency on a Samajwadi Party ticket, said at his first press conference as a ‘neta’ that he was looking forward to becoming a politician and serve the nation. Dutt also said that he was thankful to SP for giving him a chance to serve the people.

It was a star-studded press conference where Dutt was flanked by actors Manoj Tewari, Jaya Prada and Jaya Bachchan. He was also accompanied with his wife Manyatta and SP party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh.

On his decision to join to the SP, Dutt stated that post the demise of his father Sunil Dutt, he felt lonely. In this bleak time, it was Amar Singh who stayed alongside him, he added. After coming to Lucknow, Dutt said further, he feels that he is not alone.

Dutt thanked Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh for their support and especially mentioned Digvijay Singh -- a senior Congressmen -- for saying that it was wrong to arrest him (Sanjay) under TADA. Dutt noted that it was after 17 years when Congress had said something on his arrest.

He reiterated that his father did a lot for the nation and he looks forward to doing the same for the nation.

Satyam board appoints new chairman; seeks funds

2009-01-17T17:33:00.000-08:00

Hyderabad, Jan 17: The new board of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services on Saturday cleared the name of TN Manoharan, as the group’s new chairman. According to reports, Manoharan is a former President of ICAI and also a part of the present Satyam board.
Amarchand & Mangaldas, Suresh A Shroff and Co have been appointed legal advisers to Satyam board. Where as Chartered accountants Brahmayya and Co of Chennai have been named internal auditors with immediate effect.

The decision in this regard was taken by the board members, who met to look for ways to raise new funds after both the government and the company rejected talks of a state rescue bid.

The Satyam board has decided to meet on weekly basis with each member taking turns to chair meeting.

However, the search for CEO and CFO still continues. The board is currently engaged in discussions with banks and financial institutions to address liquidity issue.

Discussions about the financial situation of the company in the backdrop of Ram Mynampati's SoS to the Corporate Affairs Ministry is expected to dominate the agenda, as also complaints from accounting regulator ICAI about the board's choice of auditor to restate Satyam's financials.

Ahead of the crucial board meeting Kiran Karnik, one of the six members of the newly constituted board of the crisis-ridden IT firm, said they may discuss the issue of funding as well as the appointment of CEO and CFO.

"The most important issue is funding.... I do think that if we can tie up some funding then it will give great comfort to the employees and to the customers...," Karnik told a TV channel.

Another board member Tarun Das said, “Our priority is to safeguard Satyam employees and customer interests.”

Satyam, India's No 4 software services exporter, has been battling for survival since chairman Ramalinga Raju suddenly resigned last week, revealing profits had been falsified for years and that USD 1 billion of cash on the books did not exist.

Media speculation of government aid has mounted as analysts questioned whether India's biggest corporate fraud had left the outsourcing firm with enough money to pay its 50,000 staff.

Meanwhile, NASSCOM has asked its members not to grab Satyam’s clients. Reportedly, several Satyam clients have got in touch with it.

But Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters on Thursday that the government was not looking at any direct support for the company or bailout "at this stage”.

Deepak Parekh, a senior banker and Satyam board member, said it had Rs 17 billion (USD 348 million) in receivables and may not need new funding if the money came in on time.

But Parekh added the board would consider bank loans if necessary.

However, reports suggested said that Satyam has not asked government for any financial aid. After the formation of the new Satyam board some banks have come forward and offered help to the troubled company. Earlier company’s new board had sought bank loans.

The government, which dissolved Satyam's previous board last week, appointed three new directors on Sunday and another three late on Thursday to help steer the company out of crisis.

Company Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta said the first impression from the new directors about the company is that its operations are sound and that "by and large" major customers were willing to remain with the firm.

"All these are steps in the right direction ... but they need to get a CEO and CFO in place first to run the company's daily operations. That should be a priority," said Gajendra Nagpal, chief executive of Unicon Financial.

The expanded Satyam board is yet to decide on the appointment of new CEO and CFO to bring back the company's operation to normalcy.

Although the board had appointed KPMG and Deloitte, ICAI had objected to the appointment of KPMG, since it is not the member of ICAI, which may also figure in the meeting.

Satyam's shares jumped as much as 40 percent on Friday to 28.40 rupees after the government doubled the size of the board, but the stock has still lost over 80 percent of its value since the massive fraud was revealed.

Many questions about the accounting scandal remain to be answered: how large is it, who benefited, and how did the perpetrators manage to conceal it for so long?

Even if Satyam escapes a near-term cash crunch, it faces a long road to recovery.

The new board will have to keep clients from defecting to Satyam's rivals, fend off a growing number of lawsuits over the scandal and try to rebuild investor trust.

Lazard Asset Management said in a notice to the stock exchange on Friday it had sold all of its 5.3 percent holding in Satyam through open market transactions on Thursday.

Satyam's clients include corporate giants such as Nestle and General Electric.

Satyam's founder Raju, his brother who was the managing director of the company and the former chief financial officer, have been charged and are being held in a jail.

Pakistan's report on 26/11 terror attacks in 10 days

2009-01-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

Acknowledging that the dossier on Mumbai attacks given by India contained "leads and good clues", Pakistan on Saturday promised fair investigation even if its citizens are suspected and said its results will be shared with New Delhi first.

Pakistan said it wanted to have an approach of "cooperative engagement" with India as war is no solution to the problem of terrorism which is a global phenomenon.

"Quite a lot of material" was provided by India and the Pakistani investigators will work to convert this into "evidence that can stand up to judicial scrutiny", Interior Ministry chief Rahman Malik told a press conference in Islamabad.

No case regarding the Mumbai attacks has been registered so far in Pakistan. "If prima facie evidence is available on record, we will then convert it into a criminal case," Malik said, adding the time needed for any prosecution would depend on the judiciary.

He said the three-member counter-terror team, probing the Mumbai attack and examining the Indian dossier, has been directed to submit its preliminary findings within 10 days. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the interior ministry is examining India's dossier on the Mumbai attacks that was handed over to Pakistan on January 5.

"We have said that after examining the dossier, completing our investigation and examining information from other sources, we will share our findings with India first," Qureshi said.

Pakistan will pursue an approach of "cooperative engagement" to deal with any further questions that may arise with regard to the Mumbai incident, he said.

Qureshi said if "any individual or entity linked to Pakistan" is found involved in the Mumbai attacks, the government will take action against them according to the country's law.

Replying to a question in his hometown of Multan, he said the Mumbai incident was not a matter confined to India and Pakistan as nationals of several countries, including the US and Britain, were killed in the attacks.

"We have been successful in conveying our stand that war is not the solution and that terrorism is a global and regional phenomenon. We need a regional approach," he said. "We don't want to create war hysteria.

The political and military leadership has made measured comments and we will stick to this. We will remain vigilant and it is our endeavour to de-escalate and defuse the situation," Qureshi added.

He, however, alleged that there was "no consistency" in India's stance in dealing with the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.

"There is no consistency in India's stance," Qureshi said, referring to what he described as flip-flops by New Delhi on matters like the involvement of the Pakistani state and its institutions in the Mumbai attacks and the prosecution of suspects.

He accused that Indian leaders had changed their position after initially stating that the Pakistan government and its institutions were not involved in the incident. He also said they had made a shift after stating that any Pakistani individuals linked to the attacks could be tried within the country.

"You can see the changes. Pakistan's stand is strong and consistent we honestly want to get to the bottom of the matter and the elements involved should be unmasked. The perpetrators should be brought to justice," Qureshi said. MORE PTI RHL ZH 01172142 DELHI NNNN

PRI GEN INT Meanwhile, Malik said that Pakistan was not acting under pressure from India and will not accept "dictation" from anyone regarding the probe.

Asked about British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's comments yesterday that Pakistan needs to go "farther and faster" in prosecuting those involved in the Mumbai attacks, Malik said: "We will not accept anyone's instructions to do things faster."

Malik outlined the terms of reference and guidelines for the investigating team, which was directed to conduct "a transparent and legally tenable inquiry". The team will "establish legally verifiable credentials of suspects allegedly involved in the terrorist attack".

It would "inquire into the available information supplied by India with the view to transforming (it) into evidence for further legal action". It will also collect "all other related evidence for legal action according to the law of Pakistan".

Malik said all further action would be taken according to Pakistani laws, virtually ruling out the handing over of any suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks to India.

He reiterated Pakistan's demand for a joint probe into the incident, saying: "Our investigators must interact. If you want good and quick results, please allow your investigators to interact with us."

He said the "best course of action" would be for investigators from both sides to interact and share information because terrorists are the "common enemies" of India and Pakistan.

Malik also assured the world community and Indian authorities that Pakistan is "very serious in its commitments" to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice. "We are with India and...we are doing everything possible to bring the suspects, militants and terrorists to justice," he said.

Sensex up 299 pts, closes at 9,370

2009-01-14T06:32:00.002-08:00

The markets finally shrugged off the Satyam shock on Wednesday with benchmark Sensex recording a gain of nearly 300 points on buying support, led by market leader Reliance Industries and blue-chips Reliance Communication Infosys Technologies.

The BSE barometer, which had lost nearly 17 percent in a string of losses since January 7 when Satyam fraud came to light, today jumped 299.13 points to close at 9,370.49.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also shot up by 90.35 points at 2813.45.

Reliance Communications soared 10.38 percent to come out as the biggest gainer among the Sensex stocks today. Reliance Industries, the most valued private sector company, surged nine percent as the stock looked more attractive following reports that promoters have increased their stake in the company to over 49 percent as of December quarter.

IT bellwether Infosys which yesterday posted over 33 percent growth for the December quarter rose for the second day in succession. With today's gain of 6.07 percent, the software company has jumped over 12 percent in two days. Mahindra & Mahindra, which launched the multipurpose vehicle Xylo was the another prominent gainer at 5.39 percent.

RIL and Infosys together carry nearly 23 percent weightage on the Sensex.

Expectations of further fall in inflation, the weekly data for which will be announced tomorrow, and firm global trend weres other boosting factors for the equity markets.

Among sectoral indices, Oil & Gas index was the best performer today at 5.85 percent, followed by IT index at 5.02 percent. Tech, reatly and metal indices also closed higher in the range of over 4 percent.

Employees face fallout of Satyam fiasco

2009-01-14T06:32:00.001-08:00

Satyam's tag line is "Business Transformation. Together". In the last one week, its 50000 employees have seen their lives transformed in a way they never anticipated. If the Satyam I-card was once a coveted passport, now it seems banks and car dealers have become extremely wary of the Satyam brandname.

On Saturday, a day after Ramalinga Raju was arrested, CEO of Satnav Technologies Amit Prasad got two SMSes and a call from his three credit card agencies. All of them informing him that his credit card limit had been slashed by 80 to 90 per cent. Prasad suspects this is because the agencies perhaps still have his name as a Satyam employee even though he quit the company five years back.

"It is too much of a coincidence that three people call or SMS me on the same day and say your credit limit is slashed by 80 per cent. It is a case of people going overboard. Other examples are a pearl dealer saying discounts are no longer available on a certain identity card. If I am walking in with cash, why should that be there. If I am ready to pay cash for a car loan, why should I be denied a discount?'' he says.

The fallout of the Satyam fiasco is being felt by other IT professionals as well. In the last one week, many of them were reportedly asked to furnish their December salary certificate to banks that have extended home loans to them.

Vikram Kumar, director (India), MAQ Software, says: "A number of my friends told me that their project and HR managers are being contacted to ask whether they are viable and worth giving the credit cards and home loans.''

For Satyam employees, clearly the period of uncertainty is made worse by what seems to be the larger impact of working for what was one of India's most respected software companies.

India ready for war, if need be: Army chief

2009-01-14T06:30:00.000-08:00

Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan and reports of troop build-up post 26/11, Army Chief Major General Deepak Kapoor on Wednesday said that Indian troops are ready in case of a war.

Reiterating that the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks were from Pakistan, General Kapoor said, "We do feel that the perpetrators of 26/11 were from Pakistan. In view of that, in India we are keeping all our options open.”

Admitting that the tensions between the two nations have increased post Mumbai terror attack the Army Chief said that the Indian troops are war ready. "It must be understood that it is not to create any war hysteria and the options include diplomatic, economic and, as a last resort, fighting," he said at a press conference.

Gen Kapoor added that the Army was aware about troop movement from FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) to Pakistan's eastern border with India. "Having known this fact, let me assure you that the Indian Army has factored this in its plans."

On being asked about the recent Poonch encounter in Mendhar, General Kapoor accepted that the gun battle was a tough one.

Replying to a question on the alleged marriage of an Indian Army medic posted in Afghanistan Gen Kapoor said, "According to that woman, her marriage took place in the month of December but as per our records the doctor was posted there from January to November."

Earlier in the day, Gen Kapoor had agreed to providing Army paratroopers for manning new NSG hubs set to come up in four cities to tackle any terror threat.

'Problems being faced'

"Whatever paratroopers or other troops are required to enhance the capabilities of the NSG, we will provide them," Gen Kapoor said on the sidelines of a seminar on 'Threats and Challenges for the Indian Army'.

"The Army is certainly facing shortage of officers and we will see how we can combat it. But if the government needs manpower in the anti-terror operations, we will certainly provide them," he said when queried about the Army's manpower constraint and meeting the government demand for NSG.

He further said that the Special Forces (SF) should enhance its capabilities and develop interoperability with the NSG to tackle the terror threat and stressed on the need for every armed unit of the Army to have the capability to counter heightened threats from terrorists.

"Every combat arms unit should have a limited, yet focused capability to meet such challenges," Gen Kapoor said.

He said that the country will continue to rely on SF of the three Services to tackle the threat from terrorists till the time the NSG was able to expand to its planned capacities.

"The country will continue to rely on some of the SF, which are there with the respective services, predominantly with the Army, should there be a situation," the Army Chief said.

Stating that the Army will need to upgrade its capabilities to tackle low-intensity conflicts (LICO), he said, "We will require renewed focus on the upgrading of the counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency capabilities based on emerging technologies to train and equip our soldiers to fight cleaner, better and safer."

Counter-terror ops

Gen Kapoor said that the force would continue to play a role in counter-terrorist operations, even though they were the responsibility of the forces under the Home Ministry.

"Countering terrorism and managing internal security primarily remains the responsibility of the Home Ministry and agencies under it. However, since heightened terrorist attacks have become a reality today, we need to take some measures for self-protection and provide assistance to the Central forces in times of emergencies," Army Chief said.

He said that the armed forces were required to maintain a high level of combat readiness at all times to meet emergencies.

"We live in troubled times and a fragile region and the possibility of a marginal conventional conflict cannot be ruled out. We must maintain high level of combat readiness at all times," he said.

On the nuclear threat faced by the region, Gen Kapoor said, "The presence of nuclear weapons in our neighbourhood, underlines the fact that any conventional war can at any time turn in to a nuclear war, provided a certain thresh-hold is crossed by either side."

MBA student gangraped in Noida, 5 held

2009-01-06T18:02:00.000-08:00

Infamous for Nithari and Aarushi murder case, Noida has witnessed another shocking crime against woman -- gangrape of a 24-year old student outside a major shopping mall.
The victim, a management student, had gone for a drive with a friend when she was gangraped by 10 people.
Five of them were arrested and they have confessed to the crime.
"All ten of us saw them in the car, pulled them out and raped her," said one of the accused.
It's a chilling confession of a barbaric act. These men, all in their early 20s, are in custody.
"The victim left the mall after shopping in a wagon R after 5 pm with a friend. They were stopped by four bikers as they took a turn who forced themselves into the car. They overpowered them and drove them to a secluded spot where the girl was raped," said the investigators.
Later, the men on bikes were joined by more people. All the accused were in touch with each other on their mobile phones, which helped the police to track down five of them easily. However, five more are still absconding.
Though a quick action from Noida police led to arrest of five victims, the police still have their work cutout to find the five who are still absconding.

After Opposition cry, govt mulls revisiting NIA Act

2009-01-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

Addressing concerns expressed by some half-a-dozen Opposition ruled states, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the National Investigating Agency (NIA) Act may be revisited.

"We will revisit the NIA Act, if needed," he told reporters at the end of a day-long conference of Chief Ministers on internal security.

Participating in the meeting, Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled states said that the new National Investigation Agency would "disturb" the federal set up of the country and resented that states were not consulted before the new anti-terror laws were framed.

Admitting that nearly half-a-dozen states expressed some "reservations" over the NIA, Chidambaram said he would write to all Chief Ministers detailing the contents of the NIA and tell them to write back to him if they require clarifications.

Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said a "proactive" approach is needed to root out threats emanating from "potential" terrorists operating in the country in a clandestine manner.

"Our response to terrorism cannot be reactive. There is ample evidence that many terrorist modules have burrowed their way into the country. There are also many sleeper cells.

"We must adopt a proactive approach to apprehend these people and thwart any possible terrorist threat. In this regard, too, the key is gathering and sharing intelligence and responding in a coordinated manner to apprehend the potential terrorist," Chidambaram said while addressing the Conference of Chief Ministers on internal security in New Delhi.

He asked the Chief Ministers to put in place a clear command structure in the case of a terrorist threat or attack.

"There must be no ambiguity or confusion about who is in-charge, all aspects must be spelt out clearly and made known to the state police department as well as other forces that may be requisitioned in the case of a terrorist threat or a terrorist attack," he said.

The Home Minister asked the Chief Ministers to strengthen the intelligence gathering function at the ground level (police station) in their respective states.

"There must be at least one person of the rank of the head constable or an assistant sub-inspector who is exclusively charged with this (intelligence gathering) responsibility -- and is burdened with no other work," he said.

"Besides the Special Branch must be strengthened and adequate number of Special Branch personnel must be posted in districts and major towns," Chidambaram said.

He asked the Chief Ministers to draft a strategy for "seamless flow of intelligence in real time" from a police station to National Capital via District Headquarters and state capital and vice versa.

"Beginning January 1, 2009 the Multi Agency Centre has begun to function on a 247 basis and is now legally obliged to share intelligence with all other agencies, including agencies of the Governments of the states and Union Territories," he said.

"Under the Modernisation of Police Forces Scheme, there is a component to enhance the capacity of Special Branch of state police and I would request you to implement the agreed plans expeditiously," Chidambaram told the Chief Ministers.

He said objectives to raise the level of preparedness to meet increasingly sophisticated terrorist attacks and enhancing the speed and decisiveness of response mechanism should be achieved in a relatively short period of time.

Police personnel should be given special training and advanced equipment to deal with such threats, he said.

"The Central government proposes to set up hubs of the National Security Guard in different parts of the country. To begin with, hubs will be set-up in four cities."

"Some other cities will be covered by a trained anti-terrorist force provided by defence forces -- for example Bengaluru will be covered by the Army. In the course of time, NSG hubs will be set up in more centres," he said and asked the states to raise and deploy their own anti-terrorist forces and offered them all the help from the Centre.

Can’t believe Pak govt unaware of 26/11 plot:India

2009-01-05T20:00:00.001-08:00

India on Monday handed over the dossier of evidence to Pakistan proving the involvement of elements in that country in the Mumbai carnage. Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said that not only was the conspiracy behind the attacks hatched in the neighbouring country but it was hard to believe that no one in the administration was aware about it.
Addressing the media here, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said that now that India had provided evidence, Pakistan should extend all its assistance to bring the perpetrators to Indian justice.
Observing that the investigation into the serial terror attacks in mumbai were not over, the Foreign Secretary said while the crime was committed in India, the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan.
"Hence we have requested Pakistan to fulfil her commitments to us," he said.
' Act now '
“India has asked Pakistan to investigate the evidence material given to it on the Mumbai terror attacks and extend legal assistance so that the perpetrators could be brought to justice,” Menon said.
Menon pointed out that the investigation and the evidence it produced has led India to believe that the kind of operation undertaken in Mumbai couldn’t have been planned without someone being in the know.
“Conspiracy behind the crime (in Mumbai) was hatched in Pakistan and hence India has requested Pakistan to fulfil its commitments,” Menon said.
' Not interested in mechanisms '
India hopes that Pakistan will not "repeat the previous pattern" of not cooperating when India shared evidence regarding the attack on Indian Embassy in Kabul, Menon said.
”We don’t want any mechanisms. There are ample mechanisms under SAARC etc. We want actions, not words,” he said.
Legal assistance from Pakistan extends up to and includes extradition (of perpetrators of Mumbai attacks), he said on being asked if India had asked Pakistan to hand-over the accused to it.
He also rubbished the ‘non-state-actors theory.
Ban on JuD ineffective
India also alleged that the ban on Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the parent organisation of LeT- was not working. “Their website is still being updated. We have not been told officially that action is being taken against terror organisations. India is not impressed,” Menon emphasised.
He also pointed out that banning of terror organisations had taken ion the past, but to no avail.
Our goals are clear. We want the perpetrators to be brought to Indian justice, he added.
Lobbying world-over
He also revealed that India was actively lobbying with all friendly countries around the world so that concrete action is taken against terrorists in Pakistan.
“We have begun the process of briefing foreign countries. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee has written to his counterparts around the world about the evidence. We have today held special briefings for the ambassadors of those countries whose nationals were killed in Mumbai,” he said.
He informed that India had shared the evidence with China.
"This is a threat to the international community and not India”, that is why we are putting forth the evidence, Menon added.

CMs meet to discuss strategy against terror

2009-01-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

A meeting of Chief Ministers will be held in New Delhi on Tuesday for a 'focused discussion' on the issue of terrorism and evolve a strategy to improve intelligence sharing in a well coordinated manner.
"The whole idea is to have a focused discussion on terrorism and how the states and the Centre can join and share intelligence," Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told reporters.
The meeting, to be addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram, assumes significance as it is going to be held in the wake of Mumbai terror attack.
Noting that intelligence sharing alone can act as a preventive mechanism, Gupta said the day-long meeting will deliberate on what should be done at the state level and how best the Centre can assist the states in terms of money, manpower and weaponry.
He said the Centre was ready to increase the budget for police modernisation in states, but added that the central funds should be used more on priority needs like weaponry and special mobility requirements rather than police housing.
The Home Secretary said Tuesday's exercise will be followed by a meeting of chief ministers of seven states badly affected by the naxal violence, termed as the single biggest threat to internal security.
Need for increasing police strength, setting up of a specialised police force and the issue of improving coastal security will be discussed threadbare, he said.
Involvement of community to improve intelligence gathering and filling up of large number of vacancies in state police are likely to be suggested at the meeting.

Rupee holds steady at 48.56 against dollar

2009-01-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

Indian rupee pared most of its early gains against the dollar on Monday, as demand for the US currency from importers and a state-run banks weighed.
The Indian currency had appreciated in the intraday trade as the mood remained bullish after hefty rate cuts by the central Bank.
Rupee closed at 48.56/58 per dollar, little changed from its Friday's close of 48.58/60.

Mumbai attackers had links to Pakistani soil: US

2009-01-05T19:55:00.000-08:00

Stating it was "clear" that the Mumbai attackers had "links that lead to Pakistani soil", senior US diplomat Richard Boucher Monday evening said Pakistan and India should cooperate in the probe into the carnage as each possessed "pieces of the puzzle" that could help find the perpetrators.
While urging the South Asian neighbours to cooperate in the probe, the US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia said, "Each side has pieces of the puzzle and they need to be known to each other."
"The two sides need to exchange information. People have to work with each other," Boucher said at a press conference at the US embassy, Geo TV reported.
The US diplomat arrived here early Monday for talks with the Pakistani leadership in a bid to defuse the tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad sparked by the 26/11 attacks in which more than 170 people, including 26 foreigners, were killed.
India Monday handed over to Islamabad evidence linking the terrorists behind the attacks to elements in Pakistan, which Boucher described as a positive step.
Boucher said it was "clear that the attackers had links that lead to Pakistani soil".
He also said Pakistan's crackdown on the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity with links to the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), showed the country's "commitment to eliminate sources of terrorism on Pakistani soil".
"There is determination here to follow up and find the groups that are responsible so they never do it again," he said.
Boucher is to go to India for meetings with leaders in New Delhi.

Pak must follow the leads given by India: Boucher

2009-01-05T19:53:00.000-08:00

Pakistan must follow the leads given by India and track down the perpetrators. This is US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher's clear and strong message to the Pakistani government after his meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Speaking at the American Embassy in Islamabad, Boucher said, "It was clear that the attackers had links that lead to Pakistani soil. The US wants Pakistan to investigate the information provided by India, follow available leads and track down perpetrators so that similar attacks do not occur in the future. India and Pakistan both had "pieces of the puzzle".
Richard Boucher's statement came just hours after New Delhi handed over evidence on the Mumbai attacks to Pakistan. Boucher who is scheduled to be in New delhi on Wednesday also said America had a direct interest in the probe as six of its citizens were killed in the Mumbai attacks and wants those responsible to be found.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Pakistan's Information Minister Sherry Rahman has confirmed that Pakistan had received the evidence and would carry out an investigation.
Media reports in Pakistan are quoting government sources as saying that a joint investigative committee would be formed to look into the evidences that New delhi has handed over to Islamabad.
According to sources, the committee would look closely into places, telephone numbers and Internet Protocols addresses pointed out in evidences.
The committee would also form the future course of action after carrying out a preliminary enquiry.

Omar Abdullah sworn in as J&K’s youngest CM

2009-01-05T19:51:00.000-08:00

National Conference president Omar Abdullah was on Monday sworn in as the youngest-ever Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir by state Governor NN Vohra. Putting to rest speculations about the appointment of a Deputy Chief Minister, Tarachand of the Congress took oath as Omar’s deputy.

Ten ministers were also sworn in along with Omar and Tarachand – five each from the two parties. Six-time MLA Abdul Rahim Rather took oath as a Minister of State. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was also present at the swearing-in ceremony.

Other ministers who also sworn-in were three-time MLA and former JKPCC Chief Peerzadas Mohmmad Sayeed, Taj Mohideen, Nawang Rigzin Jora, Shyam Lal Sharma, all Congress, and Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mian Altaf, Surjeet Salathia from NC, to be ministers in the J-K government.

Thirty-eight-year-old Omar was invited by Governor Vohra last night to form the government in the state. The invitation followed NC chief’s meeting with the Governor to formally stake claim to form the government.

Omar was, earlier, unanimously elected as the leader of the NC Legislature Party at its meeting on Sunday. His name was proposed by his father and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and seconded unanimously by the remaining 25 Legislators.

"I am confident to deliver in the state and come up to the expectation of the people of the state", said Omar who got a rapturous welcome on reaching the border state's winter capital yesterday.

Yesterday, PDP pulled out of the ruling Congress-led UPA coalition over its new alliance with National Conference with party president Mehmooba Mufti writing a letter to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

UP Engineer case: BSP MLA confesses

2009-01-02T19:01:00.001-08:00

Uttar Pradesh's ruling BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari, now in police custody, has confessed to his involvement in the killing PWD executive engineer M K Gupta in Auraiya district, a senior police official claimed on Friday.

"The MLA has confessed to his involvement in the murder of the PWD engineer in Auraiya district during interrogation in the police remand", Addtional Director General (Law and Order) Brijlal told reporters in Lucknow.

Manoj Gupta, was allegedly beaten to death by BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari after he refused to make a donation for Chief Minister Mayawati's birthday.

Tiwari, who was arrested for the killing, was charged under the National Security Act (NSA) and Gangster Act. The engineer's post mortem report says he had two head injuries, wounds all over his body and fractures in one arm and both legs.

The victim's family has been demanding a CBI probe even after Mayawati's refusal.

The killing of the PWD engineer Manoj Gupta to allegedly extort money for Mayawati's birthday bash has kicked up a political storm in Uttar Pradesh.

Gupta family's modest home has become the centre of a brewing political storm with the entire Opposition lining up at their door.

The Samajwadi party stepped up its demands for a CBI inquiry and said they will even ask the Centre to intervene.

"We are sure that we are not getting into any political camp, either directly or indirectly. What we have to do is to fight it out to the last end," said Gupta's son Prateesh Pranjal.

Autopsy of the body of the engineer has established that he was beaten up "mercilessly" and "ante-mortem injuries" caused his death, police said.

"A panel of doctors led by a chief medical officer conducted the post-mortem examination of Gupta's body last night and it has detected serious injuries on his head, chest, abdomen and other parts," SP Kanpur Dehat N Ravindra said.

India compiling evidence to share with Pak, rest of world

2009-01-02T19:00:00.001-08:00

As Islamabad continues to be in denial mode, India is compiling evidence about the role of Pakistan-based elements in the terror strikes for sharing it with the world besides the neighbour very soon.

The evidence, being put together, includes the confession of the lone terrorist held in Mumbai terror attack Ajmal Amir Qasab, logbook recovered from the vessel in which the 10 terrorists came from Karachi, records of satellite phone used by the attackers and transcript of conversations between the attackers and their handlers in Pakistan, the sources said.

The dossier will also include the corroborative evidence tracking the journey of the attackers from Karachi to Mumbai, they said.

The evidence will mostly include Qasab's confession to the police wherein he has given details of how he became a motivated terrorist of Lashkar-e-Taiba from a normal youth of Faridkot in 741Pakistan's Punjab province.

Investigators have found evidence to show that the terrorists, who struck at the Taj Hotel, Trident Hotel and Nariman House on November 26, were in touch with their handlers in Karachi even while their three-day engagement with security forces was on.

As the armed engagement was being telecast live by Indian TV channels, the LeT commanders in Pakistan were found giving directions to the attackers like 'set ablaze the hotel' and 'throw grenades' on the crowds outside the hotels and Nariman House.

The evidence will be shared with Pakistan along with the US, UK, China and other countries which have influence on Islamabad.

US for Mumbai suspects' trial in Pak: Report

2009-01-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

A day after External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee asked Pakistan to hand over the 26/11 perpetrators for which an extradition treaty is not required, a Pak media report on Friday claimed that the US administration, instead, is in favour of a trial in Pakistan itself.

The sources told Dawn that the US has made Pakistan acquainted of its willingness to initiate “prosecution with sufficient efforts to ensure conviction”.

However, last week, the US had asked Pakistan to extradite those responsible for the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks to India.

According to the report, the US changed its mind after it comprehended the difficulties the Pakistani government would face in extraditing key Lashkar-e-Toiba leaders to India, chiefly when the two sides are not bound to an extradition treaty.

Notably, the reports in Pakistani media came after Mukherjee told reporters that the US pressure on Pakistan to act against perpetrators had “not produced tangible returns”.

Mukherjee has ruled out the requirement of an extradition treaty for handing over the suspects as Pakistan is party to various international conventions and arrangements starting from SAARC to various international conventions against taking hostages, conventions against bombings.

Mukherjee also told media that India has been told that “there is some strong evidence available with FBI and they have shared it with Pakistan. We expect that Pakistan will act on them and hand over the perpetrators of terror attack in Mumbai to us.”

Govt announces second stimulus package

2009-01-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

Announcing the second stimulus package so that Indian economy weathers the global financial crises with success, Government on Friday liberalised various rules and regulations that will up liquidity and give a boost to spending and investment.

Admitting that the year 2009 is going to be difficult for the world, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that the initiatives taken by the government were to ensure that there are no impediments to Indian economic growth.

Following are the measures that have been announced:

An SPV will be designated to provide liquidity support against investment grade paper to Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) fulfilling certain conditions. The scale of liquidity potentially available through this window is Rs.25,000 crores.

An arrangement will be worked out with leading Public Sector Banks to provide a line of credit to NBFCs specifically for purchase of commercial vehicles.

Credit targets of Public Sector Banks are being revised upward to reflect the needs of the economy. Government will closely monitor, on a fortnightly basis, the provision of sectoral credit by public sector banks.

Special monthly meetings of State Level Bankers’ Committees would be held to oversee the resolution of credit issues of micro, small and medium enterprises by banks. Department of MSME and Department of Financial Services will jointly set up a Cell to monitor progress on this front.

Recently the guarantee cover under Credit Guarantee Scheme for micro and small enterprises on loans was extended from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore with a guarantee cover of 50%. In order to enhance flow of credit to micro enterprises, it has been further decided to increase the guarantee cover extended by Credit Guarantee Fund Trust to 85% for credit facility upto Rs 5 lakh. This will benefit about 84% of the total number of accounts accorded guarantee cover.

State Governments are facing constraints in financing expenditure because of slower revenue growth. To help maintain the momentum of expenditure at the state government level, states will be allowed to raise in the current financial year additional market borrowings of 0.5% of their Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), amounting to about Rs 30,000 crore, for capital expenditures.

India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL), which has already been authorized to raise Rs 10,000 cr. through tax free bonds by 31.03.2009 for refinancing bank lending of longer maturity to eligible infrastructure bid based PPP projects, will be accessing the market next week for raising the first tranche of the amount. This will enable the funding of mainly highways and port projects on hand of about Rs 25,000 crore. To fund additional projects of about Rs 75,000 crore at competitive rates over the next 18 months, IIFCL is being enabled to access in tranches an additional Rs 30,000 crores by way of tax free bonds once funds raised in the current year are effectively utilized.

Steps for helping exporters

Exporters are especially hit by recessionary conditions globally. To support exports a number of steps have been taken. As a further measure:

Taking into account the fact that the rupee has appreciated nearly four per cent against the dollar since November 2008, it has been decided to restore DEPB rates to those prevailing prior to November 2008. In order to provide predictability and stability of regime in the short term for future contracts, the DEPB Scheme would be extended till 31.12.2009.

Duty drawback benefits on certain items including knitted fabrics, bicycles, agricultural hand tools and specified categories of yarn are being enhanced. These changes will take effect retrospectively from September 1, 2008.

Exporters have raised a number of procedural issues where modification of procedures could reduce delays faced by exporters. To consider these and similar problems, Government has decided to constitute a Committee under the chairmanship of the Finance Secretary including Secretaries of the Departments of Revenue and Commerce to look into and resolve these issues on a fast-track basis.

EXIM Bank has obtained from RBI a line of credit of Rs 5000 crore and will provide pre-shipment and post-shipment credit, in rupees or dollars, to Indian exporters at competitive rates.

Other measures

Other measures designed to counter recessionary trends are the following:

Exemptions from CVD on TMT bars and structurals, and from CVD and Special CVD on cement, which were given to contain inflation, are being withdrawn. Full exemption from basic customs duty on zinc and ferro alloys, which was also provided to contain inflation, is being similarly withdrawn.

GOI will work with state govts to encourage them to release land for low income and middle income housing schemes.

States, as a one time measure upto 30.06.2009, will be provided assistance under the JNNURM for the purchase of buses for their urban transport systems. A scheme towards this end will be announced shortly.

Accelerated depreciation of 50% will be provided for commercial vehicles to be purchased on or after 1.1.2009 upto 31.03.09.

Government is closely monitoring its spending to expedite the pace of expenditure for all schemes and programmes. Government will set up a fast track monitoring committee to ensure expeditious approval and implementation of central projects. Chief Ministers are being advised to do the same.

The measures outlined above taken together with steps taken earlier constitute a substantial counter-cyclical stimulus in the current year.

Government does not envisage any further measures in the current fiscal year. However, Government is aware that the measures required to provide an economic stimulus to the economy have to extend beyond the current financial year.

Towards this end, it is finalising Plan and Non-Plan expenditure that will be required in the next financial year to maintain the tempo. The Plan for the next year will include proposals for recapitalization of the public sector banks.

The recapitalization is expected to be of the order of Rs.20000 crore over the next two years. This will help to ensure that the banking system will not suffer from capital adequacy constraints in order to provide credit growth needed to sustain the economic momentum in 2009-10.

We nearly got terrorist, but for bad luck: Chidambaram

2009-01-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram revealed on Friday that the Assam Police, acting on intelligence inputs from the Centre, had been within a whisker’s distance from foiling yesterday’s blasts in Guwahati. In fact, the state police also managed to reduce the intensity of the attack in at least one of the sites, as they had closed in on one of the terrorists.

“Assam Police knew of the person, name, face and family and had nearly got him, but he escaped…it was just that little bit of luck,” Chidambaram added.

The Home Minister added that the police had been so close on the heels on the perpetrator, that the militant was forced to flee in panic. He had then at the spur of the moment hurled the explosive device in a litter bin rather than planting it purposefully to maximise casualties. It was due the prompt action of the police that only two people had sustained injuries at this site.

However his two other associates had planted devices in two other parts of the city – Bhootnath and Munni Market- where more damage had been inflicted and more lives. Here too the fatalities were mainly caused due to fire in a shop that stored kerosene, which immediately caught fire. Most injuries were thus caused due to burns rather than being a direct consequence of the explosion.

On the follow up, the Home Minister elaborated that the Assam Police was in know of at least two of three culprits.

“I had word with the Director General of Police and he has assured me that they will be able to catch him,” Chidambaram said while referring to the terrorist, who had narrow escape and who has now been identified as Pranjal Dekka. The Police has also put out his sketch for information.

Chidambaram assured that the government is determined capture the perpetrators and that the terrorists would not be allowed any quarter.

On concerns about Bangladesh turning into a safe haven for terrorists, the Home Minister said that at least two organisations - United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)- had received sanctuary in the country due to lack of an elected government. He however remained hopeful that after the change of guard in Dhaka, with Shaikh Hasina taking over, things would change for the better, especially in the light of some positive statements made by the Prime Minister-elect.

“Bangladesh has a Prime Minister-elect who is willing to fight terror and would not like terrorists to use its land as launching pad,” said Chidambaram.

Chidambaram was on his first visit to the state after taking charge last month and was speaking to media after his Unified Command meeting with Assam CM Tarun Gogoi.

Chidambaram said that broad guidelines have been given to Unified Command, comprising Army, paramilitary forces and state police, that it should have a more sharply focussed strategy.

Talking tough against terror outfits Chidambaram said, “Security forces have been told to deal firmly and decisively with terror outfits.” He further declared that every state would have an NSG hub.

On a broader perspective, Chidamabaram said that people in South Asia yearn for peace it is before you people of Bangladesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Maldives voted for peace and development.

Speaking over the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) Chidambaram said, “Decision of extension of ceasefire with NDFB would be taken in few days. The representatives of NDFB are in Delhi to have a dialogue about extending SO (Suspension of Operations). The ceasefire deadline between government and NDFB expired on December 31.

"Ceasefire should be observed in letter and spirit," he stressed.

"The leaders of banned organisations if they are listening as I speak now or read it in tomorrow's newspapers or watch television later in the day, they must get this clear message that security forces will deal decisively with the members of these banned organisations who threaten peace and integrity of India," he said.

On the ULFA, he said, "they have to drop their sovereignty demand. I have seen a change in the stance of its 'a' and 'c' companies (of the 28th battalion).

"I am examining them. The broad policy is that talks are held with anyone who abjures violence and makes no claim on sovereignty". Yesterday, Assam CM Tarun Gogoi had also pointed fingers at NDFB and a possible alignment between NDFB, ULFA and Bangladesh terrorists.

Sensex Rises 1% on new years' 1st day

2009-01-01T07:56:00.000-08:00

The year 2009 commenced on a promising note as the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Thursday surged over 256 points on heavy buying by funds on falling inflation data and expectations of another stimulus package from the government.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 256.15, or 2.66 per cent, at 9,903.46, as traders started buying for the new year, buoyed by hopes of an economic package and rate cuts, after it slumped more than half in 2008 -- its worst annual fall.

The key index touched the day's high of 9,921.70 and a low of 9,711.64 with some investors offloading shares on fears that the market boosters might not give a sharp turnaround to the economy amid dismal corporate earnings and the global economic downturn and financial market turmoil.

The 50-share National Stock Exchange benchmark Nifty oscillated between 3,039.25 and 2,963.30 before ending with a gain of 74.30 points at 3,033.45.

Marketmen said the inflation rate falling to a 10-month low at 6.38 per cent and the prospect of another stimulus package and the RBI's rate cuts boosted trading sentiment.

They said general investors are still not confident of joining the rally, and are offloading.

The realty sector index gained the most, by 6.52 per cent, to 2,422.43 on the expectation of another round of interest rate cuts. The metal sector index was the second-best performer, rising 6.02 per cent at 5,528.38, influenced by a rally at the London Metal Exchange last evening.

Anil Ambani : Billionaire Blowups of 2008

2009-01-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

Industrialist Anil Ambani continues to be on the focus of US magazine Forbes but this time around for topping the list of 'Billionaire Blowups of 2008' by virtue of turning the biggest loser of wealth in less than a year of being touted as the biggest gainer in the world.

Besides ranking him as sixth richest person in the world with a net worth of 42 billion dollars, Forbes had credited him for having added maximum wealth in its last annual rankings in March.

Since then, his net worth has declined to 12 billion dollars, the magazine said in a news report titled "Billionaire Blowups of 2008".

"The biggest loser of all was Anil Ambani. Touted on the cover of our 2008 billionaires issue for having added 24 billion dollars to his fortune in one year, Ambani has dropped 30 billion dollars since then," the report said.

The report further added that three of "his fellow countrymen--estranged brother Mukesh, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Indian K P Singh, all of whom ranked earlier among the world's 10 richest--lost more than 20 billion dollar apiece."

Noting that 2008 was "a dreadful year for the world's wealthiest as markets and currencies around the world tumbled," Forbes said that over 300 of the 1,125 billionaires have lost at least one billion dollars since March.

While several dozen have lost more than five billion dollars, the 10 richest from annual 2008 rankings have lost about 150 billion dollars.

This is primarily driven by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, estranged brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani and property baron K P Singh together losing 100 billion dollars.

The publication has also listed out its top "10 Billionaire Blowups," noting that "even in such an awful year, the stories of a few billionaires and now former billionaires stand out as particularly dreadful."

"The biggest billionaire gainer last March is now the year's biggest loser. Ambani lost 30 billion dollars in the past nine months, more than anyone in the world.

"Stock of his telecom company dropped after his estranged brother helped scuttle a deal with African telecom MTN."

Forbes, however, noted that with 12 billion dollars worth of fortune, Anil Ambani "remains quite wealthy... That is something many others can't claim".

The list of 10 billionaire blowups includes two more Indians -- wind power major Suzlon's chief Tulsi Tanti and online gambling firm PartyGaming's founder Anurag Dikshit.

"Dozens of the world's wealthiest lost billions in recent months, yet these 10 distinguish themselves for some of the biggest flops. But they lost more than money. Some lost board seats. Several faced margin calls. A couple got in trouble with the law. All suffered hits to their reputations."

Tulsi Tanti's wealth dropped by 2.5 billion dollars to stand at 500 million dollars, while Dikshit's current net worth is about one billion dollars, down from 1.6 billion dollars in March 2008.

Others among these 10 include Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, Iceland's Bjorgflur Gudmundsson, Spain's real estate player Luis Portillo, China's Wong Kwong Yu and Larry Yung and Ukraine's Konstantin Zhevago.

On Tanti, it said that the wind was knocked out of Tanti and his wind firm, Suzlon Energy, amid reports about the poor quality of its wind turbine blades, some of which cracked.

"The company's 25 million dollar provision to fix faulty blades didn't do much to boost investor confidence. The stock has plunged 80 per cent since March," it added.

Dikshit, the designer of the software for PartyPoker game recently pleaded guilty for violating American web gaming laws and also agreed to forfeit 300 million dollars.

"He could face up to two years in jail but apparently won't be sentenced until 2010. He has already paid 100 million dollars of his fine and will pay the rest in two instalments next year," the magazine said.

India, Pakistan exchange lists of nuclear installations

2009-01-01T05:52:00.000-08:00

India and Pakistan on Thursday exchanged lists of their nuclear installations under an agreement aimed at preventing attacks on each other's atomic facilities inspite of prevailing tension in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks.

The Foreign Office handed over a list of Pakistan's nuclear installations and facilities to an official of the Indian High Commission at 11.00 am here.

In New Delhi, the Indian side handed over its list to an official of the Pakistan High Commission at the External Affairs Ministry.

The two sides also exchanged fresh lists of prisoners being held in each other's jails, officials said.

The exchange of lists of atomic facilities is done on January 1 every year under the "Agreement between India and Pakistan on Prohibition of Attack Against Nuclear Installations and Facilities", which was signed in 1988 and ratified in 1991.

Officials from both sides had earlier said that the tension sparked by the Mumbai terror attacks would not affect the exchange of the nuclear lists, which is done as routine every year.

According to the agreement signed on December 31, 1988, Pakistan and India have to inform each other on January 1 every year about the nuclear installations and facilities to be covered by the pact.

Islamabad and New Delhi had exchanged lists of prisoners being held in each other's jail but both sides had subsequently expressed reservations about these lists. During talks here between home secretaries of the two countries in November, they agreed to exchange fresh lists of prisoners.

Further details about the number of prisoners being held in the two countries were not immediately available.

Pak must act on proof given by FBI : Pranab

2009-01-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, in an exclusive interview to NDTV, said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has strong evidence that they have shared with Pakistan.

He said Pakistan should act on the evidence provided by the FBI and handover perpetrators of Mumbai to India.

Pranab said that an extradition treaty is not needed to handover perpetrators.

He further said that the US pressure has not had tangible results.

An FBI team, late on Wednesday night, visited Faridkot in Pakistan's Punjab province to investigate about Ajmal Amir Iman Qasab, the lone terrorist captured during the Mumbai attacks. Qasab hails from the Faridkot area.

The five-member team of the FBI was headed by its South Asian Director William Robert, Geo TV reported. According to sources, the purpose of the FBI team's visit was to investigate about Qasab, it said.

The channel had, however, claimed without quoting anyone that according to the FBI team, it found no evidence.

Qasab's father recently admitted in an interview to the Dawn newspaper that the gunman whose picture was beamed around the world by the media was his son.

Banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa planning to change name?

2009-01-01T05:49:00.000-08:00

Is Pakistan-based Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), front organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba, preparing to reincarnate under a new name in the wake of a ban clamped on it by the UN Security Council for its involvement in Mumbai terror attacks?

The indication that JuD may be thinking of changing its name came as some senior cadres of the outfit recently organised a rally in Pakistan under the banner of Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool (THR), the sources said.

In fact, JuD itself is a reincarnation of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) after the latter was banned by the US seven years ago.

Formed in 1990 in Kunar province of Afghanistan, LeT does not believe in democracy and Saeed, its founder leader, has publicly declared it several times that 'jihad' is the "only way Pakistan can move towards dignity and prosperity".

India feels that Pakistan is using 'jihadis' as "one of the arms of diplomacy" and due to this reason, it is not taking any action except "tokenism" against JuD despite the UNSC ban imposed on December 11 in the wake of November 26 Mumbai attacks.

New Delhi contends that JuD continues to engage in various kinds of activities under the garb of education and "so-called charities", with Islamabad turning a blind eye to it in "flagrant violation" of international law.

In this context, the sources said the headquarters of JuD or LeT in Muridke near Lahore continues to be functional.

JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who is supposedly under house arrest, is said to be freely moving about though in a restricted manner escaping the media gaze, the sources said.

India is peeved at the special treatment being meted out to Saeed by Pakistan, contending that he should be put in a regular prison rather than "so-called house arrest" since he has been accused of involvement in heinous crimes.

Pakistan has also not imposed any restrictions on publication of magazines and other literature by JuD, despite these activities being prohibited by the UNSC resolution, the sources said.

"There is anything but compliance with the UNSC resolution by Pakistan," they said.

The UNSC could be approached to highlight how Pakistan is disregarding its resolution but there is a view in Delhi that reasonable time should be given before this option is utilised.

Serial blasts in Guwahati on New Year

2009-01-01T05:46:00.000-08:00

At least three people have been killed and 31 injured in three blasts that rocked Birubari, Bhootnath and Bhangagarh areas of Guwahati in Assam, just ahead of Home Minister P Chidambaram's visit.
Assam DGP has said the ULFA is behind the blasts.
About 12 people were injured in a suspected cycle bomb blast in Bhootnath area. This blast occurred on the route the Home Minister would have taken.
Three people were injured following a blast in a dustbin in Birubari. Official sources said an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) kept in a Gauhati Municipal corporation dustbin went off at around 3.30 pm. The dusbin was kept near A TB hospital. The injured were admitted to the hospital and identified as Altaf Ali, Fatema Begum and Raul Ali.
The blast at Bhangagarh took place in front of Big Bazar outlet.
The state witnessed serial blasts on October 30, which led to over 61 deaths. (With PTI inputs)

NEW YEAR WISHES from ABHISHEK UPADHAYAY

2008-12-31T19:27:00.001-08:00

India rejects 'escalation' charge, asks Pak to do more

2008-12-30T18:22:00.000-08:00

Rejecting Pakistan's contentions, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday that there had been no escalation of tensions on the part of India and that its military movements were routine winter exercises.

Telling Pakistan that "there is no need of creating an atmosphere or some sort of hysteria", the minister said that there was no tension as was borne by the fact that India was releasing some 67 Pakistanis detained for visa violations.

Moreover, like in the past, India and Pakistan will be exchanging information on nuclear confidence building measures on the New Year's Day, he told a news agency here. Mukherjee was clear about what India wants from Pakistan--dismantling of terrorist camps, taking action against those involved in terror attacks and handing over of fugitives of Indian laws like the chief of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Masood Azhar.

Disagreeing with suggestions that India should recall its High Commissioner from Pakistan and put economic squeeze on Pakistan, he said while it cannot be "business as usual" with Islamabad, "I do feel still we should continue to put pressure diplomatically through international community to achieve our objectives."

About the investigation into the Mumbai terror attack, Mukherjee said that these were in the final stages and will be shared with Pakistan and others, Mukherjee said.

The minister told Pakistan, "Please fulfil your commitments and do the job you are expected to do."

Pakistan, he emphasised, will have to act on the evidence India gives to it. "And there has to be credible evidence that they are acting on it," he added.

He recalled that way back in January, 2004 the then President Pervez Musharraf and more recently President Asif Ali Zardari had given commitments Pakistan's territory would not be allowed to be used by terrorists against India.

"We are only asking that you fulfil these commitments you have made. Kindly dismantle the infrastructural facilities, dismantle the camps...upto now we have not seen any such thing," the External Affairs Minister said.

Pakistan, he emphasised, will have to act on evidence India gives to it. "And there has to be credible evidence that they are acting on it."

While maintaining his stand that India was keeping all options open, the External Affairs Minister recalled that he had stated in Parliament that war was not a solution.

India would continue to put pressure on Pakistan through diplomacy and "we would like to see what is the final outcome of it".

Refuting suggestions that diplomatic efforts had failed, Mukherjee said that New Delhi had been able to create awareness all over the world. "We shall have to make these efforts, howsoever strenuous they may be....we shall have to build up the pressure on Pakistan."

Mukherjee said Pakistan continued to be in denial mode and as of now India has not seen any action on its part on its demands. "If simply they deny and go into denial mode how does it help," he asked.

Asked about the number of terrorist camps in Pakistan, the minister disclosed that "the latest information" given by India to that country shows that the number was 30 plus.

"Sometimes they change their names, sometimes they change their locations but the persons are the same."

When asked if India would be satisfied by the Pakistan government putting to trial the fugitives it wanted, Mukherjee remarked that even the probe into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was not handed over to Pakistani authorities but to the UN.

"The question is how to address the terrorist activities that are hurting us and which are emanating from Pakistan... The question is how they can fulfill their own commitment," Mukherjee said.

"The crux of the issue is that the problem (of cross-border terrorism) has to be addressed and the sooner they do it, better it is for them and for us," he said.

Mukherjee particularly referred to Masood Azhar and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), front organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and said that Pakistan should act against them in a convincing way.

On Azhar, the External Affairs Minister said the JeM chief was linked to internationally-recognised serious offence of hijacking but Pakistan was not handing him over despite his being "visible" in that country.

Instead of handing him over to India as per the international law, Pakistan was indulging in contradictions by first saying he had been put under house arrest and later denying his presence in Pakistan.

Similar was the approach on sending Director General of ISI to India in connection with probe into Mumbai attacks, a promise on which Pakistan went back, he pointed out.

Regarding JuD, which was banned by Pakistan after UN Security Council imposed sanctions on the outfit earlier this month, Mukherjee questioned how the group was still active, even for charitable works, despite the "ban".

Rejecting Pakistan's contention, he said there was no tension from Indian side because it does not consider the attacks in Mumbai and other places being linked to Indo-Pak ties.

"We are suggesting you (Pakistan) fulfill these commitments you have made (of dismantling terror camps). When these things are adequately addressed, I think what we are asking for will be responded.

"But upto now, we have not seen any such thing. Rather, what we have seen is an attempt to divert attention to create tension," Mukherjee said, asking Pakistan to "do the job you are expected to do".

Asserting that India has not created any tension, he said New Delhi has made it clear to the international community as well that it has no intention to create tension.

To a question on India reaching out to Pakistan's allies China and Saudi Arabia besides the US and others, he said New Delhi is in touch with the international community as part of its efforts to build pressure on Islamabad.

On Pakistan government's problems in meeting India's demands because of army and ISI, he said he would not like to comment on the complex situation prevailing in Pakistan.

"I am concerned only with the results. Whoever is responsible. In conversation with one of my interlocutors, I told him when there is a military ruler in Pakistan, we have attack on Parliament. When there is a democratic government in Pakistan, we have attack on Mumbai, unprecedented in its ferocity and audacity.

"Therefore, where is the respite. Internal politics of Pakistan, let it remain there, and let them handle it the way they want to. We want that in our relationship it should not be strained because of these elements. appropriate actions should be taken against them," he said.

Hasina's landslide restores democracy to Bangladesh

2008-12-30T18:21:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh's charismatic leader Sheikh Hasina, who favours strong ties with India, has scripted a stunning victory trouncing rival BNP in the country's first polls in seven years, restoring democracy in the impoverished nation after two years of military-led rule.

Hasina's Awami League-led alliance clinched 258 seats of the total 300 seats in parliament leaving only 31 constituencies to her archrival Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led four-party, according to "unofficial" results published by the Election Commission.

Five seats went to other small parties and independents while results of the four others were pending. The poll outcome was the worst showing by Zia's BNP, while it was the best by Awami League since the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 after it was liberated from Pakistan.

With the election process coming to an end, the army-backed administration said it would handover the power to the democratically-elected government within 10 days after the results were gazetted and oaths taken.

"The new government will be formed after the members-elect take oath as MPs, then the caretaker government will handover charge to the incumbent new administration," adviser to the interim-government M Anwarul Iqbal said.

Soon after the results emerged, a beaming 61-year-old Hasina, who lost power to BNP by a huge margin in 2001, asked her party to show restraint and not to stage any victory processions until the results were officially published.

She also urged her rivals to accept the results to end the years of confrontational politics.

Hasina is the daughter of Bangladesh founder late Sheikh Mujabir Rehman.

Pak tones down war rhetoric, favours ‘friendly ties’

2008-12-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

Facing the heat from the US and other major countries, Pakistan on Monday toned down the war rhetoric and talked of the need to "de-escalate and avoid conflict".

In his first public statement since the Mumbai terror attack, Kayani, the Chief of Army, which is believed to have huge influence over affairs of the state in Pakistan, backed moves for de-escalation of tensions with India.

A brief military statement was issued after Kayani met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei, who was dispatched here by Beijing to help ease the Indo-Pak stand-off, at the Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi near here.

"The Chief of Army Staff highlighted the need to de-escalate and avoid conflict in the interest of peace and security in the region," the statement said.

Pakistan's civilian leadership also continued its 'no war' stance, with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani voicing opposition to any military action.

"We have never wanted war with anybody... We also want that our soil should not be used for terrorism," Gilani said as international pressure mounted on the country to avoid confrontation with India in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks.

During a meeting with visiting Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafie, dispatched by Beijing to Islamabad to help reduce regional tensions, Gilani reiterated Pakistan's "firm resolve for maintaining good relations with all its neighbours".

Gilani said only "elements inimical to cordial Pakistan-India ties and terrorists had benefited from the situation that evolved" after the Mumbai incident. Pakistan desires the de-escalation of tensions and is hopeful its stance will be reciprocated by the Indian leadership, he added.

Stressing that there could be no parallel centres of power in the country, Gilani described Pakistan as a "responsible and peaceful" nuclear state and said it wanted good relations with its neighbours.

"We don't want any parallel government in the country and don't want the writ of the government be challenged," he said at the campus of the National University of Science and Technology here, without elaborating who he was referring to.

The US and UK have pressed Pakistan to take concrete action against those responsible for the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks. New Delhi has asked China, Saudi Arabia and Iran to use their influence on Islamabad to rein in terrorists operating from Pakistan.

The statements by Pakistani military and civilian leadership came as an Army spokesman confirmed that the two countries had been in touch through the Director General of Military Operations and this apparently had helped lower the tensions.

The DGMOs usually make contact on Tuesday on a routine basis but they spoke to each other over the weekend in an "extraordinary move", 'The News' daily quoted a top military official as saying.

"That was only possible with the consent of top military leaders of both the countries. Apparently, this helped lower the tension," the official said.

The DGMOs made contact after Pakistani officials said thousands of troops had been moved from the militant-infested northwestern tribal areas to the Indian border and leave had been cancelled for soldiers.

Post 26/11, high-tech coastal security system on cards

2008-12-29T17:14:00.000-08:00

A month after terrorists sneaked into Mumbai in a hijacked Indian fishing boat and killed nearly 200 people, the much-neglected coastal security system of India is being revamped.

Following are the steps the government plans to take in an attempt to revamp coastal security:

Multi Purpose National Identity Cards are to be issued for all fishermen and coastal villages.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing special transponders for boats and trawlers.

Those transponders will make identification and tracking of boats easier.

There will also be a new uniform licensing system for boats across coastal states, instead of the present system of diverse licensing system of states.

PTI adds: The Union Home Ministry on Monday assured the coastal states that it will provide all assistance to secure the sea-front and asked the Shipping Ministry to come up with a proposal within ten days on registration of fishing boats and issuing identity cards to fishermen.

At a high level meeting , chaired by Secretary (Border Management) Jarnail Singh and attended by representatives of nine coastal states and four Union Territories, the Home Ministry assured that adequate funds would be provided to the states to procure high-speed vessels, high-tech naval equipment and all other security requirements.

"We have asked the Shipping Ministry to submit a proposal within seven to ten days on how to have all fishing boats registered with the police department, to maintain a list of their owners and issuing identity cards to fishermen operating in high sea," a Home Ministry official said.

The moves comes considering the fact that the coastal states -- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal -- and four UTs follow different policy for registration of boats and it was felt that there was an urgent need to have uniformity on the issue.

The meeting considered a performa developed by the Register General of India and whether that could be emulated for issuance of identity cards to the fishermen.

Several states, including West Bengal, sought the Centre's help in setting up of new coastal police stations and strengthening of marine wing of state police, sources said.

Pak has not done enough: Western diplomats

2008-12-28T18:24:00.002-08:00

The US and Britain have provided Pakistan evidence of the involvement of elements within the country in the Mumbai terror attacks but western diplomats believe Islamabad has "not done enough" in terms of acting on the intelligence.

In the wake of the Mumbai attacks, British and American investigators amassed a large amount of technical and human intelligence that was subsequently passed on to Pakistan, Western diplomatic sources told a news agency.

Sleuths from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, who were given access to Amjal Amir Iman, the lone gunman captured during the attacks, were convinced he is a Pakistani national and that the terrorist strike was planned and coordinated by elements in Pakistan.

However, the diplomatic sources said they believed that the Pakistan government had not acted adequately on the evidence provided to it.

"The Pakistani authorities have not done enough on the intelligence shared with them," said a source.

The sources said the most clinching evidence on the involvement of Pakistani elements was provided by the British authorities. In fact, British intelligence operatives were so convinced of the Pakistani links to the attack that they did not take up an offer to question Iman alias Ajmal Kasab, sources said.

The US and British authorities have handed over intercepts of satellite and mobile conversations between the attackers in Mumbai and Pakistan-based elements who were guiding them.

Among the Pakistani handlers was Lashker-e-Taiba's operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who was detained during a raid by the military in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on December 7. Lakhvi's current whereabouts are not known.

Western intelligence agencies have backed India's contention that Lakhvi planned and coordinated the November 26 attacks in Mumbai.

American investigators also played a key role in extracting details of calls made by the terrorists in Mumbai to their LeT handlers in Pakistan by using sophisticated technology to examine burnt and damaged cellular phones. These phones, which were damaged in gun battles between the terrorists and security forces, were provided to the FBI team by Indian law enforcement agencies, they said.

However, a report in a newspaper today quoted Pakistani intelligence sources as saying that the intelligence shared by the Western powers was not evidence that would "stand up in court".

They claimed Iman's confession could have been "obtained under duress" and is "not admissible in a trial". Thus the confession could not be the "basis of any proceedings against (Iman) or others from Pakistan".

The shared intelligence formed the basis of actions taken so far by Pakistan but it could not "be described as evidence", the sources claimed.

"If Islamabad is to put any Pakistani citizen on trial for the Mumbai attacks, it will require a list of Indian witnesses and their statements as well as all technical material, such as computer drives and mobile phones recovered from the alleged terrorists from Pakistan," the report said.

The report further claimed that "India's problem" is that it could not share evidence with Pakistan because of "inconsistencies in Indian public accounts" of the attacks and "the fact that some of the attackers and their local support network could have come from within India.”

India may see deflation next year: Bankers

2008-12-28T18:24:00.001-08:00

Indian economy may go into deflation by the second quarter of financial year 2009-10, as there are fears of inflation going below zero per cent in the face of unprecedented fall in crude and commodity prices.
"If the current pace in inflation-decline continues, the figure (in WPI based inflation) may slide below two per cent by end-fiscal," HDFC Bank's Head of Treasury, Ashish Parthasarathy, said, adding "it may fall further to below zero per cent by Q2 FY'10".
Inflation almost halved to a nine-month low of 6.61 per cent from this year's peak of 12.91 per cent, giving more space to the RBI to signal further cuts in interest rates.
Deflation occurs in an economy when the negative inflation prevails for a long period. In the event of deflation, the Reserve Bank will have to enhance money supply and lower rates further "to support inflation", IDBI Gilts' Economist Amol Agarwal said. Citibank India's Chief Financial Officer Abhijit Sen echoed this view saying that the rapid decline in the headline inflation is likely to continue in the coming months.
"In my view, deflation is a remote possibility in this economy. However, if the inflation continue to fall to much lower levels, this would have an impact on the profitability of banks, as it would affect the credit demand," Sen said. The sharp decline in inflation has given a headroom for the Reserve Bank to slash its reverse repo rate by 0.5-1 per cent, he said.
"A lower inflation rate has offered the opportunity to the Reserve Bank to explore further monetary policy options including a cut in the short-term reverse repo rate," Sen said.
Wholesale prices-based inflation declined by 0.23 percentage points for the seventh consecutive time during the week-ended December 13 as manufactured goods and food items became cheaper due to the cascading effect of fuel price cuts amongst other factors.
"(The) declining inflation rate provides more leeway to the RBI to further slash interest rates. I expect a 100 basis points cut in both the repo (short-term lending rate) and reverse repo (short-term borrowing) rates," said Crisil's Principal Economist D K Joshi.
The Reserve Bank had hiked its key policy rates several times till October to hold off skyrocketting inflation rate that rose to a multi-year high of around 13 per cent early this year.
However, with inflation now on the decline, the Central Bank has shifted its focus from fighting inflation to supporting economic growth with a series of rate cuts.
It cut the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), the percentage of cash banks are required to park with the apex bank to 5.5 per cent from nine per cent and the repo and reverse repo rates to 6.5 per cent and five per cent respectively.

Abdullahs back In J&K

2008-12-28T18:22:00.000-08:00

After an election that saw voters defy boycott calls and conquer the fear of the gun in the Valley, National Conference looks likely to

Omar Abdullah with wife Payal and their two sons at Sheikh Abdullah’s mausoleum, in Srinagar on Sunday.

form the next government in Srinagar in alliance with Congress, appearing ready to back the return of the Abdullahs after six years.

NC emerged as the single largest party overtaking the separatist-backed PDP in an election that saw a strong turnout of 60.5% in the face of a Pakistan-sponsored call for boycott, strengthening the credibility of India's democratic process.
The outcome was unanimously hailed as a victory of Indian democracy and a rebuff to what chief election commissioner N Gopalaswamy called the "fear factor".

NC promptly staked claim to form the next government, though it was not clear whether Farooq Abdullah was ready to pass on the baton to son, party chief Omar Abdullah, immediately.

Omar, widely speculated to take over the reins from his father, confirmed the party's plan to approach Congress for support even before the counting was over. "Yes, we will approach the Congress which is a like-minded party," he said.

Congress, which was in coalition with PDP before separating on a bitter note, appeared inclined to support NC. However, it may be required to handle those in the state unit who would like to see whether the Abdullahs could be pushed to support a Congressman as chief minister as the price for keeping their chief rival, the PDP, at bay.

Failing that, the state unit may ask the central leadership to insist on the post of the deputy chief minister. The terms of trade, however, are yet to be finalised.

The leadership, which reviewed the results, discussed the options at a meeting of the party's core group, will take the final call after holding discussions with representatives of the state unit.

NC, with 28, and Congress with 17 will have the majority in the 87-strong House.

NC survived a huge drop in vote share in both Valley and Jammu to finish ahead of PDP which - backed by proxy support from the separatists and the loyalty of its strongholds in southern part of the Valley - won 21 seats.

Just like its prospective partner, Congress saw a major erosion in its vote share.

The BJP, in contrast, pulled off a vastly improved performance, taking its tally from one to 11 -- its best-ever show. The party vote share recorded a jump of over 10%, thanks to the polarisation in the Jammu region over the Amarnath land controversy.

But while the BJP will remain consigned to the sidelines, Congress, the main victim of the saffron surge in Jammu, has emerged as kingmaker. The party was veering towards joining the government. The state unit is insisting on power-sharing.

There was not much clarity on who will lead the NC in the assembly. Farooq Abdullah, in response to questions, came up with the right responses, indicating that he was ready to step aside for Omar, a former Union minister and currently a member of Lok Sabha. "Why not? Omar is a young man. If he could serve better why not," agency reports quoted Abdullah Sr as saying in Srinagar just after results.

Farooq, a former chief minister who is a member of Rajya Sabha, also said, "I would be rather be in Parliament."
Congress leadership's estimate, however, was that Omar may have to wait in the wings for a while.

Omar seemed confident of Congress's support to NC's claim. "It is for them (Congress) to think whom they want as an ally, considering their past experience with PDP. During the previous PDP-Congress alliance, it was PDP which benefited while the BJP gained at the cost of Congress in Jammu," he said.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi called the polls a triumph of Indian democracy.

CEC Gopalaswamy, expressing satisfaction with the polls, attributed the unexpectedly high turnout to lack of fear factor and good weather. He identified people's expectations of bijli, sadak and pani as another big contributory factor. "The 15-20% increase in turnout is because of the absence of fear factor and good weather.
The rest is because of bijli, sadak and pani," said the CEC.

No ultimatum given to Pakistan: Pranab

2008-12-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

Calling for demolition of terror camps operating on Pakistani soil, India on Sunday reminded the neighbouring country of its commitment not to allow terrorist activities, but said no ultimatum has been given to Islamabad to act.

Stating that Pakistan had made a commitment that it would not allow its territory to be used for terrorist activities, External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee asked Islamabad to take steps and demolish terrorist camps there.

Denying any ultimatum being set for Pakistan to act, he said, "no ultimatum was set. There is no question of any ultimatum. Nobody has set any ultimatum."

Asserting that India would share whatever information Pakistan required once investigations were over, Mukherjee said Pakistan should admit that the terrorists involved in the Mumbai terrorist attack came from there.

"If all these things are done, then there is no problem at all," he said.

He said "not once, but twice Pakistan had made a commitment. Once by Musharraf and now by President Zardari. Where is the commitment? Where is the action against terrorists?" Mukherjee asked.

"We have evidence and gave the names, not once but ten times. Pakistan had earlier accepted that the perpetrators of Mumbai attack emanated from there. But now they are contradicting it," Mukherjee said here.

Regretting Pakistan's U-turn on Maulana Masood Azhar's arrest, he said "the Pakistan defence minister had earlier said that the Jaish chief was under house arrest.

"Now some others say he is not in Pakistan. who is telling the truth? It is Pakistan which has to tell that," Mukherjee said.

Stating that he had spoken to the foreign ministers of the US, Saudi Arabia and China, the minister said "merely creating war hysteria without taking any action would not serve any purpose."

Hung House in J&K again, NC hopes to form govt

2008-12-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

The Congress and National Conference (NC) together won 45 seats and an alliance now seems increasingly on the cards. The Congress too seems more than open to the idea with senior Congress leader Karan Singh saying the parties are "ideologically compatible".

A resurgent National Conference on Sunday emerged the single-largest party in a hung Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir and is all poised to stake claim for forming the next government with Congress support.

Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Omar Abdullah said that the "poll verdict is less than what we expected". "In an ideal situation NC and Congress should form the government," he said, adding "We are in touch with the Congress informally."

NC, which has got 28 seats, exactly the same number it won in the 2002 elections, said it will approach "like minded" Congress, which bagged 17 seats, for forming the next government after the five-week seven-phased polls that recorded a high 61 per cent turn-out defying separatists' boycott calls and militant guns.

An NC-Congress combine can cross the magic half-way mark of 44 in a House of 87 but there are six independents besides the three-member Panthers Party from whom it could also count on for support.

The Congress too seems open to the idea with senior Congress leader Karan Singh saying the parties are "ideologically compatible". NC had 25 seats in the dissolved assembly. Congress lost three seats.

Back-channel talks have already begun between the two parties, sources said, adding Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who is said to have good equations with Omar, is expected to play a key role in forging a partnership.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which shared power with Congress on a rotational basis for last six years, came second with a tally of 21 seats, a gain of five over the 2002 elections.

Cashing in on the Amarnath land row, the BJP put up an impressive performance clinching 11 of the 37 seats at stake in Jammu region. The saffron party had only one seat in the last Assembly. The CPI-M could only win one of the two seats it had.

Thirty-eight-year-old Omar Abdullah, the scion of the Abdullah family, who steered NC for a shot at power, said his party would approach the Congress for forming the next government.

"Clearly, Congress is the most like-minded party to NC and we will approach them the moment we emerge the single largest party," said Omar, who made his debut to the state assembly winning the Ganderbal seat, which he had lost in 2002.

Congress gave the first signs of a possible support to a NC government when Union Minister Prithviraj Chauhan, who was the Congress observer in Jammu, said the party was only interested in giving the "most stable government" even if it meant staying outside power.

Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is believed to be keen on a tie-up with NC apparently because of bitter experience with PDP which pulled out of the coalition government forcing him to resign.

Omar's father and NC patron Farooq Abdullah virtually paved the way for his son to assume the top post when he shot back, "why not" when asked if the young leader could become the Chief Minister. Farooq, who won from both Hazratbal and Sonawar constituencies, said he would rather prefer to sit in Parliament and dismissed reports of differences with his son. Farooq is a member of Rajya Sabha.

Omar had also told reporters that Farooq was also projected as the chief ministerial candidate but the former Chief Minister had expressed reservations about heading a coalition government.

Party positions across state

Out of 46 seats at stake in Kashmir valley, NC got 20, a gain of two seats, while PDP bagged 19, an addition of three. Congress lost two seats to have a tally of three.

In the Jammu region which has 37 seats in all, the BJP got 11 as against one it had while the Congress lost two to notch a score of 13. NC got six seats losing three while PDP opened its account bagging two seats.

In Ladakh, where four seats were up for grabs, NC got two, one more than it got in 2002 and Congress gained one.

The NC made a clean sweep of the eight constituencies in Srinagar. Considered to be stronghold of separatists, the city recorded 20 per cent polling in the final phase of elections held on December 24. In 2002 elections, NC had bagged five city seats while two went to Independents and another was won by the Congress.

The PDP suffered a shock defeat in Batmaloo constituency where its former minister and general secretary Tariq Hameed Karra lost to Irfan Shah of NC by a margin of 2,500 votes.

PDP made a clean sweep of Pulwama and Shopian districts winning all the six seats (four in Pulwama and two in Shopian) and also did well in Anantnag and Kulgam districts winning six of the ten seats.

The most important victory of PDP came from Anantnag from where party patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was elected for the first time. Sayeed, who entered the state assembly through bypoll held in 2004 from Pahalgam constituency, vacated by his daughter Mehbooba Mufti after her election to Lok Sabha, shifted to Anantnag this time and defeated NC provincial president Mehboob Beg.

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti won from Wachi and her father and party patron Mufti Sayeed bagged the Anantnag seat.

State Secretary of CPI(M) M Y Tarigami managed to retain Kulgam after a tough fight with the PDP nominee.

Salaskar's daughter wants death sentence for Ajmal Amir

2008-12-26T17:07:00.000-08:00

The daughter of slain encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar, who was killed during the Mumbai terror strikes exactly a month ago, on Friday called for death sentence to Ajmal Amir Iman, the lone terrorist captured in the attack on November 26.

"It (killing of Vijay Salaskar) angers me. I feel that the worst death sentence should be given to him (Ajmal)," his daughter Divya Salaskar said reacting to the death of her father during the shoot-out with the terrorist.

Describing her father as her life's "control room", Divya said she had time and again fallen back on Vijay Salaskar if anything went wrong in her life.

"On my cell phone, his name is entered as 'control room'. So I knew that if I have someone as the control room, he will take care of everything for me. It (his killing) was a major setback. Just three or four hours earlier, we had our dinner together. How is it (his death) possible?" she wondered, recalling her father.

What angered her the most was the lack of weapons and protective equipment for the police officers and men, who were fighting the terrorists on the fateful day, Divya told a news channel.

"How can you face a terrorist with a small service revolver? If every policeman were given an AK-47 or an AK-56 in his hand, even the terrorist would have thought twice before striking in Mumbai," she said.

Meanwhile, Kavita Karkare, wife of ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who too fell a martyr during the Mumbai terror siege, told a meet on secularism in the metropolis that her family was quite religious and she personally believed that all religions preached peace.

Tatas get extra land for Nano at Uttarakhand

2008-12-26T17:06:00.000-08:00

Tata Motors' delayed Nano project has got a boost with the Uttarakhand government providing the company an additional 45 acres of land at its Pantnagar facility.

"The state government has taken a decision to provide 45 acres of land to the Tata Group at Pantnagar, where it is already manufacturing Ace (mini) trucks and few parts of the Nano," State Chief Secretary I K Pandey said.

The decision was taken at a high-powered meeting held chaired recently by the state Chief Minister B C Khanduri, he added.

Tata Motors was given 955 acres of land for its Ace truck plant at Pantnagar by the previous Congress government. The company was promised a total 1,000 acres but has been allotted only 955 acres, Pandey added.

The allotment is expected to help the company in rolling out the world's least priced car at Rs one lakh, after delays due to the Singur imbroglio.

The company had to shift the mother plant to Sanand in Gujarat from Singur, where it was originally planned due to opposition from Trinamool Congress over land acquisition.

It had planned to invest Rs 1,500 crore at Singur but the investment was increased to Rs 2,000 crore, when it shifted to Sanand.

The Nano was originally planned to be commercially launched around Durga Puja this year but has been postponed to the last quarter of this fiscal. The company is planning to produce the Nano from its various locations, including Pune and Pantnagar till the mother plant at Sanand is ready.

Ghajini gets 100 per cent collections

2008-12-26T17:04:00.000-08:00

Actor Aamir Khan's latest film Ghajini rocked the box office, taking in 100 per cent collections across the country on its opening day Thursday, an executive of the movie's India distributor said.

Aamir Khan, who was present at the trial run of the movie at a preview theatre in Mumbai Wednesday, reportedly said that "Ghajini" has created a record by becoming the first Bollywood movie in recent times for which the tickets had been sold in advance for all five days of the opening week across the country.

According to trade reports, in view of the unprecedented audience expectation for the film, the multiplexes are asking the distributors to increase the number of prints. The decision in this regard has not yet to be taken.

The movie has been released within the country with 1,400 prints. Reliance BIG Pictures has released 213 prints overseas.

Meanwhile, Ghajini raked in Rs 70 million during 650 paid previews at multiplexes in India on Wednesday. "Although the movie has not received uniform favourable reviews, the hype created around it has worked wonders and there is little doubt that the movie will turn out to be a superhit," said trade analyst V Verma.

Aamir is the best! - Mrs. Aamir Khan

2008-12-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

Before the release of Ghajini it was Amir Khan who was doing everything to promote his film. Now, a day after its release, it seems his wife is out to share that responsibility and do her own bit for the film’s promotion.

Kiran Rao says, “It’s an excellent film. I like Aamir’s Ghajini look a lot. The way this film has opened, I can say with confidence that my husband is number one. Aamir has performed exceptionally well in the film. In fact the whole team of Ghajini deserves praise for giving an excellent performance."

Pak diverting attention by creating war hysteria: Pranab

2008-12-26T16:58:00.000-08:00

Home Minister Pranab Mukharjee on Friday accused Pakistan of diverting attention from the real issue of taking action against the perpetrators of terror on its soil by creating war hysteria.

He said that he had spoken to the foreign ministers of Iran and China and also requested Saudi Arabia to exert pressure on Pakistan to book those behind terror attacks on India.

Asserting that all democratic forces should unite to fight terrorism, Foreign Affairs Minister on Friday urged the world community to unite to take firm and expeditious action against the menace.

Mukherjee’s statement came after a meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister Al-Faisal who is on a brief visit to New Delhi in the wake of November 26 attacks.

During the talks, India shared evidence about involvement of Pakistan-based elements in the most atrocious attack on Indian soil. The Saudi Minister was apprised about how 10 heavily-armed terrorists were trained in Pakistan and sent from Karachi to launch well-coordinated attacks in Mumbai in which over 180 people, including 26 foreigners, were killed.

The Indian foreign minister also retreated that Pakistani authorities should weigh up the evidence and take immediate actions against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks. He urged them to bring transparency in the investigations being carried by the Gilani led government.

Questioning Pakistan's alleged co-operation in the war on terror, Pranab pointed out that it has once again failed to assist India in handing over terror suspects.

The Saudi minister on his part said, “Terrorism is a cancer, we need to cut it out.” He also called for the United Nations to set up an international body to deal with Mumbai-like terror attacks.

During the Saudi foreign minister's visit here, New Delhi will also seek Riyadh's support in clamping down on the financing of terrorists, some of whom use Saudi charities and other fronts for generating funds for subversive activities, official sources said here.

.

Saudi Arabia has immense influence on Pakistan and India is seeking to utilise it to ensure that Islamabad ends cross-border terrorism.

After the Mumbai attacks, New Delhi has been in touch with Riyadh and the Royal government has indicated support to India's case, apparently convinced about its assertion.

India is urging the international community, particularly those having leverage with Pakistan, to build pressure on Islamabad.

Most of the countries, particularly the US, UK, France and Russia besides the 27-nation European Union, are convinced that the terror strikes in Mumbai were carried out by elements based in Pakistan.

Earlier, Mukherjee had warned Pakistan of not to test India's patience and deliver on promises it has made.

Unsafe for Indians to travel to Pak, says MEA advisory

2008-12-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

The Ministry of External Affairs has said that it is unsafe for the Indians to be in Pakistan at a time when the relations between the two neighbours are tense.

It is for the first time in 30 years that such an advisory has been issued against Pakistan.

Responding to a question about arrest of alleged Indian nationals in Pakistan on suspicion of being involved in the Lahore blast, the official spokesperson said:

"There have been reports in the Pakistani media that several Indian nationals have been arrested over the last two days in Lahore and Multan, and are being accused of being terrorists.

Since it was also reported in the Pakistani media yesterday that the senior police officer in Lahore was unaware of the arrest in his city, it seems that this is the work of other agencies in Pakistan that operate outside the law and civilian control.

Indian citizens are therefore advised that it would be unsafe for them to travel or be in Pakistan."

Russia not to supply missiles to Iran

2008-12-25T17:59:00.000-08:00

Russia has denied that it has supplied advanced surface-to-air missiles, S-300, to Iran, saying that Moscow's defence cooperation with Tehran is "transparent, and fully complies with international law."

The reports of sale of long-range S-300 missiles "has nothing to do with anything that is going on or will happen," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said here.

He was commenting on a report by Iranian national IRNA news agency, which claimed that Russia had supplied S-300 air defence systems to Tehran. The US too, citing intelligence reports, demanded an explanation from Russia amid concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme.

"I am very surprised by the fuss this story has caused recently. I think this is due to lack of interesting international news in the run-up to the holidays that many of our Western neighbours are celebrating," the minister said.

Ryabkov underscored that Moscow's defence cooperation with Tehran is "transparent and complied fully with international and Russian laws".

Earlier on Monday, the Russian federal service for military cooperation with foreign countries also issued a similar denial.

Although a "purely defensive weapon" the S-300 (NATO codename SA-20) SAMs have very powerful radars and if supplied to Iran, it can track every movement of the US aircraft in Iraq and the Gulf region the moment they take-off, Director of Moscow-based independent CAST think-tank Ruslan Pukhov said.

According to reports, Iran recently received 29 Tor-M1 air defence missile systems from Russia under a USD700 million contract signed in late 2005. Russia has also trained Iranian Tor-M1 specialists, including radar operators and crew commanders.

Chandrayaan finds minerals on Moon

2008-12-25T17:56:00.000-08:00

The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), a scientific instrument of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) onboard India's first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, found iron-bearing minerals on the lunar surface, the US space agency said on Thursday.

"The mapper spectrometer has beamed images of the Orientale Basin region of the Moon, indicating abundance of iron-bearing minerals such as pyroxene. Using different wavelengths of light, the instrument has also revealed for the first time changes in rock and mineral composition," M3 principal investigator Carle Pieters said in a statement hosted on NASA website.

Data from the 7-kg mapper provides space scientists first opportunity to examine lunar mineralogy at high spatial and spectral resolution.

The Orientale Basin is located on the moon's western limb. M3 captured the data last week when Chandrayaan was orbiting the Moon at an altitude of 100 km.

"The imaging spectrometer provides us with compositional information across the moon that we have never had access to before. Our ability to identify and map the composition of the surface in geologic context provides a new level of detail needed to explore and understand the earth's nearest celestial neighbour," affirmed Pieters, who teaches at Brown University in Rhode Island.

The mapper was selected as a mission of opportunity through the NASA discovery programme. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory designed and built the instrument at Pasadena in California.

"M3 will also help in characterising and mapping lunar minerals for knowing the moon's early geological evolution. Its compositional maps will improve our understanding of the early evolution of a differentiated planetary body and provide a high-resolution assessment of lunar resources," Chandrayaan project director M Annadurai averred.

M3 is one of the 10 instruments onboard the unmanned Chandrayaan, conducting experiments while the spacecraft orbits over the moon next two years.

Five instruments were indigenously built by the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), while the remaining six payloads are of foreign origin, including three from the European Space Agency, two from NASA and one from Bulgaria.

Chandrayaan was blasted off Oct 22 onboard the 316-tonne polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C11) from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota spaceport, about 80 km north of Chennai.

After traversing 384,000 km through the deep space for 18 days, the spacecraft entered the lunar orbit Nov 8 and its moon impact probe was lowered on the moon's surface Nov 14.

From the border, BSF chief says no need to worry

2008-12-25T17:53:00.000-08:00

There has been an increase in Pakistan Army activity across the border but there's no need to panic, the BSF Director General M L Kumawat told NDTV on Thursday.

According to sources, the Karachi based 5 Corp is conducting war games on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border.

There is no new troop deployment on the border or LoC and it's not known whether the exercises were scheduled earlier or are in response to the situation.

Heightened movement across the border

Extra deployment of rangers in Pakistan, but not unusual

Border villages not being evacuated

Ground reality

Currently Pakistan has about one lakh twenty thousand troops on its eastern border with India. The Karachi based 5 Corp is conducting war games on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border.

After the ceasefire with India in 2003, Pakistan was able to move troops to its western border with Afghanistan.

It currently has about one and a half lakh troops along its 2,400 km long border. Just to put it in perspective. The distance from Delhi to Chennai is less than that about 2000 km. As many as 15 Infantry Brigades - roughly 38,000 troops - were moved to Waziristan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) last year. Pakistan Army is not experienced enough in CI operations and is also a reluctant fighter on its western border.

Peace pacts increase militancy

FATA -- Islamabad has historically held limited power over the semiautonomous tribal region made up of seven agencies of various Pashtun tribes. After the US attacked Afghanistan the Taliban and Al-Qaida moved to operate from this region.

There are about 80,000 troops here and they have suffered heavy casualties. Under President Pervez Musharraf several peace pacts were reached with tribal leaders. Analysts say that has been a virtual surrender of government power and increased militancy.

Militants threatened Peshawar
Pakistani military efforts to control extremism in the tribal areas has had an unintended consequence of causing the violence to seep into the bordering North West Frontier Province.

This area also harbours Al-Qaida and Taliban supporters and suicide attacks are on the rise. In June 2008, Pakistan's paramilitary forces led an offensive in the outskirts of Peshawar to push back militants threatening the provincial capital.

Attacks linked to insurgency

Pakistani military presence is also required in Baluchistan because of an internal insurgency. Pakistan often accuses India of being involved from Afghanistan in stoking the fire. The Baluch nationalist movement has reemerged in recent years with demands for a greater share of royalties for gas shipped to neighboring states. In 2006, a Pakistani strike killed Baluch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti setting off protests and failing to halt a simmering insurgency.

So, Pakistan military presence is twofold, Americans don't want any movement of Pakistani troops away from here because it will expose their forces in Afghanistan further.

Obama Topless

2008-12-24T18:11:00.000-08:00

Barack at the beach.
This appears in the new People magazine - the one with Oprah on the cover. A quote from the dude that works out next to Obama in Chicago and followed him into the locker-room dated January 2006: "He doesn't have enough fat on his body to make a butter pat." It would appear that 2006 was a good year for Obama - evidenced by the 1000 "butter pats" he has now. Barack insists he's "embarased by the pictures." Why? He looks healthy to me. The embarasment will come later - after years in public office. When, after years and years of the public "high life" he'll begin to sag. The man most think looks "Statesman-like" , will droop, wiggle & waddle.

62 per cent voting in J&K; highest turnout in 18 years

2008-12-24T17:38:00.000-08:00

The last phase of polling in Srinagar has been a face-saving exercisefor both the J&K government and separatists. For the government the voter turnout is much higher than what it was in 2002, and for the separatists it's the lowest compared to the earlier six phases of polling. But one thing is for sure that the 2008 elections are seen as the most transparent electoral process in the history of J&K.

The voter turnout in Srinagar was 20 per cent. It was the highest in 18 years. It was just 5 per cent in 2002.

62 per cent was the overall turnout for all seven phases in J&K compared with 44 per cent last time.

If 2002 was the watershed election, 2008 is proof that the electoral process works even in the backdrop of two months of violence over the Amarnath issue that tore J&K apart.

"I am thinking we will cross the magic number. My thoughts are only of the task ahead,'' said Farooq Abdullah, patron, National Conference.

The focus is now on what happens in Jammu and Kashmir as Indo-Pak tensions grow after 26/11, and what impact another coalition could have on the state.

The Congress which could play kingmaker in a hung assembly is upbeat.

"Congress will form the government on its own. On its own, there are no chances of alliance," said Ghulam Nabi Azad, former chief minister, J&K.

Both the BJP and the Congress are saying that they will make substantial gains in Jammu.

The assembly poll results will also determine how much of a role did the Amarnath land issue play at the end of the day.

Whatever the results may be on Sunday, the voter turnout and violence-free poll have given Jammu and Kashmir another date with history.

Pak replaces Rangers, deploys Army along Indian border

2008-12-24T17:33:00.000-08:00

Pakistan on Wednesday deployed its Army in place of the regular Pak Rangers along its border with India. The move would ratchet up tensions between the South-Asian neighbours several notches, and further add to fears of an outbreak of war between the nuclear armed states. The deployment of the Army has taken places in the Barmer sector of Rajasthan.

Diplomatic relations have gone into a tailspin between the two countries after a savage terror attack on India’s financial capital Mumbai, believed by India to have been perpetrated by Pakistan based terrorists.

Confirming the news, Additional Director general of BSF, Barmer, UK Bansal said today that, " There is a lot of activity along at the Pakistan side of India-Pakistan border near Barmer in Rajasthan and Pakistan Rangers have been replaced by the Pakistan Army.” The ADG also added that BSF is on full alert and is capable of handling any eventuality.

The deployment is an indication of the level of apprehension on the Pakistani side on an Indian attack. It should be noted that the last time when Pakistan Rangers were replaced by army was during Kargil war.

The State government of Rajasthan has ordered the residents of border villages to be prepared for relocation. According to sources, the order came after a meeting of state Director General of Police and Home Secretary with official of the Central government.

Earlier in the day, a top Air Force officer said that a large number of possible terrorist-based targets in Pakistan have been identified to be hit in the event of a war.

Air Marshal PK Barbora, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Air Command, told a gathering of journalists that as many as 5,000 targets have been identified. He, however, said that terrorists may have fled from existing camps to safer hideouts.

The Air Marshal made it clear that war was only the last option.

"Any developed nation does not go to war instantly...the matter should be solved first through diplomacy and then with an appeal to the international community and if all this fails, war is the last resort, Barbora, who commands the strategic J&K sector, said.

At an interaction with the Journalists Union of Assam, he said "we are ready for any challenge".

Ajmal Kasab to confess live on TV: Report

2008-12-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

Apparently looking to call off Pakistan’s bluff in front of the international community, investigators are now looking at the possibility of a worldwide live broadcast of Ajmal Kasab’s confession on his role in the Mumbai attacks and also reveal details about his antecedents.

What has precipitated thinking towards such a bold step, as claimed by leading English daily, is Pakistan’s continuous rejection of all concrete evidences provided by India about the complicity of Pak based groups in the recent terror attacks.

Moreover, India has also revealed names of all the ten terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks.

A high-level meeting was convened in New Delhi, yesterday, to look at the pros and cons of bringing Kasab live on TV and as per reports senior intelligence officials and home ministry officials are positively inclined towards the bold gambit.

However, the final decision lies with the Centre and reports claim that it will announce the date –when Kasab will be live on TV- shortly.

The development comes even as Kasab’s remand ends today and is due to be produced in court. Incidentally, he still has no lawyer as many of those who came forward to defend later though otherwise owing to the angry reactions from rightwing organisations.

This would be first such move of its kind by any country in which the live confession of a terrorist will be broadcast live across the world. To make the confession comprehensible, Kasab’s confession will also have English subtitles.

The move reflects Indian government’s frustration about the defiant attitude of Pakistan, even as India faced the worst ever terror strike. Moreover, the move also aims to further corner the Yousuf Raja Gilani government and prove before the international community that Pakistan has repeatedly failed to live up to its commitments against terrorism.

Indian authorities have been providing substantial evidence about the nationality of those who attacked Mumbai and their masterminds but Pakistan has been categorically rejecting to acknowledge the fact that all those involved in the incident were actually its citizens, who were especially trained for the purpose by militant organisations operating from its soil.

आतंक के मुद्दे पर पाक का भारत पर पलटवार

2008-12-24T17:29:00.000-08:00

मुंबई हमले के बाद आतंकवाद के मुद्दे पर चौतरफा दबाव झेल रहे पाकिस्तान ने अब नया राग अलापना शुरू किया है। पाकिस्तान ने भारत में सक्रिय आतंकवादी समूहों को नष्ट करने और उसके द्वारा पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ दुष्प्रचार रोकने के लिए अंतरराष्ट्रीय समुदाय से भारत पर दबाव डालने को कहा है।
'द न्यूज' अखबार की वेबसाइट पर जारी एक रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक पाकिस्तानी विदेशमंत्री मलिक अहमद ने बुधवार को इस संबंध में पाकिस्तानी संसद में एक प्रस्ताव पेश किया जिसे सर्वसम्मति से पारित किया गया।
इस प्रस्ताव में भारत में सक्रिय आतंकवादी समूहों को नष्ट करने और पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ दुष्प्रचार रोकने के लिए अंतरराष्ट्रीय समुदाय से भारत पर दबाव डालने का आग्रह किया गया है। इसके अलावा प्रस्ताव में यह भी कहा गया है कि पाकिस्तान शांति और स्थिरता के साथ-साथ भारत के साथ व्याप्त तनाव भी खत्म करना चाहता है।
प्रस्ताव में कहा गया है कि मुंबई हमला भारत के खुफिया तंत्रों की विफलता का परिणाम है इसलिए उसे पाकिस्तान पर दोषारोपण नहीं करना चाहिए। प्रस्ताव पारित होने के बाद संसद की कार्यवाही स्थगित कर दी गई।
इसी बीच नई दिल्ली में भारत की ओर से कहा गया है कि सऊदी अरब के विदेश मंत्री प्रिंस सउद अल-फैसल के एकदिवसीय भारत दौरे के दौरान पाकिस्तान स्थित आतंकवादी ठिकानों को नष्ट करने के लिए भारत सऊदी अरब की मदद से पाकिस्तान पर दबाव डालेगा। फैसल की भारतीय विदेश मंत्री प्रणब मुखर्जी से मुलाकात होनी है।
उधर, पाकिस्तान के सीनेटरों ने आतंकवाद के खिलाफ लड़ाई में देश की भूमिका की समीक्षा करने और भारत के साथ बढ़ते तनाव को देखते हुए अफगानिस्तान सीमा से सेना हटाने का आग्रह किया है। दैनिक समाचार पत्र 'डॉन' के मुताबिक सीनेटरों ने कराची से 10 लोगों के एक गिरोह के मुंबई जाकर हमला करने के भारत के बेसिर-पैर के आरोप को खरिज कर दिया।
उधर, अमेरिका का कहना है कि मुंबई आतंकवादी हमलों से पाकिस्तान के दूर-दराज के इलाकों में तालिबान के खिलाफ जारी अभियान में गतिरोध उत्पन्न हो गया है। अमेरिकी ज्वांइट चीफ ऑफ स्टॉफ एडमिरल माइक मुलेन ने पाकिस्तान दौरे से स्वदेश लौटते हुए विमान में संवाददाताओं से कहा कि मुंबई हमला सोचा-समझा अभियान था।
उन्होंने कहा कि इस हमले के बाद से पाकिस्तान के कबायली इलाकों में तालिबानी आतंकवादियों के खिलाफ चलाए जा रहे अभियान में गतिरोध उत्पन्न हो गया है। मुलेन के मुताबिक मुंबई हमले से अफगानिस्तान की सीमा से लगे बैजूर में पाकिस्तानी सरकार तालिबानियों के खिलाफ अभियान चला रही थी।
अपने पाकिस्तान प्रवास के दौरान मुलेन ने पाकिस्तानी सेना प्रमुख जनरल अशफाक कियानी और किस्तान की खुफिया एजेंसी इंटर-सर्विसेज इंटेलीजेंस (आईएसआई) के महानिदेशक लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल अहमद शूजा पाशा से मुलाकात कर मुंबई हमले के संदर्भ में चर्चा की। मुलेन ने कहा, "मेरा पाकिस्तान दौरा सकारात्मक और अच्छा रहा। इससे अमेरिका-पाकिस्तान संबंध में निरंतरता बनी रहेगी।"

Merry X-mas and Happy New year

2008-12-24T16:49:00.000-08:00

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Pak claims no record of Ajmal in its national database

2008-12-23T18:10:00.001-08:00

Pakistan, which faces accusations of being in constant denial mode after the Mumbai terror attacks, today claimed it had no record of Ajmal Amir Iman, the lone captured terrorist but promised to respond by tomorrow to his letter seeking legal assistance from it.

An examination of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Pakistan's national database, had provided no records on any national named Ajmal Amir Iman alias Ajmal Kasab, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik told reporters.

"As far as Ajmal Kasab is concerned, NADRA authorities do not have any records of his," Malik said after a meeting with visiting Interpol chief Ronald K Noble here.

Islamabad has not acknowledged that Kasab is Pakistani and has said it is waiting for proof of his citizenship. In an embarassment to the Pakistani government, former premier Nawaz Sharif said last week Kasab is of Pakistani origin.

"Pakistan's High Commission (in New Delhi) has received a letter said to be written by Kasab and we will get it examined by our experts. We will give a detailed response today or tomorrow," Malik said. Kasab has written that all the gunmen involved in the November 26 attack came from Pakistan.

In the letter, a copy of which was sent to Malik yesterday by the Pakistan High Commission, Ajmal had detailed the circumstances of his arrest and sought legal assistance from the Pakistan government.

Malik claimed that the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the banned terrorist group blamed for the Mumbai attacks, did not "exist now" and the government would decide on proscribing its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) if investigations proved it was involved in terrorist activities.

Nobody wants war but situation worrisome: PM

2008-12-23T18:08:00.000-08:00

Downplaying apprehensions of an armed conflict with Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said nobody is talking about a war but noted that the situation was worrisome.

Describing the terror strikes in Mumbai as an "attack on India's ambitions to become an economic power", he asked the world community to make Pakistan dismantle the "terror machine" existing on its soil.

"The issue is not war. The issue is terror and territory in Pakistan being used to provoke, to aid and abet terrorism.

I think that is the issue, the issue is not war. Nobody wants war," he told reporters outside Parliament when asked for his comments on the current stand-off with Pakistan in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks.

His comments were clearly aimed at putting to rest the fears of a war, a day after Pakistan Air Force conducted aerial manoeuvres in major cities to demonstrate its preparedness for military conflict.

Without naming Pakistan, Singh told a conclave of over 120 Indian Ambassadors and High Commissioners here that "non-state actors were practising terrorism aided and abetted by state establishments."

India is seeking peace and stability in its neighbourhood but the situation was "worrisome", Singh told the first-of-its-kind conference called to apprise envoys on how to present New Delhi's case across the world in the current scenario.

Referring to terror strikes in Mumbai, he said these were "an attack on the country's ambitions to emerge as an economic power" but "India would not accept a situation where terrorism is used as an instrument to cripple India's economy or the values it stands for."

Mumbai attack: US backs Indian proof of Pak hand

2008-12-23T18:05:00.000-08:00

The US has endorsed the evidence gathered by Indian agencies about

the complicity of Pakistan's state actors in the terrorist
attack on Mumbai, in what can
result in stepped up international pressure on the Zardari regime to take action against the mentors of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Top US intelligence official John Michel McConell is learnt to have expressed complete satisfaction with the strength of India's case against Pakistan, based on FBI's examination of call records of satellite and cellular phones used by Mumbai attackers and their Pakistan-based handlers.

McConell confirmed that one of the numbers logged on the satellite phone the terrorists used while navigating their way to Mumbai belonged to known Lashkar terrorist Abu Al Qama. Indian intelligence officials are familiar with the satellite phone that Qama uses. The US, using its leverage with Sharjah where Thuraya is headquartered, corroborated this fact, and also the fact that Qama was passing instructions to the attackers from Pakistani soil.

India's case about the Pakistan hand has also been borne out by the data the Americans retrieved, using their superior technology, from the damaged mobile phones used by terrorists while they were carrying out the massacres in Taj and Trident hotels. The phones had got severely damaged in the fire that broke out during the gunfight.

"We are committed to get to the bottom of this case," US officials are learnt to have told their Indian counterparts during their interaction spread over 48 hours.

The Americans are planning to confront the Pakistanis, still in denial mode, with the evidence that their own investigation has thrown up. Sources said the UK has also passed on electronic intercepts, described by a senior source as "one clinching piece of evidence", to India.

McConell, along with FBI officials who have been camping in India in connection with the probe into 26/11, has held meetings with home minister P Chidambaram, national security advisor M K Narayanan and senior Indian intelligence officials.

Indian experience with the US intelligence agencies has so far not been satisfactory, with the latter winking at evidence against Pakistan because of its dependence on Islamabad for success in Afghanistan. Indian agencies, however, feel that the response could be different this time because of the fact that Mumbai casualties included US nationals.

The FBI is mandated to take the probe to the logical culmination, which will include charging the names of Lashkar leaders and their collaborators in ISI that come up in the probe.

India hands over Qasab's letter to Pakistani envoy

2008-12-22T17:46:00.000-08:00

India on Monday handed over letter written by Mumbai terror attack accused Ajmal Aamir Qasab to Pakistan High Commission.

He has sought a meeting with the Pakistani High Commission.

Ajmal Aamir Qasab, the lone terrorist captured alive in the 26/11 attacks had admitted to being a Pakistani citizen, and asked his government for legal aid.

Qasab had written a letter to the Pakistan High Commission, in which he admits to his role in the 26/11 attacks, and talks about his associates and handlers.

Pakistan has so far refused to acknowledge that the men behind Mumbai's terror strikes were from that country.

Qasab's letter could embarrass the Pakistani government which has maintained that the men behind the Mumbai terror strikes were not from Pakistan.

Qasab has named more than 4 handlers in Pakistan, including ex-Pakistani army officers who trained his module.

Anti terror squad quizzes 3 more army men in Malegaon blast case

2008-12-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

After arresting Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit in connection with Malegaon blasts, the Maharashtra Anti terror squad (ATS) on Monday interrogated three more army personnel in connection with the case in Mumbai.

"Three of our personnel below the officer rank were interrogated by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with the September 29 blasts in Mumbai," army sources said here.

The personnel interrogated today include one Junior Commissioned Officer and two jawans, the sources said adding all the three have served with Purohit at one time or the other in the army and in Military Intelligence (MI).

The interrogation was done in Mumbai cantonment in the presence of Army officials, sources said.

Purohit, arrested in early November by the ATS, is the first army officer to have been apprehended for his alleged involvement in a terror case.

A couple of retired officers, including Maj Ramesh Upadhayay, have also been arrested by the ATS in the case.

The sources said there was no formal request from ATS to interrogate with the trio but "we are cooperating on our own with the ATS in the case as we want the truth to come out".

The ATS, the sources said, has not levelled any charges against these men.

"Our men have not been arrested and the ATS has not levelled any charges against them for their involvement in the blasts and the interrogation is part of ATS' investigations in to the case," they said.

Any more questions for Dravid?

2008-12-22T17:43:00.001-08:00

Well, ‘The Wall’ finally stood tall. And tall in a way that it thwarted any attempt of his critics to penetrate or demolish it.

A century at a time when the world would not be missing even ONE chance to criticize him. Believe me when I say that I had no doubts about it. It was just a matter of time before the ‘Club 10000’ member did what he does best- frustrate the opposition and score for the nation with grace and elegance. He has given us, at least me, and himself, a respite, a sense of liberation. He is one cricketer, who seamlessly blends an old-world class approach with new-age professionalism.

It was emotional, truly. A chill went down my spine and I stood up to clap and salute this unsung Master. Before that my heart was pounding. Will he, won’t he? It was out of fear and not out of my trust in his capabilities. I feared his fading into history when he still has years of cricket in him. I have been an ardent fan of Dravid and his approach to his game for long now. For me it was special. It is not easy arguing with many and explaining to them that 10 years and 10000 runs in both formats cannot simply be fluke. When I find it difficult tackling his critics, imagine what he might be going through over the past months. I sighed as he played one off his pads to bring up the much, much needed century.

It wasn’t as if it was his first or anything. He has done it before and he will continue to do so for long. But what was special about this innings was the spirit of this warrior - the never dying spirit, the I-can-do-it and I-will-do-it attitude. He is a man who has never shirked the enormous responsibility that he has always been loaded with. He has never moaned, he has not cried. Instead, he has carried the load of the expectations of over a billion people with a smile.

And even now, the man of few emotions said, “It’s during this time that you realise that so many people want you to do well. Some of the people didn’t need to do that but still they supported me. I felt as if so many people have gone through the journey with me”. Now that is a true gentleman.

To overcome the worst phase of one’s career with a fighting century and displaying no emotions except raising his bat to applaud the salutation by the crowd and the dressing room, it can only be Dravid. He is not a player who would jump up in the air throwing his fist and smile as if advertising for a toothpaste brand. He knows how much he has contributed to his country, our country. He knew he could do it. It was just a matter of time.

But impressive as his statistics are, they can never represent the extent of his importance to India, or the beauty of his batsmanship.

BOI, BOB cut lending rates

2008-12-22T17:42:00.001-08:00

after India's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) slashed its interest rates; two more public-sector banks-- Bank of India and Bank of Baroda today reduced their lending, deposit rates from January 1.

Both banks today reduced their prime lending rates by 0.75 percent each to 12.5 percent.

The reduction in PLR will provide relief to both the existing and new customers of these banks including education, auto and home loan borrowers, bank officials told reporters here.

The banks have also reduced their deposit rates in the range of 0.5-1 percent across various maturities.

Other state-owned lenders, which have cut their interest rates in the recent period include Union Bank of India and Canara Bank.

In the private sector, the country's largest housing loan financer, Housing Development Finance Corporation and leading private sector lender, Bank of Rahasthan had cut their lending rates last week.

BoR today announced a cut in its deposit rates except in the 91-120 days maturity.For 91-120 days maturity deposits, customers will now get 1.25 percent more interest effective from December 22, the bank said.

State Bank of India had announced a 0.75 percent cut in its prime lending rate and a 0.25-1 percent reduction in deposit rates last week.

With this, State Bank's PLR now stands reduced at 12.25 percent.

Terror infrastructure in Pak a threat to the world: Pranab

2008-12-22T17:40:00.000-08:00

A first of its kind meeting of every Indian ambassador abroad was held in Delhi on Monday at a time when India is looking for international help in the crackdown on Pakistan.

In his strongest statement so far, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told over 120 Indian envoys that terrorist groups based in Pakistan are the biggest threat to the world's stability.

"This terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan is the greatest terrorist danger to peace and security of the entire civilised world. There has been some effort so far by the international community, but this is not enough," said Pranab.

"While we continue to persuade the international community and Pakistan, we are also clear that ultimately, it is we who have to deal with this problem. We will take all measures necessary as we deem fit to deal with the situation," he said.

I was completely devastated after Mumbai attacks: AR Rahman

2008-12-22T17:38:00.000-08:00

AR Rahman and music are synonymous. The mellifluous magic that the maestro composes enchants the very being of listeners across the world. His soulful music is a balm in these chaotic times, when India wreathes in pain after repeated terror attacks on its integrity and bloodbath in the name of region and religion.

And now he has won the prestigious Golden Globe nomination for his compositions for the internationally acclaimed ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’

In an exclusive interview to Spicezee.com’s Swati Chaturvedi in ‘Kahiye Janaab’, AR Rahman shares his views on these turbulent times, his music and much more.

Swati: Being an artist, you are all the more sensitive to the problems that are plaguing the nation. What is your reaction to the terror attacks in Mumbai?

Rahman: I was completely devastated. The whole week was very bad. I had to finish a film. I finished the film and left for America. I was going through stress and extreme sadness. It took me almost a week to return back to my normal self.

Swati: Are you sad or angry after the attacks?

Rahman: Both. I am angry because it is inhuman to take lives. People who are responsible for our protection (read politicians) should not only inform and alert everyone, but also provide proper security. Rich or poor, every human being is entitled to proper security against such attacks. The good thing is that people are mature, they understand the problem and are not getting involved in the blame game. People are trying to tackle the problem intellectually. It’s important for educated masses to understand and work towards preventing such terror acts in the future.

Swati: You feel that the country is developing but do you think, somewhere the politicians are holding back the nation?

Rahman: No. India is a young country. Indians are strong and are progressing. Nobody can hold us back. I firmly believe that Indians are sensible and spiritual. Of late, the understanding has become better. We know what is true and what is false.

Swati: Your good friend Aamir Khan refrained from celebrating Eid. Did you celebrate Eid?

Rahman: No Eid this time. Even my wife called up and said that she doesn’t feel like celebrating Eid. There was so much sadness everywhere.

Swati: Of late, Islam is being labeled. What is the message of Islam for you?

Rahman: I became spiritual because of Sufism and it is a universal phenomenon. Sufism has followers from all religion. Because of Sufism, I have got success. India is a blessed place; even the Prophet has said this. Religion should not be labeled. Education is the message of Islam. Everyone should get proper education so that they gain wisdom.

Swati: How much does the political situation in the country affect your music?

Rahman: It actually kind of exhausted my energy. I had to take a break. I was in shock last week, but music is my medicine. Music transports and heals you. I feel that I am blessed and I want to share the same feeling with others. That’s why I don’t take hiatus from work because it is work that rejuvenates me. It is great to give something as beautiful as music to others.

Swati: Your song ‘Rubaru’ was very well received. Please tell us about it.

Rahman: ‘Rubaru’ means light and it is relevant in these dark days. Right now, there is so much confusion, negative feelings and anger. As an artist, what you can give is love and free hugs.

Swati: You have got stupendous success as a music composer. Which is personally your favourite album?

Rahman: My latest Nokia Connections album gave me a lot of creative freedom. I did what I wanted to do. The song collection in the album is diverse. There are songs, which have never been done before. I have used a different style. The internal feedback that I have received is very good. Let’s see what people have to say about it. The compositions include a song from old Tamil literature, a love song - Jiah se Jiah, Punjabi song – Dil and other tracks.

Swati: Your music is becoming more meditative with age. Your take on this…

Rahman: I became old when I was 12 due to the circumstances in my family. May be I am getting younger now.

Swati: What is your inspiration while composing a romantic song?

Rahman: Love is definitely a phenomenon that transports you into a different world. Love is such a feeling that is beautiful. Even if a person is coming to murder you, love can change that person.

The interview ended on such a ‘lovely’ note, the maestro even crooned ‘Jiah se Jiah’ love song.

Antulay issue rocks Parliament for third day

2008-12-22T17:35:00.000-08:00

Minister A R Antulay on Monday kept up his defiant stance and rejected opposition charge that his statement on Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare's killing has weakened India's case vis a vis Pakistan.

"I knew that it was right, when I had made the statement. I gave the statement because it was right. Antuly never gave wrong statement," he told reporters while replying to a query on what he felt after Congress leader Digvijay Singh's backing to him.

Antulay refused to accept that his statements gave Pakistan a chance to weaken India's claims. He accused the media of twisting his statements saying, "the way unfortunately media presented my statements before the people by twisting them gave Pakistan a chance..."

He, however, refused to answer a question on whether there is any confusion in Congress with different party leaders giving different reactions to his remarks.

Describing himself a "soldier of Congress," the union Minister said," I am neither an office bearer of the party nor its spokesman. Better you ask this to them?"

The Union Minister also dismissed the charge that his remarks affected the all party unity on terror saying, "No, not all. This is entirely wrong".

"I told them (BJP)laughingly why you are repeating my name in stead of Sri Ram. I am not such a big person." he added.

The minister, however, stuck to his earlier statements doubting why the ATS chief Hemant Karkare and two other police officers went towards Cama Hospital and not towards Hotel Taj and Oberai and Nariman House, where terrorists had struck in a bigger way.

"I had raised two points. Who called Karkare when he was eating and why after visiting the Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus railway station he went Southwards where Cama hospital is located and not northwards where Taj and Oberai are located," he said answering to a query on whether he still sticks to the statements he made earlier.

Earlier in the morning, Antulay had said "Nothing is in anyone's hand", when asked whether his party was contemplating action against him on his remarks.

Antulay himself remained defiant dismissing the charge that his statement has weakened India's case vis a vis Pakistan.

"I knew that it was right when I had made the statement. I gave the statement because it was right. Antulay never gave wrong statement," he told reporters.

He accused the media of twisting his statements saying, "the way unfortunately media presented my statements before the people by twisting them gave Pakistan a chance."

Sources close to him said the minister would also like to clarify his position in the Lok Sabha, if permitted by the party.

Meanwhile, the BJP and its ally JD(U) spoke in different voices like two Left leaders also giving out different views.

BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu described the Congress stand on A R Antulay's statement on ATS chief Hemant Karkare's death as a "trial balloon".

"Government is sending a trial balloon saying what is wrong in Antulay's statement. A former Pakistan PM is saying the terrorist (Amir Ajmal Kasab) involved in the Mumbai attack is from Pakistan.

"But a minister here is raising doubts. It (Antulay's statement) is an anti-national statement," senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in the Parliament complex here.

But an MP of the JD(U), an ally of the BJP, said he supported Antulay's demand for an inquiry into Karkare's killing. "This is a feeling of not only Muslims but also the entire country," he said and asked Congress party not to take any action against Antulay.

The CPI and CPI(M) differed in their approach towards Antulay.

Terming his remarks "unnecessary", CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat said that Antulay should not have made the statements.

CPI leader D Raja, however, said "If a senior minister raises any issue, the government cannot brush it away. The government must come out clear on these issues."

"He (Antulay) has raised some issues. He is a senior minister and handling a very sensitive portfolio. It is for the government to explain. Why Congress is speaking in different voices?" Raja asked.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar, on being repeatedly asked to explain his stand on the issue, said: "When investigation is already on into the issue, why should any one say something on it. I do not think anybody should speak in between."

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had a word of caution against raking up the issue further.

"This issue should not be raked up in national interest. Antulay is from Maharashtra. There is Maharashtra government, which must have some knowledge on it."

Sensex closes above 10K as inflation plunges

2008-12-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

benchmark Sensex on BSE on Thursday closed above the crucial 10,000-point level for the first time in six weeks on buying sparked by a sharp fall in inflation which fuelled hopes of cut in lending rates amid anticipation of a second stimulus package to boost the economy.

The bellwether index steadily rose, except for a brief period in the morning session, and and closed with gains of 361.14 points at 10,076.43, a level last seen on November 5.

Interest rate sensitive realty and banking shares soared 7.27 percent and 7.06 percent respectively on expectations of lending rates coming down.

Experts said with the rate of price rise declining sharply to nine-month low of 6.84 percent for the week ended December 6, the focus may shift to back growth from taming high inflation.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also shot up by 106.40 points at 3060.75.

Marketmen said the fall in inflation was greater than expected. They said buying got further momentum at the fag-end after the finance ministry said that falling inflation rate would result in further lowering of interest rates.

Reports of government raising the cap for tax rebate on interest paid on home loans in the second stimulus package made realty stocks attractive.

India calls off Pakistan cricket tour

2008-12-18T18:22:00.002-08:00

The Mumbai terror attacks finally took its toll on Indo- Pak cricketing ties as the Indian cricket board on Thursday cancelled 2009 tour of Pakistan on instructions from its government.

Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have been badly strained since last month's terror attacks, which India blames on Islamic militants based in Pakistan.
India were scheduled to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match during the tour, from January 6 to February 19, although there had already been grave doubts about it going ahead over security concerns.

"We received a communication from the government stating that in the present circumstances, it is not feasible to tour Pakistan," Ratnakar Shetty, chief administrative officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said, without elaborating.

He said no discussions had taken place over whether the series could instead have been played at neutral venues.

Shetty denied that the decision could wreck the next Cricket World Cup, which is meant to be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"It will not affect the 2011 World Cup as that is a different tournament," he said, adding he believed that relations between the Indian and Pakistani cricket boards would not suffer due to India scrapping the tour.

But Pakistan cricket officials said they were unhappy with Thursday's announcement.

"We take this decision as disappointing -- something which will hurt Pakistan cricket badly -- but it was beyond our control," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt told agency.

PCB chief operating officer Salim Altaf said the tour cancellation would cause serious financial harm to the sport in Pakistan.

"We can safely say that it will be a loss of 25-30 million dollars, but I fear it could be more because in our television rights deal, tours by Indian teams are priced very high, higher than Australia and England," Altaf said.

Former Indian captain Kapil Dev welcomed the move, which he said was expected, with Pakistan hoping to draft in Sri Lanka as a replacement.

"We have to respect the government's decision," he was quoted as saying by a news agency.

"Obviously, the government must have decided against the tour taking into account enough good reasons for it. The need of the hour is to accept the government's decision."

Anil Kumble, who retired from international cricket last month, agreed the turbulent relations between the two countries had left no other choice.

"It is a good decision under the circumstances. We had known that we won't be travelling to Pakistan in the present situation," he said.

Indian Sports Minister Manohar Singh Gill had said last week he was not in favour of the team playing in Pakistan when "people from their soil were indulging in mass murder in India."

It was to have been the fifth series between the two countries since 2004, when cricket ties resumed after a 15-year gap caused by cross-border tensions.

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar had said it would be "impossible" for India to tour Pakistan in the current climate.

"Diplomatically, there has been a fall-out between the two nations and I don't see why cricket won't follow suit. So at the moment it is impossible to go ahead with the tour," he told a television channel recently.

The tour was first thrown into doubt in early November when the Indian government denied permission to the national junior hockey team to visit Pakistan because of safety fears.

Australia cancelled a Test tour of Pakistan in March and the International Cricket Council (ICC) put off the high-profile Champions Trophy there in September due to security concerns.

The attacks in Mumbai left 172 people dead, including nine gunmen, and wounded more than 300.

India's first, BrahMos launched in vertical configuration

2008-12-18T18:22:00.001-08:00

BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with a strike-range of 290 kms was on Thursday successfully test-fired in a vertical launch configuration for the first time by the Indian Navy.

With this launch, BrahMos has become the world's first and only supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from both vertical and inclined positions from naval platforms. "BrahMos missile was successfully test fired in vertical-launch configuration from an Indian Navy ship in the Bay of Bengal today," Defence Ministry sources said.

The test, the sources said, was carried out at midday from a moving Rajdoot class warship. The vertical launcher used in the test has been designed and developed by the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Corporation.

"The test has proved and demonstrated the new universal vertical launcher designed and developed by the Corporation," they said. "The mission objectives of the test were fully achieved," the sources said.

The launch, carried out in presence of senior Navy officers and DRDO scientists, will give a boost to the future deployment of BrahMos in the naval platforms, they said.

"This will give a boost to ongoing programme of future ship installation for the missile. It will be installed in vertical launch configuration in all the future ships of the Indian Navy. This will include the both ships under construction and the ones who come back to shipyards for refurbishment," the sources added.