New Delhi, July 06: With attacks on Indian students creating widespread concern in India, Australia Monday underlined its policy of ‘zero tolerance for racism’ and announced a slew of steps, including review of a legislation, to ensure the safety of international students.
New Delhi, July 06: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the premier research and education body here that also caters to 8,000 patients every day, topped the list of medical institutes benefiting from the union budget announced Monday.
India’s health budget has gone up by nearly Rs.4,000 crore to Rs.21,113.33 crore ($4.35 billion) with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee giving special emphasis to rural healthcare.
Of the total health budget, AIIMS got a major chunk as it was allocated Rs.677 crore, up from last fiscal’s Rs.573.42 crore.
New Delhi, July 06: India Monday pegged its expenditure outlay at Rs.44,528 crore (Rs.445.28 billion) for both school and higher education which is around 20 percent more than the last fiscal.
According to the union budget 2009-10 proposals, while school education gets over Rs.29,099 crore (Rs.290.99 billion), the higher education bags Rs.15,429 crore (Rs.154.29 billion). The figures include both planned and unplanned outlay. Last fiscal, the total budget outlay for education was Rs.37,366 crore.
New Delhi, July 06: The Delhi government Monday said before the Delhi High Court that private schools should also give paternity leave to their employees just as the state-run institutions do.
The court was hearing a petition by Chandramohan Jain, who had opposed his salary cut by Bagrodia Public School when he was on paternity leave as his wife had given birth through a caesarean operation in December 2008. After the delivery, both the mother and the child remained hospitalized for some days.
The school deducted his salary on the ground that it had no provision for paternity leave.
Bangalore/Hyderabad, July 06: India’s software sector Monday welcomed the extension of tax holiday on export profits to 2010-11 from this fiscal, rationalisation of multiplicity of taxes on packaged software and abolition of fringe benefit tax (FBT) but felt that the increase in minimum alternate tax (MAT) would have adverse impact.
New Delhi, July 06: The government has earmarked Rs.15,740.02 crore ($3.2 billion) for the two state-run telecom majors in the budget for 2009-10 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in parliament Monday.
According to Mukherjee, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will get Rs.14,015 crore as budgetary allocation, while Rs.1,725.02 crore will be provided to fund the expenses of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL).
New Delhi, July 06: New cases of swine flu were reported Monday, taking the total figure of the influenza A H1N1 cases in the country to 145 so far, health officials said here.
‘Of the 939 persons tested so far in the country, 145 have been tested positive for the influenza A (H1N1),’ a statement issued here said.
Of the total cases, 103 people have been discharged from hospital after treatment.
The new cases Monday were reported from Delhi (2), Jalandhar (2), Mumbai (2), Kochi (1), Bangalore (1) and Gurgaon (1).
Hyderabad, July 06: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Monday hailed the union budget as the ‘best in the most difficult times’ and said it would greatly benefit his state.
The chief minister congratulated Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for presenting a progressive budget and termed it farmer friendly.
YSR, as the chief minister is popularly known, said the budget’s focus clearly was on infrastructure and inclusive growth.
Hyderabad, July 06: The Sikh community of Andhra Pradesh today performed a special “Ardas’’ (a Sikh prayer that is performed for a significant task) for rains across the country more in particular for the State.
The Ardas was performed by Giani Gurbachan Singhji, Jathedar of Akal Takht Saheb, the Supreme temporal authority for Sikhs, during the 414th birthday celebrations of Sixth Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Hargobind Sahebji held at Maharana Pratap Function Hall, Amberpet here today.
Hyderabad, July 06: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) will develop Logistic Hubs/Truck Terminals in the metropolitan area abutting the national highways.
According to the decision taken at the executive meeting of HMDA held recently, the Logistic Hubs were proposed as part of the master plan for the Hyderabad Metropolitan Area. The hubs will offer onestop shop solution for the entire logistics requirements of the companies.
Hyderabad, July 06: After the recommendation comes implementation. As far as the Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) is concerned, that would be the agenda for Monday’s rendezvous with the Chief Minister as they discuss the school fee hike issue with Y S Rajashekhar Reddy.
The meeting, scheduled to be held at the Chief Minister’s Camp Office in the morning hours would see a delegation of the private school parents take their agenda to the next logical step of progression.
Hyderabad, July 06: Even as the Fee Regulatory Committee, which was set up in order to curb the exorbitant fee hikes in private schools, has suggested in its report that the increased tuition fee collected at the time of admission from the parents would be adjusted for the next term, parents smell a rat.
Private unaided schools
Hyderabad, July 06: Several BC associations stated that they would oppose share to Muslims in the 34 percent quota in the GHMC, municipal and local body elections. They wanted the Government to withdraw an order giving share to the Muslims in BC reservations.
In a meeting chaired by BC Welfare Association president R Krishnaiah here today, the leaders of the associations stated that the spirit of the BC reservations would be beaten if the Muslims were given the share.
Vijayawada, July 06: In continuance of the attacks on women in the State, another woman, this time a final year engineering student, was found murdered in Krishna district.
Hepsiba (22), a final year engineering student of Nova College of Engineering near Ibrahimpatnam of Krishna district, was today found murdered in a pond near Krishnayapalem village of Managalagiri mandal in Guntur district.
The girl was found tied and put in a gunny sack and dumped in a pond near Krishnayapalem village.
Hyderabad, July 06: Stating that he was against Kuppam type of cooperative agriculture system which was a replica of corporate farming, Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy today pitched for the proposed cooperative agriculture system in the State.
In an open letter to the farmers, he stated that the sole aim of the Government was to make agriculture more remunerative. He wrote this letter after having interaction with the agriculture experts before leaving for East Godavari district here today.
Hyderabad, July 06: The Praja Rajyam Party demanded the Telugu Desam party to prove the allegations made by it that the it had colluded with the Congress in the last elections.
Speaking to media here today, party Political Affairs Committee member C Ramachandraih and spokesperson V Padma condemned the TD allegations that they have colluded with the Congress to defeat the Grand Alliance.
They stated that it was the habit of the TD president N Chandrababu Naidu to speak with many tongues.
Dhaka, July 06: Bangladesh government today approved a law to ensure lifetime security for the family members of the country’s founding father ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman including her daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“The cabinet today approved in principle the proposed Father of the Nation’s Family Members’ Security Act-2009 to ensure their foolproof safety,” Prime Minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters.
Hyderabad, July 06: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Monday hailed the union budget as the ‘best in the most difficult times’ and said it would greatly benefit his state.
The chief minister congratulated Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for presenting a progressive budget and termed it farmer friendly.
YSR, as the chief minister is popularly known, said the budget’s focus clearly was on infrastructure and inclusive growth.
Florida, July 07: Two monorail trains crashed yesterday in the Magic Kingdom section of Walt Disney World, killing one train’s operator.
Disney said it was the first fatal crash in the monorail’s 38-year history in the park.
Tragic: The monorail at Disney World, Florida.
Disney’s senior spokesman Michael Griffin identified the driver as Austin Wuennenberg (21).
The transit system, which shuttles thousands of visitors around the sprawling resort each day, was shut down while authorities investigated the holiday weekend wreck.
Bhubaneswar, July 06: Angered over reduced allocation of funds for ongoing projects in the Railway budget, the ruling BJD in Orissa today called a statewide two-hour ‘rail-roko’ tomorrow.
“The rail roko will be held from 10:00 am to noon tomorrow to protest the Railway budget which ignored Orissa’s interests,” BJD general secretary Narendra Swain said.
Stating that Railway minister Mamata Banerjee allocated only Rs 715.22 Crore in the budget against last year’s allocation of Rs 949.34 crore, Swain said this showed the Centre’s “negligence” towards the state.
Patna, July 06: Describing the union budget as “direction less”, actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha today said it has totally ignored Bihar as well as the welfare of the common man.
“Despite Congress professing that it represents the ‘aam admi’, the budget presented by Union Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has totally ignored the welfare of the common man,” Sinha told PTI over phone from UAE.
Chennai, July 06: As racist attacks against Indian students continue, a ten-member delegation from Australian universities will be conducting ‘Educational Roadshows’ across the country from July nine.
The delegation, including top police officials, would be holding roadshows to attract Indian students to Australia, country’s Consul General Aminur Rahman told reporters here.
The team would visit 13 cities in three weeks, he said.
London, July 06: The virus has swept through the UK since April, infecting thousands of people although most have suffered mild symptoms.
Here is a timeline:
* April 24: The Health Protection Agency says it is monitoring a deadly swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States after more than 60 people die after contracting the virus.
* April 26: Iain and Dawn Askham, of Polmont, near Falkirk, are confirmed as the first UK cases of swine flu after returning from their honeymoon in Mexico.
Washington, July 06: Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe said there has been “something really incestuous” about the idea of him dating co-star Emma Watson.
The 19-year-old actor said that while a relationship between him and Watson, 19, who plays Hermione Granger, would be “everything the fans ever wanted”, it was just not happening.
But he said the teenage stars of the boy wizard films were all “unbelievably horny” between the filming of the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
–Agencies
Ghaziabad, July 07: A 12-year-old boy was crushed to death by a tractor trolley here Monday, officials said. Following the accident, angry residents vandalised a police post and damaged vehicles, alleging that the police had helped the tractor driver to escape.
The accident occurred around 2 p.m. Monday near Tila Mor police post in Sahibabad area of Ghaziabad, police said.