Month: February 2011

Two Madhya Pradesh officials fired for releasing SIMI members

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Bhopal, February 04: The Madhya Pradesh government Friday removed the principal secretary for jails and suspended the deputy jailer of Khachrod sub-jail in Ujjain over the release of five activists of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

Sudesh Kumar, who was principal secretary for jails, was removed and Ashok Das, principal secretary in home department, given the additional charge. Sanjiv Gandhle, deputy jailer of Khachrod sub-jail in Ujjain district, was also suspended over the release of five SIMI members on Republic Day Jan 26.

Mere membership of banned organisation in not a crime: SC

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New Delhi, February 04: Mere membership of a banned organisation does not make a person criminal unless he or she resorts or incites people to violence, the Supreme Court has ruled.

The ruling assumes significance in the wake of life imprisonment imposed on noted civil liberties activist leader and paediatrician Binayak Sen by a Sessions Court in Chhattisgarh for acting as a courier to a jailed Maoist leader. The conviction has been challenged in the High Court.

Chiranjeevi to take a final call on possible PRP-Cong merger

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Hyderabad, February 04: The Praja Rajyam Party today said it has decided to “work together” with the Congress to achieve its objective of social justice and authorised party president K Chiranjeevi to decide whether to merge the outfit with Congress when he meets AICC chief Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.

Priyanka kisses Shahid Kapoor

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Mumbai, February 04: Seems like Priyanka Chopra’s income tax woes have been a boon for her relationship with Shahid Kapoor. Though they haven’t admitted their love in public, things are definitely getting hotter between Priyanka and Shahid.

Buzz is that Priyanka was mentally and emotionally drained after the income related stories Priyanka refutes tax evasion allegations
tax officials raided her house last week.

When Shahid came to know about the raid, he didn’t think twice before coming her rescue by lending emotional support.

I-T sleuths search premises of TDP leader

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Hyderabad, February 04: Income Tax Department officials on Friday conducted searches in the office and residence of TDP MP Nama Nageswara Rao.

I-T officials raided Nageswara Rao’s construction firm Madhucon in his native Khammam town besides premises at Hyderabad, sources said.

They said the searches which are on since morning, were “routine” in nature wherein the firm’s accounts would be verified to check tax evasion, if any.

Help at hand for men with enlarged breasts

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New Delhi, February 04: Men sweat it out in the gym for a V-shaped torso and muscularity, but many are stumped when it comes to dealing with gynecomestia, or enlarged male breasts. Experts say liposuction and gland excision can solve the problem.

‘Gynecomastia is associated with hormone fluctuations during puberty and it can also develop due to a variety of medical conditions, including testicular cancer,’ Pritam Parichey, president, New Look Cosmetic Laser Center, told IANS.

Post offices to distribute unique ID number

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New Delhi, February 04: Indians will get their unique identification number from post offices.

An agreement to this effect was signed here Friday by the department of post and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which is in charge of the mammoth project.

‘This is not a tactical but a strategic partnership where UIDAI will leverage the existing infrastructure of (post offices) to reach out to the masses,’ said Nandan Nilekani, chairman of UIDAI.

Hrithik Roshan voted sexiest Indian

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Mumbai, February 04: Hrithik has given blockbusters like Krrish, Dhoom 2 and Jodhaa…

more photos »With his Greek God looks, he is undoubtedly one of the most handsome men in Bollywood and it’s no surprise that Hrithik Roshan has been voted the ‘Sexiest Indian’ by Marie Claire magazine.

Only once a year, the magazine graces its cover with a male and this year Hrithik Roshan has been given the honour, Mid-Day reported.

The issue, which is dedicated to Valentine’s Day, has Hrithik talking about love.

Race on for Chandigarh medical institute’s top job

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Chandigarh, February 04: Nearly 100 top names from the medical fraternity in the country are likely to be considered for the coveted post of director of the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here which falls vacant later this year.

Sources in the PGIMER said nearly 100 nominations from leading doctors and top medical institute faculty members are expected as the process for applying for the director’s post has already began.

Nepal president arrives in Chandigarh

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Chandigarh, February 04: Nepal President Ram Baran Yadav, who is to be the chief guest at the 31st annual convocation of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), arrived here Friday.

Yadav, 62, will go to his alma mater, PGIMER, to attend the convocation. He did his post-graduation in internal medicine in 1985.

Yadav is also expected to interact with Nepalese students studying in Chandigarh, and to visit the house of a friend in neighbouring Panchkula town.

NDA regime first deviated on spectrum policy: Sibal

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New Delhi, February 04: Blaming the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government for the current mess over telecom spectrum allotment, Communications Minister Kapil Sibal Friday said deviations in policy had actually started in 2003.

He also wondered why this crucial issue was being sidestepped by the opposition while blaming the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which took charge in May 2004, for the so-called spectrum scam.

Dominican president for deepening ties with India

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New Delhi, Febraury 04: India and the Dominican Republic have so much in common that ties have to be strengthened and deepened, President Leonel Fernandez said here Friday.

‘The Dominican Republic looks forward to strengthening and deepening relations with India, with which we have too much in common, from the struggle for independence, including the fight for pride and dignity,’ Fernandez said at the Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA) here.

Kerala Tourism sweeps PATA travel awards

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New Delhi, February 04: Kerala Tourism walked away with four of the top honours at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Awards 2011 for outstanding achievement.

The awards were announced in Bangkok Thursday.

Kerala Tourism’s new global campaign film ‘Your Moment is Waiting’ bagged three PATA Gold awards.

Kerala, the only Indian state to figure in the PATA awards this year, also picked up one of the four PATA Grand awards in the environment category for its ‘responsible tourism’ efforts in Kumarakom.

Waive octroi, local taxes to curb inflation: PM

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New Delhi, February 04: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday said rising prices presented a strong case for waiving octroi and other local taxes as inflation was posing a ‘serious threat’ to the growth momentum of India and disproportionately affecting the poor.

Addressing a conference of top bureaucrats from states, Manmohan Singh said that India’s economy had been on a ‘high growth trajectory’ after the country weathered the global financial crisis ‘relatively well’.

Sensex ends 441 points lower on Egypt turmoil, high inflation

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Mumbai, February 04: A benchmark index for Indian equities markets Friday closed 441 points lower as a combination of dampening factors, including political turmoil in Egypt and high inflation, weighed on traders, resulting in them dumping stocks.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,450.07 points, closed at 18,008.15 points – down 441.16 points or 2.39 percent from its previous close at 18,449.31 points.

The Sensex at one point, fell below the 18,000-point level.

CWG: Infostrada refutes allegations of non-performance

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Chennai, February 04: Infostrada Sports, the Dutch company contracted by the Delhi Commonwealth Games Organising Committee to provide media services, has refuted allegations of ‘non-performance’ while claiming that the organisers still owed the company $618,000.

In a statement, Infostrada Sports CEO Philip Hennemann said his company put in extra work to ‘rescue’ the Organising Committee in the days leading up to the Delhi Games.

This was when there was a near breakdown of media communication facilities in the first few days of the October event.

Sepak Takraw inspires lighter moments in Goa assembly

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Panaji, February 04: Sepak Takraw, an exciting sport of Malay origin that is an athletic mix between football and volleyball, inspired some hilarious moments in the Goa legislative assembly Friday.

Opposition and ruling benches together spilled into peals of laughter after the sports minister Manohar Azgaonkar during Question Hour, struggled pronouncing ‘S.E.P.A.K T.E.K.R.A.W’, a word which is etymologically southeast Asian in origin.

Has Eden Gardens become a pawn in cricket board politics?

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Kolkata, February 04: Kolkatans could not have imagined even in their worst dreams that they would not watch India playing a World Cup match at Eden Gardens. Unable to fathom the real reason for the decision, they say they can only speculate and feel the hallowed stadium has become a pawn in the power politics of the cricket board.

Heartbroken cricket lovers are now blaming the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for not completing the work in time.

CAT reserves order in case against DGP

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Hyderabad, February 04: The Central Administrative Tribunal on Thursday said it would deliver its order on February 10 on a petition filed by the state which sought deferment of the hearing in the Home secretary Gautam Kumar versus DGP Aravinda Rao case deferred till Supreme Court gives its veridict in a similar case.

CM: Expedite processing of applications

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Hyderabad, February 04: Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today asked the officials to expedite the processing of applications received from the people during Rachabanda on a war footing. He wanted the officers to ensure that no eligible person should be denied benefits of the government schemes.

He said the programme is aimed at helping the poor and the needy who did not get any benefits from welfare schemes despite their eligibility.

EC reviews poll preparedness in Bengal

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Kolkata, February 04: The Election Commission would review every parameters required for conducting a free and fair elections before announcing the schedule for the West Bengal Assembly polls, a senior EC official said today.

“The parameters are requirement of polling personnel, EVMs and their checking, security and central forces to maintain law and order, process of model codes, requirement of polling materials and assessment of expenditure, etc,” Deputy Election Commissioner, Vinod Zutshi told reporters.

Market sinks under macro worries, Nifty slumps 2.37 pc

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Mumbai, February 04: Concerns over macro worries once again overwhelmed the market sentiment as across the board sell-off saw the benchmark CNX Nifty sink to a six month low at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) here.

The 50-share index swung wildly between 5,556.30 and 5,369.05 before concluding at 5,395.75, down 131.00 points or 2.37 per cent over its previous close.

Leaving over the magnificent overnight pull-back rally the session commenced on a quiet note and gave away some of its gains before bouncing back on select heavy weights.

Govt sanctions Rs 1.5 crore to Mohun Bagan

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Kolkata, February 04: The West Bengal government today sanctioned Mohun Bagan Athletic Club Rs 1.5 crore for renovation of a portion of its gallery to mark the centenary of the club winning the IFA Shield for the first time defeating the Britishers.

Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said the decision was taken as the club brought pride to the country on a historic occasion.

Chiru to decide on Congress link

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Hyderabad, February 04: The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) Thursday authorised its president K. Chiranjeevi to take a decision on the proposed alliance with the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh.

A crucial meeting of PRP attended by its senior leaders and 15 legislators at the party office here unanimously passed a resolution authorising Chiranjeevi to take decision in this regard.

PRP leader C. Ramachandraiah told reporters after the meeting that Chiranjeevi would visit New Delhi by this weekend to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and take a decision on the tie-up with that party.

Inflation to come down to 7 pc by March: Montek

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Kolkata, February 04: The overall inflation would come down to seven per cent by March, deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said today.

“The overall rate of inflation will come down to seven per cent by March”, Ahluwalia told reporters at a news conference organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here.

Stating that inflation was a serious problem and the government was aware of it, Ahluwalia said the high food inflation was a “seasonal spike” and would come down.

“But I will not be able to tell you where the food inflation will go”, he said.