Month: February 2013

Chidambaram to present India’s 82nd budget, personal 8th

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Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was set to present India’s 82nd national budget in the Lok Sabha Thursday that will be the eighth such personal exercise for him — two short of the record of 10 set by former prime minister Morarji Desai.

Since independence in August 1947, the country has seen a total of 25 ministers hold the finance portfolio. It has also seen 81 budgets — 65 normal annual budgets, 12 interim budgets and four special-occasion budgetary measures, also called mini-budgets.

Good for India if Dhoni bats at No. 6: Dravid

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Former India skipper Rahul Dravid on Wednesday suggested that Mahendra Singh Dhoni should consistently bat at number six in Tests as it can potentially change the complexion of the side in abroad series.

Dhoni batted at number six in the first Test against Australia and went on to score a game-changing knock of 224 in the first innings.

It was after two years that Dhoni played at number six as the last time Indian skipper played at this position was in February 2010 against South Africa in Nagpur.

J&K govt not interested in establishing Panchayati Raj: AJKPC

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An apex body of Panchayats on Wednesday alleged that Jammu and Kashmir government is “not sincere” in its efforts to protect Panches and Sarpanches and wanted them to resign to bring an end to the institution’s functioning in the state.

“The state government is not sincere in providing security to Panches and Sarpanches as they don’t want to establish Panchayati Raj system in J&K,” Chairman, All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), Shafiq Mir said.

Mamata visits Kolkata market fire site, announces compensation

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited the Kolkata market fire site on Wednesday, announced a compensation of Rs. two lakh each to the next of kin of those who had died.

“The state government will give Rs. 2 lakh to the kin of those who died. Those injured will be given Rs. 50,000,” she told those present at the site of the devastating fire.

Banerjee said that Kolkata Police and fire brigade would investigate the matter and submit report to the government in three days.

Banerjee further assured to provide all support to those living in godowns and dingy shops.

Youth from Hyderabad held in J&K

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A 36-year-old man from Hyderabad was detained for questioning after he was found roaming in “suspicious” circumstances in Ramban district and a Saudi Arabia passport was also recovered from him.

“One youth of Hyderabad was held while he was roaming under suspicious circumstances in Ramban area last evening,” Deputy Inspector general (DIG) Ramban-Doda-Kishtwar range, Gareeb Dass told a news agency.

Sim-cards and Saudi Arabian currency were also found from Mohammad Salahuddin’s possession, the officer said.

J&K Legislature session likely to be stormy

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The nearly month-long budget session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature, beginning Thursday, is likely to be a stormy affair with the Opposition all set to corner the NC-led government on a host of issues including Afzal Guru’s hanging and killing of sarpanchs.

The 26-day-long session will commence with Governor NN Vohra’s address to the joint sitting of both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislaive Council.

56 cases of sexual harassment in Navodaya, KVs

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Fifty-six cases of sexual harassment have been reported in the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) since 2010, government said on Wednesday.

This information was given by Minister of State in HRD Ministry Shashi Tharoor in a written response to a question in Lok Sabha. According to the information given by Tharoor, there have been 14 such cases in the NVS of which charges had been proved and services terminated in one case while investigations were on in the remaining cases.

Life in Iraq 10 years on not as I hoped: Tony Blair

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Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has said life in Iraq in the present times is not what he hoped it would be when he opted to invade 10 years ago. Blair said there had been “significant improvements” but that “it is not nearly what it should be”, pointing in particular to on-going terror attacks, reports the BBC. However, he insisted that the situation under Saddam Hussein was far worse. And he said although the world was not safer than 10 years ago, it was safer than it would be if he had remained.

Pak to be worst hit without negotiated resolution of Afghan crisis: Sherry Rehman

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Pakistan”s ambassador to the US, Sherry Rehman, has said her country is bracing itself for the consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Rehman, while underlining the country”s policy options after 2014, during a policy speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington, said there will be terrible consequences and Pakistan will be the worst hit if there”s no negotiated resolution of the Afghan crisis, reports The Dawn.

Zaheer Abbas believes Pak team will perform better in ODI series against Proteas

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Despite Pakistan”s disappointing performance in the three-match Test series against host South Africa, former Pakistani batsman Zaheer Abbas has said he feels that the visitors could still bounce back in the limited overs” series. Abbas said the batsmen performed horribly in the Test series and it appeared as if the team didn”t prepare for the series at all, reports The News. He said the team needs to be strong not only in the bowling and batting department, but should also perform well in fielding in order to beat a top team like South Africa.

New BlackBerry Z10 smartphone launched in India

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BlackBerry has finally launched its much-awaited smartphone, BlackBerry Z10, in India.

The new phone is the first BlackBerry smartphone to launch with the re-designed, re-engineered, and re-invented BlackBerry 10 platform.

The new operating system offers customers a faster, smarter and smoother experience than any other BlackBerry smartphone they have used before.

GVK to support tennis player Sruta Kirti

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Infrastructure developers GVK Wednesday announced they will sponsor and support Hyderabad tennis player Gunuganti Sruta Kirti from here on.

Sruta Kirti has been ranked No.3 in the Under-14 and No.9 in the Under-16 national circuits and has already won a national title and finished runners-up twice.

In the past, GVK has also sponsored tennis ace Sania Mirza and Yadlapalli Pranjala.

The teenager will display her skills soon at Manila, Philippines, where she has been selected to represent the Indian team March 3-16.

–IAns

Decline in rape conviction cases: Govt

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The conviction rate of rape cases in the country over the years show a declining trend, the government said today.

However, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for the period 2009-11 showed increasing number of rape cases in the country.

-pTi

52 Indians killed abroad in 2012

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A total of 52 Indians living outside the country were killed while another 50 committed suicide during 2012 in foreign lands, the Lok Sabha was informed Wednesday.

In 2010, 58 Indians were killed abroad and 55 committed suicide while in 2011, 38 were killed and 56 committed suicide.

“There does not seem to be an increasing trend in the number of such deaths,” Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said replying to a question in the Lok Sabha.

Deeksha At Gandhi Bhavan Against Terror Attack

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In protest against the recent terror strikes, PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana, along with Youth Congress president Vamsichand Reddy and others observed deeksha at Gandhi Bhavan on Wednesday. He felt happy that the party workers were taking initiatives like organizing blood donation camps and other relief programs for the victims. He lauded the party workers and the citizens for condemning terrorism.

Speaking on the occasion, Botcha exhorted Youth Congress workers to maintain the same spirit and enlighten the people against terrorism. (NSS)

GHMC officials seal shops in Uppal

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Officials of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) inspected commercial establishments at Uppal here on Wednesday morning and warned that they would take legal action if they failed to clear their pending tax arrears.

It was also reported the officials had penalized all those business shops, which failed to pay tax regularly. The officials have sealed the defaulted shops and prevented them from transacting business. (NSS)

Insulin helps in learning and memory

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A new research has demonstrated how the signaling pathway of insulin and insulinlike peptides plays a critical role in helping to regulate learning and memory.

People think of insulin and diabetes, but many metabolic syndromes are associated with some types of cognitive defects and behavioral disorders, like depression or dementia, said Yun Zhang, associate professor of organismic and evolutionary biology, who led the research.

New flexible battery can stretch up to 300 pc of its original size and still function

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Scientists have developed a stretchable lithium-ion battery — a flexible device capable of powering their innovative stretchable electronics.

No longer needing to be connected by a cord to an electrical outlet, the stretchable electronic devices now could be used anywhere, including inside the human body. The implantable electronics could monitor anything from brain waves to heart activity, succeeding where flat, rigid batteries would fail.

Accountability must for rights violations in Sri Lanka: Govt

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In the wake of fresh allegations of rights violations against ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka, India on Wednesday said there should be accountability for such issues but remained evasive on the position it will take at the UN on a resolution against that country.

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid made it clear that India would not intervene directly in Sri Lanka’s sovereign affairs even as members in the Rajya Sabha expressed serious concern over the situation there and demanded an independent credible probe into the killing of LTTE chief Prabhakaran’s 12-year-old son Balachandran.

It’s little difficult to date Barack Obama: Michelle

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Michelle Obama joked last week that it had become difficult to dine out with her husband Barack as his aides are present with him all the time.

She told Jimmy Fallon on Friday that the couple do try to do date nights but it’s a little tough, Politico reported.

She added that Barack has a 20-car motorcade, men with guns, the ambulance is always there, and when so many people are present wherever Barack goes, how romantic can the couple become.

ANI

Charge sheet against brothers for raping minor girl

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A youth and his cousin, arrested for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl after befriending her on a social networking site, were today charge sheeted in a Delhi court.

Delhi Police submitted its charge sheet before Additional Sessions Judge Gulshan Kumar, who took cognisance of the
matter and fixed March 18 for scrutiny of the documents.

Accused were produced from judicial custody. The copy of the charge sheet was supplied to them…. I take cognisance of the charge sheet…. Put up for scrutiny and further proceedings on March 18,” the court said.

Vasco rape: Accused a relative of school head, alleges lawyer

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The Vasco school girl rape case took a new turn today with the lawyer of the victim alleging before a court that a relative of the headmistress was involved in the crime.

Advocate Aires Rodrigues alleged in the court that police were trying to hush up the case to protect the accused,
who is related to the headmistress and was earlier placed under arrest for negligence.

The lawyer said the victim had identified the accused from the photograph, which was shown to her.

The father of the victim has moved the Goa Children’s Court demanding arrest of the school staff who had allegedly

Textile traders observe bandh

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Textile traders across the State on Wednesday observed bandh in protest against the stat government’s policy of imposing VAT.

Nearly 75,000 textile shops were shut down protesting against the government policies affecting the textile trade. The implementation of Sensitive Commodities Act has increased the VAT enormously and the Textile traders association has been protesting against it. (INN)

Two bodies recovered in Indore

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A man and a woman were today found dead at two separate spots here, police said.

The body of Mansingh, a hotel employee was found at Sadar Bazar here while the woman’s disrobed body was recovered
from a water supply pipe at Aarodakot village of Depalpur town under a bridge, they said.

The 35-year-old female’s identity was yet to be ascertained, they said.

The mutilated bodies were sent for postmortem, and they appeared to be murders, police said adding probe was on.

———————————PTI