Scheme to make Delhi Kerosene-free city launched

 Over 3.5 lakh BPL and poor families will get free LPG cylinders and gas stoves under an ambitious scheme launched by the Delhi Government today to end use of kerosene, which often does not reach the intended beneficiaries.

Launching the scheme announced by her in the 2012-2013 Budget, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said all BPL, AAY and JRC beneficiaries will be covered under the scheme at a cost of over Rs 100 crore which will make Delhi the first kerosene-free city in the country.


“We want Delhi to be eco-friendly. We want Delhiites to make their food in an environment-friendly environment. So, we have decided to give LPG cylinders and gas stoves free of cost. One set costs the Government Rs 3,049 and the kit comes with all accessories like regulator and pipe,” she said.

As a token gesture, Dikshit handed over the kits to 20 beneficiaries among the 200 in the first phase.

In the coming months, all the 3.56 lakh beneficiaries will be provided with fully-filled LPG cylinders and gas stove.

“The scheme can be extended to other poorer sections of society as well. If a poor person wants to avail this scheme, he can contact officers concerned and he will be given the connection,” she said.

Ms. Dikshit said the 3.56 lakh beneficiaries of this scheme were getting kerosene from PDS shops in the capital.

She also said her government was in talks with the Centre over the issue of getting cash transfers for people who don’t want to get items from the fair shops.

She said the scheme was intended at removing corruption as the gas stoves will be procured from the gas companies and there will be complete transparency in the process.

The initial scheme announced by Dikshit in her budget speech entailed providing the people with Rs 2000 for procuring a gas connection and cylinder.

However, the Delhi Government later revised the scheme and announced that the cylinders will be directly provided to the beneficiaries.

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Slow economic growth to affect national security: Prime Minister

 India’s national security will be affected if steps are not taken to increase economic growth and encourage new investments in the country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today.

In his Independence Day address, the Prime Minister said that his government will work hard to shield Indian economy from the impact of global economic slowdown.


However, this would require creating an environment which “we are not being able to achieve ... because of a lack of political consensus on many issues. Time has now come to view the issues which affect our development process as matters of national security,” Dr Singh said.

He cautioned if the economic growth is not increased, new investments are not encouraged, the government finances are not improved and livelihood security of the common man and energy security of the country are not ensured, “then it most certainly affects our national security”.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Dr Singh said the global economy, which is passing through a difficult phase, has adversely affected India as well.

“Also, there have been domestic developments which are hindering our economic growth. Last year our GDP grew by 6.5 per cent. This year we hope to do a little better,” he said.

While not much can be done about the conditions prevailing outside the country, “we must make every effort to resolve the problems inside our country so that our economic growth and creation of employment opportunities are again speeded up,” he said.

On inflation, Dr. Singh said while it must be controlled, bad monsoon this year would pose some difficulties. While wholesale inflation has come down to 6.87 per cent in July, prices of food items are still rising by over 10 per cent annually.

Dr Singh said the government has taken steps to deal with deficit rains. These include giving diesel and seed subsidy to farmers in drought-affected areas.

Assam riots

Terming the violence in Assam as “very unfortunate”, Dr Singh promised to make every effort to find out reasons behind the clashes in which at least 77 people have lost their lives.

He said the government was doing “everything possible” to provide relief to the people affected by the violence.

“The incidents of violence which occurred in Assam recently are very unfortunate. I know that these incidents have resulted in the disruption of the lives of a large number of people. We fully sympathise with those families which have been affected by the violence,” Dr Singh said.

The Prime Minister said the Centre would work with the State governments to ensure that such incidents do not occur in any parts of the country.

“We are doing everything possible to provide relief to them. I also promise to you that our government will make every effort to understand the reasons behind the violence and work hard with the State governments to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in any part of the country,” he said.

On overall situation in the North East, Dr Singh said there has been reduction in violence in the region as the Centre has engaged a number of groups in talks.

“There has been a reduction in violence in the North Eastern States and we are engaged in dialogue with many groups there so that they can join the mainstream of development,” he said.

Lokpal Bill

Against the backdrop of a lack of political consensus on the final shape of the proposed Lokpal, Dr Singh expressed hope that political parties will help its passage in the Rajya Sabha.

“Our commitment to make the work of the government and administration transparent and accountable stands,” he said.

“The Lok Sabha has cleared the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill. We hope that all political parties will help us in passing this Bill in the Rajya Sabha,” he said.

With several anti-corruption legislations in the offing, the Prime Minister assured public servants that they will be insulated against frivolous allegations.

“We will continue our efforts to bring more transparency and accountability in the work of public servants and to reduce corruption”.

“But we will also take care that these measures do not result in a situation in which the morale of public functionaries taking decisions in public interest gets affected because of baseless allegations and unnecessary litigation,” he said.

He also referred to the Public Procurement Bill and said such measures will increase transparency in decision making.

Bad monsoon and inflation

“....We must control inflation. This would pose some difficulty because of a bad monsoon this year,” Dr Singh said.

However, he said that the government has huge wheat and rice stocks and foodgrain supply is not a problem.

Although inflation declined to 6.87 per cent in July from 7.25 per cent in June, food inflation was still ruling above 10 per cent.

The Prime Minister said the government has taken measures to deal with the deficient rainfall.

“Our effort is to ensure that people do not face difficulty due to shortage of seeds, fodder or water in any part of the country. It is good that we have a big stock of foodgrains ... and availability of foodgrains is not a problem for us,” he said.

India’s Armed Forces

Months after the former Army Chief Gen V K Singh raised questions over the preparedness of the defence forces, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the forces are ready to meet any challenge and their modernisation will continue.

“We have seen a lot of discussion in the recent months about role of our armed forces and their preparedness. Today I would like to reassure countrymen that our armed forces and paramilitary forces are prepared to face any challenge.

“Government will continue to work for modernising these forces and providing them with necessary technology and equipment,” he said in his Independence Day address.

“I would like to emphasise here that our armed forces and paramilitary forces have defended the security of our country during both war and peace with valour and honour. Our soldiers have made the biggest of sacrifices, whenever needed,” the Prime Minister said.

Thanking the security forces for guarding the frontiers bravely, Dr Singh said the government will continue to make efforts for their welfare.

The Prime Minister lauded DRDO for the successful launch of over 5,000 km-range Agni-V missile which made India join an elite club of nations possessing such long range weapon systems.

“I would like to congratulate our scientists and technologists who have enhanced our prestige by successfully testing the Agni V Missile,” Dr Singh said.

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Baba Ramdev refuses to leave stadium, says protest to go on

Baba Ramdev told mediapersons at the Ambedkar Stadium that he has been requested not to go ahead with his protest keeping the Independence Day and security arrangement in mind.

He, however, remained non committal on ending his fast on Tuesday morning saying the protest would go ontill his last breath

He also said that he will not eat unless everyone present at the ground was provided with food and water.


Ramdev further reiterated that he will not vacate the stadium on Monday night.

Claiming that the protest was taking a decisive turn, the yoga guru claimed that he had majority in Parliament and among people as well.

Even after Delhi Police announced that "all are released", Baba Ramdev and his supporters were still holding on at the Ambedkar Stadium near Ferozeshah Kotla in Central Delhi.

With Baba Ramdev and his anti-corruption supporters blocking roads in central Delhi, police were forced to detain them in Ambedkar Stadium, a few hundred metres from Ramlila ground, instead of another stadium, an official said.

The Union home ministry is in touch with Delhi Police officials and closely monitoring the situation arising out of the preventive custody of yoga guru Ramdev and his hundreds of supporters.

"We are in touch with Delhi Police and are closely monitoring the situation," a senior ministry official said.

The refusal by Ramdev and his supporters to leave the protest site has caused worries to Delhi Police who are busy in ensuring security arrangements for the Independence Day celebrations on August 15.

The way leading to the protest site was blocked for several hours and there was traffic jam in most of the surrounding areas near it.

"Delhi Police expressed their concern over the Ramdev agitation to the MHA, which was being looked into," the official said.

Police detained the yoga guru on Ranjit Singh flyover, while he was leading protestors towards Parliament, and initially planned to take them to Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in north Delhi's Bawana.

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But police managed to take only some 200 of them to Bawana and were forced to take the yoga guru and other supporters to Ambedkar Stadium in central Delhi due to alleged non-cooperation from protestors.

"Baba Ramdev was taken to Ambedkar Stadium along with his thousands of supporters," said a police officer.

He said the change of plan happened as Ramdev's supporters were not cooperating with police.

"They were walking on roads and some even lay down on the roads, when asked to board buses," he added.

The buses had been called in to transport the protestors to the stadium in Bawana, some 20 km from central Delhi.


Addressing the supporters at Ambedkar Stadium, Ramdev said they will not leave the place till government provides his supporters with food and water.

"I will not break fast till my supporters are fed. So I will not end my fast today," he said.

"This government is incapable of rooting out corruption and bringing back blackmoney. It is also incapabale of providing food and water to those arrested," he said.

On a day of high drama and after BJP and JD(U) leaders offered their support, Ramdev, who had been dilly-dallying for the past three days on his strategy, asked his thousands of supporters to march towards Parliament, three km away from the protest venue at Ramlila Maidan, for a dharna outside.

"Congress hatao, desh bachao" (Remove Congress, Save the country) was the slogan Ramdev gave in his address and later in the march that discarded any semblance of neutrality in the campaign against corruption mounted by him.

He had been claiming that his protest had no political agenda but intended to fight corruption.

Addressing the protesters, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari told Ramdev that he was not alone in his fight against the government on the blackmoney issue and his party extended full support to him. He said BJP had stalled Parliament earlier in the day on the issue.

With government ignoring his protest and refusing to engage with him, Ramdev had been threatening to announce his future strategy since Saturday.

Addressing supporters earlier in the day, Ramdev said, "the government has become completely deaf. We have to make them hear us. Now the protest will be outside Parliament.

"...Lok Sabha polls will be in 2014 and 99% could be in 2013. This protest is to ensure that no dishonest person enters Parliament. Such people should be boycotted. We do not have a political agenda," he said.

"The Government is deaf, blind and insensitive. It is in coma, it will die, we don't want anybody to die. But they are inviting death. Congress hatao, desh bachao," Ramdev said.

Gadkari alleged Delhi Police is a "puppet" in the hands of the Central Government.

The BJP chief also appeared to suggest that Ramdev's close aide Balkrishna has been jailed because of the yoga guru's campaign against blackmoney, saying they are being targeted.

"Balkrishnaji has been jailed by the CBI. Is it a crime to talk about blackmoney? What Ramdev says is right...CBI is being used to threaten Ramdev and his disciples," he said.

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Kiran Bedi joins Ramdev’s protest at Ramlila Maidan

 Activist Kiran Bedi today shared dais with Baba Ramdev at Ramlila Maidan though Anna Hazare and other erstwhile Team Anna members kept away from the yoga guru’s protest on black money and Lokpal.

Addressing the protesters, she said they have to “raise a united front against corruption” and “form a coalition against the corrupt”.

“Without being alert, without understanding or reviewing government policy, we will always be deceived,” Ms Bedi said.


Some sections in erstwhile Team Anna were opposed to any alliance with Mr Ramdev though Mr Hazare and the yoga guru had publicly announced they will support each other’s agitation.

During Team Anna’s protest earlier this month, they had taken exception to Mr Ramdev sharing dais with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

At Ramlila Maidan, Ms Bedi said the country needs an agency like Lokpal that punishes tax evaders.

“We also need a law to control black money. If there is Lokpal, then black money in India will come down…. We need a vote-bank of honest persons,” she said.

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Another batch of Hindus cross into India from Pak

Over 100 Pakistani Hindus on Saturday crossed into India via the Wagah land border, taking the number of Hindus travelling to the neighbouring country on a month-long pilgrimage to more than 200, officials said.

After receiving clearance from the interior ministry, immigration
authorities began allowing the group of Hindus to cross the border yesterday.

About 115 Hindus walked across the frontier yesterday before the Wagah border was closed for the day.

"Some 115 Hindus left for India on Friday and another 100 left for India from Wagah today," Fraz Abbas, a deputy director of the Evacuee Trust Property Board told PTI.

He said the Hindus had dismissed media reports that they were migrating to India.

Despite possessing valid travel documents, the Hindus were virtually detained by immigration authorities for about seven hours yesterday following reports in the electronic media that they intended to migrate to India.

The Hindus belong to Balochistan and Sindh provinces, where the minority community has been the target of extortions, kidnapping for ransom and forced conversions.

The Federal Investigation Agency obtained "verbal undertakings" from the Hindu families that they would return to Pakistan before giving them permission to travel, sources said.

After reports emerged that 250 Hindus from Sindh and Balochistan intended to migrate on the pretext of travelling to India for a pilgrimage, interior minister Rehman Malik claimed the development was a conspiracy to defame Pakistan.

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Govt to introduce SC/ST promotions' bill

After repeated adjournments in Rajya Sabha and turmoil in Lok Sabha, Government today agreed to members' demand for bringing a Constitution amendment bill for reservation in promotion of SCs and STs in state jobs.

Minister of State for PMO V Narayansamy informed the Upper House that a bill will be brought in this regard on August 22 after an all-party meeting, which will discuss the issue on August 21.


"The Prime Minister will call a meeting of leaders of all political parties on 21st of this month to discuss the issue of SC/ST reservation. This has been the demand of the honourbale members. On August 22, the government will be able to bring the bill in the House," Narayanasamy said bringing the uproar over the issue to an end.

The announcement came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talked to the members including BSP chief Mayawati on the issue in the House when it was adjourned for 15 minutes.

In the Lok Sabha, SP and BSP members trooped to the Well as soon as the House met for the day demanding reservation for SC/STs in promotions in government jobs.

With members refusing to relent, Speaker Meira Kumar allowed some of them to speak.Shailendra Kumar (SP) said there was fear in the minds of a number of SC/ST government employees on the lack of reservations in promotions.

Panna Lal Punia (Cong) said Parliament had given SC/ST persons the right to reservation in government jobs and five persons cannot take away this right.

Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP) demanded that the SC/ST employees should be granted reservation in promotion in government jobs immediately.

In the Rajya Sabha, BSP supremo Mayawati said government had promised during in the last session to call an all-party meeting to discuss quota in promotion for SC and ST persons, but the meeting did not take place.

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Hamid Ansari re-elected Vice-President, defeats Jaswant Singh by 252 votes

NEW DELHI: UPA candidate Hamid Ansari was on Tuesday re-elected as the Vice President, becoming the second person to get a second consecutive term as he defeated NDA nominee Jaswant Singh by a large margin of 252 votes.

75-year-old Ansari, a former IFS officer, got 490 votes against 238 bagged by Singh out of 736 votes polled earlier in the day.

Altogether 787 members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were eligible to vote but 47 MPs did not cast their votes, who include ailing Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who is admitted in a Chennai Hospital. Eight votes were invalid, according to T K Vishwanathan, Lok Sabha Secretary General and Returning Officer for Vice Presidential poll.


Ansari is the second Vice President to be re-elected after S Radhakrishnan who was the first to get two terms from 1952 to 1962. An affable and well-read person, Ansari was the second choice of Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the President's post and lost out to Pranab Mukherjee due to some brinkmanship by TMC leader Mamata Banerjee and SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Formerly the Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Ansari's name came as a surprise in 2007 election when the Left parties, supporting the UPA-I from outside, proposed him and the Congress-led alliance accepted it. The Left parties, which faced divisions on the Presidential poll, however, had no no problems in supporting Ansari for a second time.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said 21 members from BJD, 11 from TDP, 6 from Congress and supporting parties and two nominated members did not cast their votes.

Others who did not vote include 2 each from BJP, AGP, RSP and TRS and Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, one of the two members of YSR Congress.

BJP members who did not vote were Shatrughan Sinha, who is sick, and Dilip Singh Judev, whose mother was not well. Trinamool Congress members Kakoli Dastidar and Kabir Suman were abroad. So was SP member Brij Bhushan Singh.

Out of the total 790 members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha that form the electoral college for vice presidential poll, 3 are vacant with Pranab Mukherjee becoming President, Vijay Bahuguna chief minister of Uttarakhand and the election of BJP MP J Shanta having been set aside by a high court.

A Padma Shree awardee, Ansari became vice-chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University in May, 2000 and held the post till March, 2002. In the last five years, the Rajya Sabha Chairman carried himself well but he courted controversy after abruptly adjourning the House on the last day of the last Winter session when a debate was underway on the Lokpal Bill and voting was expected to take place.

BJP was critical of the adjournment decision alleging it was done to rescue the government from a possible embarrassing defeat. The main opposition party cited it as one of the reasons for putting up a candidate against him in the current election.

Ansari also tried to innovate in the House proceedings when he shifted the Question Hour to post-lunch session to avoid loss of opportunity for members to question the government on account of routine disruptions in the morning.

The move was given up after just a session when he found the members themselves being absent from the House when their questions were taken up and the government also not very enthusiastic about the move.

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Fiza Mohammad, estranged wife of ex-Haryana deputy CM Chandermohan, found dead

Anuradha Bali, estranged wife of former Haryana deputy chief minister Chander Mohan, was today found dead at her residence in Mohali near Chandigarh.

The body of 39-year-old Bali alias Fiza Mohammad, a former assistant advocate general of Haryana, was found lying on her bed in her
residence with several insects roaming over it, SHO Kulbir Singh said.


A senior police officer said the body found in a ground floor bedroom was in a decomposed state and preliminary inquiry showed that she may have died four to five days back.

"At this stage nothing can be stated on whether it is a case of suicide," the officer said.

No suicide note has so far been recovered, police said.

The police opened the house after neighbours reported foul smell coming from there.

Bali hogged limelight after her marriage with Chander Mohan a few years back when he was deputy chief minister of Haryana.

However, after his controversial marriage Chander Mohan was disowned by his father and former chief minister Bhajan Lal.

Having remained incommunicado for several days, the couple had resurfaced after embracing Islam and Bali changing her name to Fiza and Chander Mohan to Chand Mohammed.

Relations later soured between the two and Fiza joined politics by launching a political outfit.

Sources said that she was planning to join BSP.

Chander Mohan had recently buried his differences with his younger brother Kuldeep Bishnoi and joined the HJC headed by the latter.

In the 2009 assembly elections in Haryana, Fiza had vigorously campaigned against the Bhajan Lal family which was contesting from Adampur in Hissar district.

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Anna Hazare wants committed votes from gram sabhas

 Taking forward the move to contest elections, social activist Anna Hazare on Sunday asked people to support them for providing a political alternative that would strive to fight corruption, and sought committed votes from six lakh gram sabhas.

Returning to blogging after he abruptly ended his fast last week, Mr. Hazare said people wanted an alternative. Gram sabhas, which were ‘supreme,’ should pass resolutions to this effect, besides ensuring that more than 90 per cent voters exercised their franchise in their favour.


“Gram sabhas are above Assemblies and Parliament. Therefore, we would want all the six lakh gram sabhas to pass a resolution that they want an alternative and will vote for this alternative. If such a resolution is passed, then we will be able to give an alternative,” he said adding that youth and students would tour villages to create awareness and get such resolutions passed.

Reiterating that personally he would not contest elections or form a party, Mr. Hazare said providing an alternative was “not an easy job,” but it was “not impossible.”

Money for alternative?

At the same time, he observed that crores of rupees were spent in elections, and wondered from where the money would come if they provided an alternative.

He would soon undertake a tour of the country to awaken people and find the right kind of candidates to go to Parliament.

“I feel people will welcome an alternative, as they are suffering the malaise of corruption that is deeply entrenched, with the government showing no signs of rooting it out,” he said.

For the better part of his blog entry, he criticised the government for its “betrayal” in bringing their version of the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament.

“Those who are ruling are so intoxicated by power and money that they will not provide corruption-free governance,” he noted.

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CRPF launches anti-Maoists operation in Jharkhand

Medininagar: Security forces on Saturday launched an operation on the Jharkhand-Chhatisgarh border to flush out Maoists. The operation has been dubbed 'Operation Marangdeo'.


The offensive, which would also be carried out at night, has been launched to prevent Maoists from entering Jharkhand particularly through the border of Palamau and Garhwa districts, CRPF s 34 battalion Commandant Anil Minz told reporters.

The CRPF would be assisted by the police in the operation, he said.

On Friday, a CRPF man was injured in an encounter with the Left-wing guerrillas at Tal village.

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Fight is for changing system, not power: Team Anna

 Team Anna on Friday said its political alternative will not compromise on corruption, holding their fight is for changing the system and not power.

“Anna is a hero of people. How long he can remain deaf to the voice of people? He has taken a decision to challenge the political class,” a statement posted on the India Against Corruption website said.


“Now, Team Anna is ready to enter the battlefield of politics. Now, Team Anna is ready to enter the battleground to take on government. Anna has said that he will not dilute his beliefs. The political alternative that will come up will not compromise on corruption. This fight is not for changing power but changing system,” it said.

It said political parties continue to say that Mr. Hazare and his supporters will not be able to win elections and to counter such claims, it is necessary to talk about political alternative.

“Team Anna has sounded the bugle to enter the political battlefield and take on political parties. Now people have to take a decision whether the corrupt system will continue to exploit you or support a right alternative,” it said.

However, a word of caution came from Medha Patkar, a member of Team Anna’s Core Committee who made a single appearance at the Jantar Mantar protest this time.

“One has to ensure that people who are awakened remained so and one has to think a 100 times before taking a plunge into electoral politics. If he joins politics, then the momentum gained should not be lost. When people with noble intentions join politics, either they don’t last long or they don’t achieve much,” she said.

Team Anna member Kiran Bedi defended the move, saying Mr. Hazare’s call is that he will help identify good and ethical people so that they could make it to politics.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan said they were taking this step reluctantly but people have been telling them why don’t they work for providing a political alternative.

Activist Manish Sisodia, whose fast entered 10th day, said, the ball is now in people’s court on how this fight can be taken to Parliament.

“It will happen by forming a party or with the help of individuals or some other way will emerge. People are sending their suggestions. The bottom line is that this mission needs to be taken to Parliament from streets,” Mr. Sisodia said.

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Govt-Team Anna standoff: Who will blink first?

New Delhi: With the health condition of Team Anna members who are fasting at Jantar Mantar worsening, reports suggest that there could be some government action to take the situation under control. On the ninth day of their indefinite fast, Team Anna would also look for a way out to address health concerns.

About 400 of Anna's supporters including Kejriwal, who've been fasting, have warned against being forcibly hospitalised even as their health deteriorated.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police on Thursday strengthened security at Jantar Mantar where Anna Hazare and his team are on an indefinite fast following the explosions in Pune. A bomb disposal squad conducted searches at the protest venue, a senior police official said.

Around 100 more police personnel were rushed to the venue late Wednesday night. Police closed two of the three entry points to the venue as a precautionary measure.

What happened on Wednesday:

As concern mounted over the declining health of Anna's close aides Arvind Kejriwal, Gopal Rai and Manish Sisodia, Kejriwal took centrestage and assured the crowds that he would fight till the finish.

"I am not committing suicide, I am sacrificing life for country," Kejriwal said.

About 400 of Anna's supporters including Kejriwal, who've been fasting for a week have warned against being forcibly hospitalised even as their health deteriorated.

Team Anna member Kumar Vishwas said the health condition of Arvind Kejriwal and Gopal Rai was serious. "The whole country is concerned about their health," he said.

The government, however, is still watching from the sidelines, hoping poor health will force Team Anna to back down.

Congress General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said, "I hope good sense will prevail."

By evening, Kejriwal's tone had become even more belligerent. "I challenge the government to imprison the 15 minisiters. I will call off my fast then."

So, what really are the options ahead of Team Anna as of now? The first option is tO call off fast and make an announcement about future. The second is to form a political party on its own and contest elections. Third is to create a pressure group of eminent indians to keep issue alive and the fourth is to engage with the Lokpal select committee in Parliament.

On the ground, the numbers may not be as large as last year but the mood is still buoyant.

It is a wait and watch game from this point on. Even as doctors advise Team Anna to call off their fast, Anna's supporters are determined to take on the the government and secure the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill. With both sides refusing to budge as of now, the question really is - who will blink first?

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Pune serial blasts: 'Terror angle can't be ruled out'

 Four low-intensity blasts within a one-km range on the busy Junglee Maharaj Road were witnessed in Pune on Wednesday. While one person was confirmed to be injured in the incident, Pune Police Commissioner Gulabrao Pol has ruled out the terror angle and stated that it was a case of mischief.

The explosions were set off by pencil cell detonators placed in a plastic bag, a dustbin and in cycles at two locations, police said.

Speaking to reporters at the blast site, Mr. Pol said, “The situation is under control. There is no need to panic.” The Pune ATS and teams from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Mumbai and Delhi will investigate the matter further, he said.

The first explosion occurred around 7.30 p.m. near Balgandharva Rang Mandir, an auditorium on Junglee Maharaj Road. Dayanand Patil, who was injured in the blast, was carrying a cake box kept in a plastic bag, police said.

He was admitted to Sassoon Hospital, where the police recorded the evidence.

While unconfirmed reports stated that Mr. Patil was a member of social activist Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption movement, IAC coordinator Preeti Sharma Menon denied it.

According to the police, the second explosion occurred in a dustbin outside the popular fast food joint McDonald’s. Soon after, the third and fourth blasts went off at Dena Bank and Garware Chowk, in the same vicinity, with the explosive material planted in cycles.

Another bomb was defused by the police within the next one hour. The number of injured might have been higher, but have not been reported as they were minor injuries.

The explosions occurred on the day when newly appointed Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde was scheduled to be on a visit to the city. It was cancelled earlier in the day.

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Government approves Rs 1,900 crore package to states hit by poor rains

 With the country facing a 20 per cent deficient monsoon, the Union government on Tuesday announced a financial assistance of more than Rs. 1,900 crore under various schemes for the affected States. It also extended a diesel subsidy of 50 per cent to farmers to save the standing crops through groundwater irrigation.

Subsidy on seeds will be raised and farmers who are forced to sow again will be given compensation. To enhance the supply of animal feed, the import duty on oil meal cakes will be waived.


The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Drought. The meeting, chaired by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, lasted two hours.

Announcing the decisions, Mr. Pawar said the subsidy on diesel would be shared equally by the Centre and the States. This would be applicable from the date of notification till September-end.

Parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana are facing water stress. The overall kharif sowing is lower by 56.03 lakh hectares compared to the normal area, with a shortfall in the cultivation of rice, coarse cereals and pulses largely in Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Maharashtra is facing drinking water problem too.

Mr. Pawar said the EGoM approved the release of Rs. 1,440 crore to Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat under the integrated watershed programme

An interim assistance of Rs. 38 crore for supply of drinking water would be given to Karnataka (Rs. 12 crore), Maharashtra (Rs. 15 crore) and Rajasthan (Rs. 11 crore).

Drinking water scheme

Another Rs. 453 crore would be given to Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Haryana under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme.

A sum of Rs. 50 crore was set aside for the buy-back arrangement with the States that upscale fodder production.

Of the 627 districts, 306 had received deficient rainfall and 94 got scanty showers. More districts were under stress this year than those in 2009 when there were no rains in June. Contingency plans had been prepared for 320 districts.

Mr. Pawar said there would be a “setback” to kharif production “but unless the crop comes to farmers’ home, nobody can predict what will be the situation.” Sowing would continue till August second week.

On whether there was drought or not in the country, Mr. Pawar said the States had to declare drought in the worst-affected areas. So far, Karnataka and Maharashtra had reported drought in “pockets.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Pawar, accompanied by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, will go on a three-day tour to Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan “to understand their requirements” in facing drought.

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Chidambaram appointed as FM, Sushil Kumar Shinde to be Home Minister

NEW DELHI: In a major cabinet re-shuffle, Home Minister P Chidambaram has been appointed as the new Finance minister while power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has replaced him as Home Minister. Minister for Law, Veerappa Moily, will take the additional charge of the Power Ministry.

Markets are expected to give a thumbs up as PC walks over from one wing of North Block to another. Taking over as FM at this juncture is no cakewalk, particularly with a slowdown in the economy and inflation still ruling at high levels. The RBI's stance to hold on to key rates signals to the fears of inflation that may derail the economy.


The uncertainties over tax legislations has left the investor community unhappy and Chidambaram as finance minister will need to do all he can to restore investor confidence.

Shinde may have a tough job ahead what with the double A trouble- Assam and Anna. Assam chief minister Tarn Gogoi's public outcry that there was a delay in deployment of forces that could have saved lives, followed by the allegations made by BJP leader L K Advani today while speaking in Assam has turned this issue into a embarrassment for the government. Home minister Chidambaram who visited Assam on Monday is reported to have raised the issue over delay with his cabinet colleague A K Antony.

While the government is putting up a brave face till now and sticking to its scripted defence, the protests led by Anna Hazare is also playing a role at the back of the mind, a senior bureaucrat said. "The role of the home ministry, particularly the law and order situation will be crucial if the protests take a new turn," he said.

Although, the government had initially planned the reshuffle soon after the Presidential elections last week, and before the monsoon session of Parliament, it was delayed following the developments over Sharad Pawar led National Congress Party that threatened to pull out of the cabinet, while continuing to give outside support.

One of the main reasons to bring in the new finance minister before the session is because Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not too keen to hold on to the portfolio as it needs a "full time person" to take key decisions. "The PM cannot be answering finance questions through the session and the government needs to do some deft handling of the sector that has implications for the economy," a senior government source with direct knowledge said.

Key appointments to the finance ministry too have been done after due considerations with the new incumbent. Apart from Raghuram Rajan who is tipped to be the new economic advisor, the new finance minister is expected to put his new team in place with key bureaucratic changes.

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Day two: 21 States plunge into darkness as 3 grids collapse

 An overstrained power generation and transmission structure spreading across 21 States of the North, East and North-East regions collapsed on Tuesday, plunging half of the country into darkness, trapping hundreds of miners in Jharkhand and West Bengal and paralysing the movement of inter-State trains. (The miners were later rescued.)

The second massive breakdown in as many days was caused by the continuing grid indiscipline on the part of the State Electricity Boards (SEBs) and power utilities that overdrew power from an already overstretched generation system. On Monday, the northern grid collapsed and it was restored after 15 hours. The Eastern and North-Eastern transmission lines too failed on Tuesday afternoon.


Although the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) maintained that most areas would see power restored by 7.30 p.m., the situation is expected to become normal only after midnight. The Power Ministry and the PGCIL were unable to pinpoint the cause of the outage. States were overdrawing power was all that they had to say.

Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan refused to adhere to grid discipline and continued to overdraw power despite repeated warnings by the Northern Regional Load Despatch Centre (NRLDC) and other State centres, posing a serious danger to the safety of the grid. Even more shocking is the fact that most of these States have refused to install under frequency relays (UFRs) for automatic demand management schemes, which could have prevented such a massive failure. Similarly, the States were found to have overdrawn power when the grid frequency was below 49.5 Hz and even 48.8 Hz, in contravention of the orders of the regulatory authority and load despatch centres.

However, the Punjab government described the charge of overdrawing as absurd, factually baseless and grossly misleading.

Such was the scale of power failure that mining operations in Eastern India came to a grinding halt. Nearly 200 miners were trapped in the Eastern Coalfield at Burdwan in West Bengal and another 65 were trapped in the Bharat Coking Coal facility in Jharkhand.

The grid collapse took place around 1 p.m. affecting Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan and Assam and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

The railway network was the worst hit with trains across major parts of the country stopping midway.

This is possibly the first time that all three grids have collapsed simultaneously. Till late in the evening, around 25000 MW of the total 50,000 MW had been restored. About 13,000 MW has been restored in the Northern region and about 4,000 MW in the Eastern region. Supply to the affected regions is being extended from western and southern Grids.

By evening, the hydro stations in the northern region started working and supply has been restored up to Punjab and Haryana.

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Burning Tamil Nadu Express: mystery deepens

 Officials from the Fire Department and Railways were clearly heading for a showdown over the reasons behind the mysterious fire that broke out in the S11 coach of Tamil Nadu Express on Monday. While the Fire Department officials, who were the first to reach the spot, maintained that they did not find a trace of kerosene, the railway authorities on the other hand claimed that they found traces of kerosene indicating links to sabotage.

“Neither did we find traces of kerosene nor smell it soon after our fire-fighters entered the compartment. Our personnel entered the compartment moments after the fire-fighting operation concluded around 5.30 a.m.,” said Nellore District Fire Officer G. Srinivasulu.


Investigation

He asserted that the railway officials came to the accident site only after fire-fighters reached the spot. However, senior fire officials said a comprehensive investigation should be taken up to unravel the reasons behind the mishap. They said that two out of four doors in the compartment were closed and flames did not spread to other coaches even though the train was travelling at a speed of over 110 km per hour while passing through the Nellore station.

Officials argued that fire could have originated between seat numbers 50 and 60 because of the extensive damage of these seats. The intensity of the damage is more between these seats when compared to other areas in the compartment.

“Charred and twisted bodies were lying around these seats. This clearly indicates that fire might have emanated from seat numbers 50 to 60, they said.

It was a railway employee, Krishnamurthy, who was the first to alert the fire control room at around 4.30 a.m. on Monday about the flames that engulfed the train minutes after it crossed the Nellore railway station.

As the fire station is just 1.5 km from the spot, two fire tenders were the first to reach the spot within five minutes. The fire tenders immediately carried out fire-fighting operation.

“We battled for an hour to douse the flames. We succeeded in rescuing two persons from the coach. The injured were shifted to the hospital in 108 ambulances,” Mr. Srinivasulu explained.

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Grid failure leads to blackout in 7 northern states

 Seven states of the northern region, including the national capital faced a blackout from 2.30 a.m. on Monday following a disturbance in the Northern Grid. Officials of the Power Ministry said a major fault near Agra led to power being snapped.

Power supply is being restored partially in all of the seven affected states since 9 a.m., but there are large areas that are still bearing the brunt of power cuts. Essential services have been largely disrupted and life has been thrown out of gear.

Initial reports suggested heavy over-drawal of electricity by some states as the reason for the glitch that left services like railways, metro trains and airport affected. Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said a three member committee has been mandated to investigate the fault.


He said power supply will be resumed in the next three to four hours across the affected region.

All seven northern region states of Delhi, UP, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand and Chandigarh have been hit and services including hospitals and rail services severely disturbed.

Train services were disrupted in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, leaving a large number of passengers stranded. Officials said over 200 train schedules were disrupted on account of the power failure.

In the capital, Metro services took a hit and could function with only 25 per cent trains since starting services on Monday morning at 5 a.m.

Power supply to the Prime Minister's house and hospitals like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences was ensured by switching to power from Bhutan, and from power sourced from the Badarpur Thermal Power plant.

In Delhi, officials of the power department said emergency power is being supplied through the eastern and western regions, and efforts are being made to ensure there is no disruption to essential services like the hospitals, Metro and the installations of the Delhi Jal Board.

Though there were no reports of flights being disturbed by the power cuts, some services at the airport were affected.

“The failure in northern grid has disturbed the normal schedule of citizens of Delhi and other northern states. However, DIAL would like to confirm that all flight operations at IGIA are normal with no cancellations and delays. The Power Supply was restored to DG Systems instantaneously and has been running smoothly for the last 7 hours and will continue so until the normal supply is restored,” said a spokesperson for DIAL.

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PM announces Rs.300 crore relief for Assam victims

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday announced Rs.300 crore assistance for relief and rehabilitation measures for the violence-affected areas of Assam.

Addressing a press conference at the Circuit House in Kokrajhar after visiting two relief camps located near the town, the prime minister announced a special central assistance of Rs.100 crore as immediate relief and another Rs.100 crore under special plan assistance for development of the violence-affected areas.

Manmohan Singh also assured another additional amount of Rs.100 crore under the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) scheme to the affected people.

He also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs.2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to the kin of those people who had lost their lives in the violence. The injured persons will also be paid Rs.50,000 to Rs.30,000 depending on the nature of their injury.

The week-long communal violence in the Bodo areas of the state has till now claimed the lives of 45 people and a estimated 2.5 lakh people have been rendered homeless.

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India bans U.S.-sanctioned Iranian ships from its waters

 In a development that is likely to affect crude oil supplies to the country, India has banned U.S.-sanctioned Iranian ships from entering its waters.

“We were to import four tankers, or cargoes of about90,000 tonnes each, from Iran in July. But we were able to get only one as the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) approval was withdrawn by the government,” Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) managing director P.P. Upadhya told journalists here on Friday.

After the European Union’s sanctions came into effect on July 1, the Centre allowed MRPL and other companies to import crude from Iran in ships arranged by Tehran and on a CIF basis. It was left to Tehran to arrange for ships and insurance. However, permission was revoked within days.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on the National Iranian Tanker Company and its 58 vessels. In 2011-12, MRPL contracted for supply of 7.3 million tonnes of crude from Iran, but imported only 6.2 million tonnes. India cut imports to win a waiver from the U.S. sanctions. But the waiver for crude imports did not cover shipping, MRPL Director (Finance) Vishnu Aggarwal said.

Crude imports from Iran are possible only if the state insurers, led by General Insurance Corporation (GIC), provide cover for domestic ships carrying Iranian crude. However, the matter of sovereign guarantee for ships is still pending with the government.

GIC has agreed to provide domestic ships with $50-million cover for hull and machinery and a similar one for protection and indemnity, but this has been delayed as the company has not got approval from the insurance regulator.

Mr. Upadhya said MRPL had imported 1.2 million tonnes of crude from Iran so far this fiscal begun April 1. To compensate for the loss of Iranian supplies, the company almost doubled its purchase from the spot market. It was now buying up to three cargoes or shiploads every month, instead of one as it did earlier. This year, it started buying oil from Iraq after signing an annual contract for 11,000 barrels a day or just over 0.5 million tonnes. It bought 2.5 million tonnes on a term contract from Saudi Arabia and another two million tonnes from Abu Dhabi.

Mr. Agrawal said the company covered supplies of up to nine million tonnes this year from overseas sellers and domestic fields like Bombay High. Of the 14.5 million tonnes of crude processing planned for this year, the company depended on Iran for only five million tonnes. “Even out of this, we have imported 1.2 million tonnes. So the uncovered supplies are very less.”

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