1. law, govt and politics
2. government

CM
KY
AAP MLA Ram Niwas Goel
elected Speaker of Delhi Assembly
Orissa Today
Published Simultaneously Bhubaneswar & Rourkela
RNI NO - ORIENG/2005/16409 For e paper : www.orissatoday. co.in
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi giving statement to the media ahead of
Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on February 23, 2015.
On Land Ordinance, Anna Hazare and Arvind
Kejriwal Unite to Embarrass Government
CM
KY
NEW DELHI: Arvind Kejriwal will join Anna Hazare tomorrow in a protest
against the central government's proposed changes in rules for land acquisition.
The Delhi Chief Minister called on the Gandhian activist at the Maharashtra
Sadan this evening and touched his feet. After an hour-long meeting, Mr Kejriwal's
closest aide and Delhi minister Manish Sisodia told reporters, "Arvind and I will
sit on dharna with Anna after the (Delhi assembly) session at 3 pm."
The reunion of the two most famous faces of the Lokpal movement is expected to
draw hundreds of protesters to Jantar Mantar in the heart of Delhi for tomorrow's
sit-in."Arvind Kejriwal is a Chief Minister, he cannot be treated like any ordinary
citizen. If all agree, I will welcome Arvind Kejriwal on stage as Delhi chief
minister," the 77-year-old said on Sunday.
Mr Kejriwal took charge as Delhi's Chief Minister on February 14 after his
party won a landslide victory in the Delhi election.In the past few days, Anna
Hazare has praised Mr Kejriwal more than once and sharply attacked Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and his government.
NEWDELHI:The
Congress vice president
wanted "some time to
reflect on recent events
and future course of the
party," after Congress
failed to win a single seat
in Delhi elections.
Congress vice president
Rahul Gandhi has gone
on a sabbatical “for a
few weeks” to reflect
upon recent events and
the future of the party
that was completely
wiped out in the Delhi
Assembly elections
capping a string of
losses.
Mr. Gandhi has been
“granted leave of
absence for a few weeks
after which he will return
and resume his active
participation in the affairs
of the Congress party”,
party sources said.
They said he has
“requested Congress
president Sonia Gandhi
for some time to reflect
on recent events and
future course of the
party”.
He believes that the
direction that the party
adopts at the upcoming
AICC session will be of
crucial importance for
its future and he wishes
to prepare for it, the
sources said.
Congress has been
performing badly at the
hustings, which started
with the Lok Sabha
elections last year and
continued
in
the
Assembly elections in
various states including
Delhi recently.
The debacle in Delhi,
CM
KY
34 days left for the
Banajaga Yatra – the
search for daru (neem
tree) for making of idols,
considered the opening
chapter
of
the
Nabakalebar process of
Lord Jagannath – to begin,
the administration is yet to
succeed in its attempts to
hold a meeting with
Daitapati
sevayats
(servitors) to sort out the
differences.
Daitapatis play a vital role
in the whole Nabakalebara
process starting with the
Banajaga yatra to the
transfer of the Bramha or
the soul of the idols.
The administration is yet
to hold a formal meeting
with Daitapatis - the body
protectors of Lord
Jagannath, Balabhadra and
Subhadra
–
on
preparations for Banajaga
yatra and the materials
required for it.
The administration has
failed to persuade the
Daitapatis, who are
peeved
over
the
p a r s i m o n i o u s
compensation offer made
by the state government
for losses suffered by
them in last year’s Rath
Yatra. Sources said the
Daitapatis are not
cooperating with the
administration for the
Banajaga Yatra on this
account.
The daitapatis say they
suffered a huge loss last
year when devotees were
barred from climbing atop
chariots following a High
Court order which upheld
the Shankaracharya’s
views that persons other
than those connected with
rituals should not mount
the chariots.
While the administration is
yet to hold discussions
with the Daitapatis on the
final list of materials
required for the Banajaga
However, what is not
known is the eligibility of
these physiotherapists.
The patients resign
themselves to fate and find
another therapist, when
they find their condition
has not improved with
one.
This condition is more or
less the same all over the
state in the absence of a
physiotherapy council,
which would otherwise
have
verified
the
credentials of the private
practitioners
before
allowing them to practice.
“Without the council, quite
a
few
untrained
practitioners open shops
which are beyond
anybody’s control. The
hands of the government
are tied even though it is
aware of the issue. This
happens at a time when
trained therapists move
away
from
their
profession due to lack of
government job offers,”
said Odisha Convenor of
Indian Association of
Physiotherapists Amlan
Maiti.
As per information
provided by Dr. Maiti,
physiotherapy councils
exist in states such as
Punjab,
Karnataka,
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu
etc where the therapist
register themselves and
work towards providing
quality service to patients
while using latest
where Congress failed to
get even one seat in the
70-member House, was
more stunning as the
party had ruled the state
for 15 years till
December 2013.
The AICC session is
expected in early April
and media reports have
suggested that Mr.
Gandhi could be made
the party chief on that
occasion.
Yatra or its route and the
places where the Banajaga
Yatra team will stay during
the course of the Yatra, it
is eliciting facts from old
files Nabakalebar Yatras
held earlier, said sources.
On the other hand,
Daitapatis Nijog has begun
preparations for the
Banajaga Yatra on its own
without taking the
administration
into
confidence and has
announced formation of
different committees for
Nabakalebar, including
one committee meant for
search of daru. This has
turned out to be a major
headache
for
the
administration.
Throwing a challenge to
the government, the
Daitapati Nijog has
announced: “We will
conduct the Nabakalebar
Yatra of the Lords in a
disciplined manner, but not
as per the wishes of the
technology.
The situation in Odisha,
however, is in stark
contrast. The government
neither cares about
physiotherapy nor the
therapists. While graduate
courses are offered in
seven of the colleges and
post-graduate courses in
three of the colleges in the
state, the government is
least bothered about the
w 24February,2015
(Dak-25)
w Tuesday
Government’s tenet is
development of all: Mukherjee
New
Delhi,
Feb
23:President Pranab
Mukherjee Monday said
that the fundamental tenet
of the government is
development of all.
Addressing the members
of two houses of
parliament at the start of
budget
session,
Mukherjee said that the
government had taken
several
initiatives
including smart cities,
skill development, ease of
doing business and
tapping the country’s
demographic dividend.
“The fundamental tenet (of
government) is ‘sab ka
saath, sab ka vikas’ (taking
everyone
along,
development of all),” he
said.
“My government is pledged
to work for the welfare of
the poor, marginalized and
the vulnerable sections of
the society,” he added.
Mukherjee also said that
“Within the past nine
months, my government
has articulated and
embarked
on
a
comprehensive strategy
for harnessing the full
potential of our economy
and its precious resource
of 125 crore people.”
(IANS)
Odisha HC fines Rabi Nanda Rs 10,000
administration. We will
conduct the Nabakalebar
Yatra of the Lords in
accordance with the
sacred texts with much
fanfare”.
The Nabakalebar Yatra
mainly comprises of
Banajaga
Yatra,
identification of daru as
per prophesy in a dream,
worship of daru, return
of the sagadi (cart)
carrying
daru
to
Shreekshetra,
mahaanabasar after
snana purnima, Rath
Yatra after nabajouban
darshan,
sandhya
darshan, Bahuda Yatra
and sunabesha.
Out of these events,
Banajaga
Yatra,
identification of daru as
per prophesy in a dream,
worship of daru, return
of the sagadi (cart)
carrying
daru
to
Shreekshetra,
mahaanabasar after
No check on physiotherapists in absence of council in Odisha
Bhubaneswar,
Feb
23:There
is
no
physiotherapy council in
Odisha, even though the
demand
of
physiotherapists is
skyrocketing with time.
While the doctors
r e c o m m e n d
physiotherapy for many
types of fitness and joint
pain related issues, the
demand has given rise to
quite a number of
private clinics where
practitioners charge the
patients between Rs 300
to Rs 1000 for half an
hour of physiotherapy.
Some of the patients are
advised to continue this
for months and even
round the year.
w Bhubaneswar
Postal Regd No-BN/167/13-15 w Page -
Cuttack, Feb 23: The
Odisha High Court today
slapped a fine of Rs
10,000 on senior BJD
leader and former
minister Rabi Nanda for
seeking to delay court
proceedings
by
submitting
wrong
information in his
affidavit.
The directive of the court
came after going through
the affidavit filed by
Nanda against whom
senior Congress leader
and sitting MLA of
CS discusses Nabakalebara with Gajapati
Bhubaneswar/Puri, Feb
23:Odisha
chief
secretary GC Pati today
held discussions with
Gajapati Dibya Singha
Deb, the Puri king and
the first servitor of Lord
Jagannath, at the special
circuit house here on the
progress of various
preparatory
work
associated
with
Nabakalebar Yatra and
the beautification of the
Shree Mandir and Grand
Road.
“It was a general
meeting on Shree
Mandir and on how it
can be developed. We
discussed how different
projects for Nabakalebar
can be expedited. He
gave his opinion on
certain issues and
projects which I have
taken note of,” Pati told
reporters after coming
out of the meeting.
Meanwhile, with barely
w Issue-157
w Rs.1.00
People’s Voice
Rahul Gandhi
takes a sabbatical
w Vol - 10
quality of education or the
placement of the students
graduating from these
institutes.This makes
talented and trained
therapists search for jobs
in other states or drop the
profession altogether
while untrained therapists
continue to operate from
their private clinics.
While there are more than
200 such clinics in the
state, 75 of them are in
Bhubaneswar, said Odisha
Chapter of Indian
Association
of
Physiotherapists. If there
can be a medical council
and nursing council in
state, why should there
not be a physiotherapy
council, it asks.
CM
KY
snana purnima are
exclusive to Nabakalebar
Yatra in comparison to
Rath Yatra that’s held
every year.
In all these activities,
Daitapatis play a pivotal
role. For the Banajaga
Yatra, two sagadis are
required to accompany
the Banajaga Yatra team,
one for carrying the
agnya mala (a garland
symbolizing the order of
the Lord) and the other
for carrying materials for
yagna. Sources said
sagadis to be used for the
purpose are yet to be
arranged.
The administration has
finalized the route
through which the
Banajaga Yatra team will
go and which places it
will stay during the
course of its journey
since it has not been
discussed
with
Daitapatis.
Jeypore Tara Prasad
Bahinipati had filed a
petition in the court.
The former minister, in his
affidavit, had sought more
time from the court on the
ground that he had been
advised by his doctor to
take one-month rest since
he was suffering from
lungs complications.
However, challenging the
affidavit, Bahinipati, in his
petition, had informed the
court that Nanda, during
the
period,
had
accompanied the Chief
False affidavit
Minister in several
programmes
and
collected the medical
report on his lungs
complications from a
gynaecologist.
Hearing the petition, the
court had served a notice
to Nanda on February 21
seeking reply as to why
criminal proceedings
should be not initiated
against him on the charge
of filing a false affidavit.
Rise in crimes against women
in Odisha’s Twin City
Bhubaneswar, Feb 23:Twin
city
(BhubaneswarCuttack) recorded highest
number of crime cases last
year in comparison to the
last three years but
Commissionerate Police
claims that they have
detected over 95 per cent
of cases related to crimes
against women, a much
improved effort by the
personnel at crime
detection.
Briefing media persons
after the annual crime
review meeting at the
Commissionerate police
headquarter office here
today, Commissioner of
Police Dr R P Sharma said
the twin city recorded 440
cases of crimes against
women (Rape, Kidnapping,
498-A,
Eve-teasing,
Molestation etc) in 2014
against 320 last year- an
increase of 36.36 percent.
CM
KY
Dr Sharma said despite
counselling and a video
documentary
on
safeguarding women in
the state, there has been
a record of 70 percent
rise with 138 rapes
being reported in 2014
against 81 in 2013.
Minors are the worst
affected, he added.In
Bhubaneswar Urban
Police District (UPD),
there were 72 rape cases
reported in 2014 against
51 in 2013, 56 in 2012 and
35 in 2011. Whereas in
Cuttack UPD, there were
66 rape cases in 2014
against 30 in 2013, 28 in
2012 and 19 in 2011.
Odisha HSC exams: 14 students
booked for malpractice in Rayagada
Rayagada, Feb 23:
A total of 14 students
were booked for
malpractice on the first
day of the annual High
School Certificate
(HSC) examinations in
Odisha’s Rayagada
district today.
RayagadaOf the 14
students, three are
from Ugratara High
School, three from
Muniguda Boys High
School and eight from
Muniguda Girls High
School centre, District
Education Officer
(DEO) Premananda
Rout told OST.
CM
KY
He, however, said the
examinations
went
smoothly in other centres
of the district.
He said a 24-hour security
has been put in place in 11
block offices where the
question papers are kept.
However, the district
administration has kept the
question papers for the
Gudari, Chandrapur and
Kashipur blocks in the
respective police stations
since these areas are
Maoist-prone.
A total of 9038 Regular
students and 838 exRegular students of the
district are appearing in the
examinations, Rout said,
adding that the district
administration, police
and the School and Mass
Education department are
working in tandem to
ensure smooth conduct
of the examinations while
steps have been taken to
curb malpractice during
the examinations.
CM
KY
Tuesday , February 24 2015
BHUBANESWAR
E D I TO R I A L
POOR CALCULATION OF MANJHI
INVITED NITISH AS CM
CM
KY
Developments in Bihar turned out to be an anti-climax on
Friday with Jitan Ram Manjhi tendering his resignation
as chief minister before the scheduled meeting of the state
legislature for the governor’s address to a joint session of
the two Houses to inaugurate the Budget Session.
Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi subsequently sent a
message to the Assembly through the Speaker that he
would not be making his address. This was a logical
development since there is no government in place in the
state whose policy lines can be delineated by the governor.
This is an unprecedented occurrence in the annals of our
democracy, and has evidently been brought on by the
governor himself. Had Mr Tripathi kept constitutionality
uppermost in his scheme of things, he might have got Mr
Manjhi’s floor test out of the way before the opening day
of the Assembly session, and a new CM in place in the
event of Mr Manjhi failing the test. This was indeed the
course being urged by JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, who
claimed to have the numbers in the event of Mr Manjhi
being displaced.
Mr Manjhi’s resignation was a clear sign that he reckoned
that his bid to prove his majority on the floor of the
Assembly was not going to succeed in spite of the
announced support of the BJP which has 87 MLAs. This
speaks of poor political arithmetic on the part of Mr Manjhi
who later told the media that he should have resigned
earlier.
A poor state like Bihar has been deprived of effective
governance for weeks together on account of the interplay of political hubris and political ambition of all the
leading players. It is now to be hoped that a new
government would be installed through due procedure at
the earliest, and that the governor would rebuff any moves
that may lead to the imposition of President’s Rule, which
has been spoken of for the past fortnight.
The opportunity is now clear for Mr Kumar. It is good
that he has been invited to form the government with the
governor asking him to take the oath of office at 5 pm on
Sunday itself. Mr Kumar will then have to prove his
majority on the floor of the House before March 16. The
stasis in the Assembly needed to be ended at the earliest.
The Budget Session of the Bihar legislature has been
officially notified already, and nothing further should be
done to derail it. It was a sad day that the inaugural day
of the Budget Session could not effectively be held.
PRE-WEDING ASSEMBLE
MAY HELP MODI GOVT
CM
KY
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s gesture in flying all the
way from New Delhi to Saifai, SP chief Mulayam Singh
Yadav’s home village in UP, for a 15-minute appearance
at a pre-wedding bash uniting the clans of Mulayam and
RJD’s Lalu Prasad Yadav, and lunch per charcha with
them later, may or may not be of political significance. It
will play out when Parliament convenes Monday for the
crucial Budget Session. But the PM knows he needs the
support of as many Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha
as he can get to ensure that crucial ordinances are
replaced by bills in this session. It would save him having
to call a joint sitting of both Houses to pass these bills,
else the ordinances — on land acquisition and
rehabilitation, insurance and coal allocations — will lapse.
The government may have a better chance of getting
the insurance and coal bills through, but certainly not the
Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Bill, under fire from
several quarters as anti-farmer and anti-poor. There are
indications that the government may relent, and tweak
the controversial bill following major protests by farmers,
and that would be a good thing, and in keeping with the
bonhomie it likes to spread.
On Saturday, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley will
present his first full-fledged Budget, on which there are
high expectations riding. It is expected to translate to
some extent the mountain of hopes, that piled up since
the new government took over, into reality on the ground.
His main challenges are to initiate policies that encourage
investment in infrastructure and manufacturing, specially
in small and medium enterprises that are the backbone
of exports and the economy, incentivise job generation,
energy saving schemes, and put purchasing power in the
hands of both urban and rural consumers. This should
also mean more innovative tax measures in both direct
and indirect taxes, specially eschewing measures that
favour the wealthy and focus instead on the vast middle
and lower income groups, as well as the self-employed.
There is a high expectation that income-tax exemption
slabs will be raised to Rs 3 lakhs, and so also deductions
for housing loans and medical reimbursements. Since the
government has failed to bring down prices of essential
commodities, it owes it to the people to give them relief,
which will also help to push up demand and lead to
increased production.Keeping the fiscal deficit in check
is important and it will be necessary to have a qualitative
reduction, and not just quantitative, at the cost of social
welfare, education and health schemes. The finance
minister will be judged by people for what he does for
the 99 per cent, and not just the one per cent.
2
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY) - Skill Development for Inclusive Growth
*L C Goyal
According to Census 2011, India has 55 million potential workers
between the ages of 15 and 35 years in rural areas. At the same time,
the world is expected to face a shortage of 57 million workers by 2020.
This presents a historic opportunity for India to transform its demographic
surplus into a demographic dividend. The Ministry of Rural Development
implements DDU-GKY to drive this national agenda for inclusive
growth, by developing skills and productive capacity of the rural youth
from poor families.
There are several challenges preventing India's rural poor from
competing in the modern market, such as the lack of formal education
and marketable skills. DDU-GKY bridges this gap by funding training
projects benchmarked to global standards, with an emphasis on
placement, retention, career progression and foreign placement.
Features of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana
·
Enable Poor and Marginalized to Access Benefits
Demand led skill training at no cost to the rural poor
·
Inclusive Program Design
Mandatory coverage of socially disadvantaged groups (SC/ST 50%;
Minority 15%; Women 33%)
·
Shifting Emphasis from Training to Career Progression
Pioneers in providing incentives for job retention, career progression
and foreign placements
·
Greater Support for Placed Candidates
Post-placement support, migration support and alumni network
·
Proactive Approach to Build Placement Partnerships
Guaranteed Placement for at least 75% trained candidates
·
Enhancing the Capacity of Implementation Partners
Nurturing new training service providers and developing their skills
·
Regional Focus
Greater emphasis on projects for poor rural youth in Jammu and Kashmir
(HIMAYAT),
the North-East region and 27 Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) districts
(ROSHINI)
·
Standards-led Delivery
All program activities are subject to Standard Operating Procedures
that are not open to interpretation by local inspectors. All inspections
are supported by geo-tagged, time stamped videos/photographs
Implementation Model
months) to 2304 hours (12 months).
Funding components include support for training costs, boarding and lodging
(residential programmes), transportation costs, post-placement support
costs, career progression and retention support costs.
In funding projects, priority is given to PIAs offering:
o Foreign Placement
o Captive Employment: Those PIAs or organizations that take up skill
training to meet internal ongoing HR needs
o Industry Internships: Support for internships with co-funding from industry
o Champion Employers: PIAs who can assure skill training and placement
for a minimum of 10,000 DDU-GKY trainees in a span of 2 years
o Educational Institution of High Repute: Institutes with a minimum National
Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grading of 3.5 or
Community Colleges with University Grants Commission (UGC)/ All India
Council for Technical Education (AICTE) funding willing to take up
DDU-GKY projects
Training Requirements
DDU-GKY funds a variety of skill training programs covering over 250
trades across a range of sectors such as Retail, Hospitality , Health,
Construction, Automotive, Leather, Electrical, Plumbing, Gems and Jewelry,
to name a few. The only mandate is that skill training should be demand
based and lead to placement of at least 75% of the trainees.
The trade specific skills are required to follow the curriculum and norms
prescribed by specified national agencies: the National Council for
Vocational Training and Sector Skills Councils.
In addition to the trade specific skills, training must be provided in
employability and soft skills, functional English and functional Informational
technology literacy so that the training can build cross cutting essential
skills.
Training Quality Assurance
Through the National Policy on Skill Development, 2009, India recognized
the need for the development of a national qualification framework that
would transcend both general education and vocational education and
training. Accordingly, GOI has notified the National Skills Qualification
Framework (NSQF) in order to develop nationally standardized, and
internationally comparable qualification mechanism for skill training
programs which can also provide for interoperability with the mainstream
education system.
DDU-GKY follows a 3-tier implementation model. The DDU-GKY
National Unit at MoRD functions as the policy-making, technical support
and facilitation agency. The DDU-GKY State Missions provide
implementation support; and the Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs)
implement the programme through skilling and placement projects.
In line with NSQF, DDU-GKY mandates independent third party
assessment and certification by assessment bodies empanelled by the
NCVT or SSCs.
Project Funding Support
DDU-GKY is applicable to the entire country. The scheme is being
implemented currently in 33States/UTs across 610 districts partnering
currently with over 202 PIAs covering more than 250 trades across 50+
sectors. So far, from the year 2004-05 till 30th November 2014, a total of
10.94 lakh candidates have been trained and a total of 8.51 lakh candidates
have been given placement.
DDU-GKY provides funding support for placement linked skilling
projects that address the market demand with funding support ranging
from Rs. 25,696 to over Rs. 1 lakh per person, depending on the duration
of the project and whether the project is residential or non-residential.
DDU-GKY funds projects with training duration from 576 hours (3
Scale and Impact
DAILY HOROSCOPE
Aries
You may not be your usual cheery
self today, Aries. Gloom may have
come over you. You may doubt
everything that happens in your
life. No matter how promising a
career, romance, or money matter
seems, you think the worst. Treat
yourself today. Get a massage,
relax in a hot tub, and rub and
soak out those doubting spirits.
That will get you through the day.
Tomorrow you will be back to
normal.
Taurus
A complex creative project could
require some in-depth research
today, Taurus, and you could
spend much of the day online or
in the library. This is probably a
subject you love, so you won't
mind the time you put in. The
inspiration that comes your way
could well last for a while. You
might be able to treat this project
as a business enterprise and give
it more substance.
Gemini
Financial growth adds to a
growing sense of self-worth,
Gemini, especially since your
current situation should continue.
You may have a vivid, emotional
dream. Perhaps it involves a longterm love interest, and your
relationship is fast approaching
the do-or-die stage. The meaning
of the symbols should be fairly
clear. What do they mean to you
and how can you apply them to
your situation?
Cancer
A project could be successfully
completed today, Cancer.
Discussions may already be
taking place about the next one,
but you aren't inclined to think
about that, at least not right away.
You will want to bask in your
accomplishment and relax for a
while. No one can blame you for
that, so don't worry if you don't
go to brainstorming sessions.
Wait until it progresses beyond
talk.
Leo
Service to others might take up a
large part of your day, Leo,
perhaps on an artistic level or
maybe in the form of sharing
psychic or healing energy. Don't
think your efforts are
unappreciated. Those you're
helping may be reticent about
saying anything, but your efforts
aren't lost on them. Think of it
like a bank. Your friends will be
there for you when you need
them.
Libra
Capricorn
Does a love partner appear to be
moody today, Libra? One
moment your friend may be
enthusiastic and optimistic about
the future, and the next moment
overcome with gloom. Don't let
this get to you, and certainly don't
get overly upset with your
partner. Listen rather than talk,
and be patient. Tomorrow your
friend's moods should be back to
normal.
The urge to stay in and rearrange
your furniture might hit you
today, Capricorn. You may want
to clean out the shelves in your
kitchen, add some new
knickknacks, or rearrange your
books
into
specific
classifications. This may be a lot
of work, but it will also be a lot
of fun. Get other members of the
household to help and turn it
into a party..
Scorpio
A love letter or perhaps a poem
or other artistic work dedicated
to you could make your day,
Scorpio. A warm feeling of being
cherished and adored could stay
with you throughout the day as a
result. Hang on to this rosy glow
when things get rocky, especially
on the job. The feelings expressed
in this communication will
probably last for a long time, so
be prepared.
Sagittarius
Virgo
The words for today are
"romance" and "creativity,"
Virgo. Romance is enhanced by
passion generated by a gratifying
love relationship that will
probably last for a long time. This
same relationship, and its
emotions could give rise to
artistic inspiration that can
produce works of a quality that
surprises even you. Don't
exhaust yourself. Know when to
stop.
CM
KY
CM
KY
A love relationship that's been
around for a long time could be
enhanced today by an increased
level of sensuality, Sagittarius.
Intense emotion could pervade
your being, making it difficult to
concentrate on much else. You
will probably spend the day
looking forward to when you can
be alone with your beloved. The
passion that pervades your
lovemaking now is worthy of a
romance novel.
Aquarius
Love takes on an idealized and
fairytale aura today, Aquarius,
as you and a current or potential
partner spend time alone, talking
or just enjoying being together.
The warmth, affection, and high
regard you have for each other
are apparent to everyone. The
nice thing about it is that these
feelings are likely to last. Look
forward to many such days.
Pisces
A meditation circle or other
group activity devoted to
spiritual pursuits could be on
your agenda today, Pisces. It's
important that you attend, as
you need a little peace and quiet,
as well as the support from
others in the group. The
affection you all feel for one
another permeates the evening.
Bask in it and write down any
revelations that come to you.
MAIL BOX
Document theft
It was just a day or two ago
that a senior corporate leader
had
expressed
his
disappointment over the
pace at which business
decisions get cleared. Now
comes the news that “policy
papers were being smuggled
out of the Oil Ministry”
(Feb.20). The corporate
leader in question should
now know where the
obstacles stem from and
should raise the issue before
the CII and FICCI. The greed
of individual industrialists is
often the root cause of
problems. It is also a fact that
government offices lack
proper security; one has
heard of stories of defence
secrets being ferreted out of
the Ministry for a paltry
monetary consideration.
R.N.Bohidar,Puri
Please write Your Valuable
Suggestion mailto:
[email protected]
CM
KY
CM
KY
News
News box
box
Live telecast of antiterror ops should be
prohibited: MHA
New Delhi
CM
KY
Taking a step forward to ban live coverage of terrorrelated operations by TV channels, the Home Ministry
has said that 'anti-terror operations' should be prohibited
from telecasting.Home Ministry stated its position on
the matter after the Information and Broadcasting
Ministry sought definition of terms 'anti-terror
operations' and 'counter-terror actions'.The Home
Ministry has conveyed that live coverage of anti-terror
operations would compromise various aspects of
security and jeopardies the life of security personnel and
innocent people in a hostage situation.The counter
terrorism initiative include construction of roads,
bridges, schools, health centres, improvement of
telecommunication network in Maoist-hit areas besides
othersEarlier, the Home Ministry had asked the
Information and Broadcasting Ministry to amend the
rules to stop live telecast of anti-terror operations.Citing
the unpleasant experence during 26/11 Mumbai terror
attacks when news channels broadcast NSG operations
live, the Home Ministry told the I&B Ministry to amend
the Programme Code under the Cable Television
Network Rules so that no terror-related operation is
telecast live in future.In its letter, the Home Ministry had
said such live coverage not only affects the secrecy and
effectiveness of the operation but also puts the safety of
security forces, common people and journalists in
jeopardy.After the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the National
Broadcaster Association put out a set of rules, including
restriction on live reporting of terror situations, as part of
a self-regulation exercise on the part of private
broadcasters.However, so far there is no official ban on
live coverage of anti-terror operations.The Home
Ministry has sought more changes to the 15-point
Programme Code prescribed under the Cable Television
Network Rules, 1994 for this purpose. The rules were
amended in 2009 when private broadcasters were
brought within the ambit of the Cable Television
Networks Rules.During the Mumbai terror attacks,
television channels had broadcast live images, including
the moves by security forces, para-dropping of
commandos, which led the authorities to intervene and
stop it.Last month, Information and Broadcasting
Minister Arun Jaitley had in a lecture indicated that there
could soon be norms for media coverage of terror-related
operations by saying that the issue is under "serious and
very advanced consideration" of the government.
Central Teacher
Eligibility Test 2015
examination being held
New Delhi
The Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) 2015 exam,
conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE) for aspiring teachers, is being held across the
country on Sunday.The exam, which is conducted twice
a year, is taking place at 988 centres across the
country.The examination is being held in two parts Paper I and II.While Paper I will be held from 2 pm to
4:30 pm, Paper II will be held from 9:30 am to 12
pm.Those clearing Paper I will be eligible to become
teachers between Classes I-V while Paper II will be for
the teachers between Classes VI-VIII.Candidates who
wish to be teachers for both levels are require to appear
for both the papers.The admit card for the candidates
were available for download on the official website of
CTET..
CM
KY
CBI and CVC have given their views on the
provisions of the Lokpal amendment bill to a
parliamentary panel examining it.
"We have got the views from Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) and Central Vigilance
Commission (CVC). These are under
consideration of the committee," E M
Sudarsana Natchiappan, who is heading a
parliamentary committee examining the
Lokpal Bill, said.He said the committee had
earlier invited memoranda containing views or
suggestions from the individuals and
organisations through public advertisement on
the proposed changes in the anti-corruption
legislation and they are being looked into."We
are taking up the matter of the bill one by one.
We cannot given any timeframe (as to when the
panel will be giving its report). But it is a
priority for us," Natchiappan told PTI.A 31member Department Related Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Personnel, Public
Grievances, Law and Justice, headed by
Natchiappan, is examining the Lokpal and
Lokayuktas and Other Related Law
(Amendment) Bill, 2014. The Bill was
introduced in Lok Sabha on December 8 last
year.The committee has been mandated to
examine the bill and submit its report by March
25.He said the Department of Personnel and
Training, nodal authority of the central
government for anti-corruption matters, is also
providing its input on the proposed changes in the
Lokpal Act.The amendments seeks to provide for
the alternative of leader of single largest
Opposition party in the Lok Sabha in the event
there is no Leader of Opposition in the House, for
being represented on the selection panel for
appointments of chairperson and members of
Lokpal.It aims to provide for qualifications for
appointment of Director of Prosecution in the CBI
for the sake of its functional independence.The bill
also seeks to lay down the tenure of the eminent
jurist nominated as member of the Lokpal and to
provide for a scheme wherein the filing of
information by the public servants is brought in
harmony with the provisions of the respective acts,
rules or regulations as applicable to different
categories of public servants.The Lokpal and
Lokayuktas Act provides for establishment of a
Lokpal for the Union and Lokayuktas for the states
to inquire into corruption charges against public
functionaries.The Lokpal selection committee, led
by the Prime Minister, has as its members the Lok
Sabha Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition in the
Lower House, the Chief Justice of India or a judge
of the apex court nominated by him, and an
eminent jurist who could be nominated by the
President or any other member.
New Delhi
The Government has asked ministries to
properly dispose off applications and appeals
filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act as
per the laid down guidelines.The Public
Information Officer (PIO) should communicate
reason for rejection, period within which appeal
can be filed and particulars of appellate authority
while rejecting a RTI application, the
Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)
said in an order.An applicant should be given
details of further fees to be paid, the calculations
made to arrive at the amount of fees asked and
the fact that the applicant has a right to make
appeal about the amount of fees so demanded, it
said.
While disposing off first appeals, the first
appellate authorities should act in a fair and
judicious manner. It is very important that the
order passed by the first appellate authority
should be a detailed and speaking order, giving
justification for the decision arrived at, the DoPT
said.If an appellate authority while deciding an
appeal comes to a conclusion that the appellant
should be supplied information in addition to
what has been supplied by the PIO, he may either
pass an order directing the officer to give such
information or he himself may give information
to the appellant, it said.The appellate authority
should ensure that the information ordered by
him to be supplied (by PIO) is iven to the
appellant immediately, the DoPT said."It would,
however, be better if the appellate authority
chooses the second course of action and he
himself furnishes the information along with the
order passed by him in the matter," it said.
A citizen can seek information on
governancematters by exercising his Right to
Information.
New Delhi
To ensure that students preparing for their exams remain stress free, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will on Sunday shar motivational thoughts on his popular radio
programme 'Mann ki Baat'.For today's Mann ki Baat programme, PM Modi had invited
suggestions from students, parents and teachers from across the country. He later took
to Twitter and thanked all those who had sent him their thoughts.“Am happy that
students, parents & teachers are sharing insightful thoughts for this Sunday's 'Mann Ki
Baat' programme,” he wrote.The Central Board of Secondary Education has asked its
students to attentively listen to PM's address.As the board exams are fast approaching,
the students usually get tensed and PM's address is aimed to reduce such tense
atmosphere.In the last month's Mann ki Baat programme, PM Modi along with US
President Barack Obama had addressed the nation jointly.The radio programme, which
is a brainchild of PM Modi and was started in October last year, is aired.
France in new bid to nail
fighter jet deal with India
New Delhi
France`s defence minister will visit New Delhi
this week in a fresh bid to nail a troubled deal to
sell 126 Rafale fighter jets which has been
snagged for three years and now faces new
questions about its cost.Jean-Yves Le Drian will
meet his counterpart Manohar Parrikar and
other officials on Monday and Tuesday to
prevent the sale`s collapse ahead of an
upcoming visit to Paris by India`s Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.French company
Dassault Aviation won the right in January 2012
to enter exclusive negotiations with India to
supply 126 Rafale fighters, with experts saying
a final deal could be worth $12 billion.The idea
is for Dassault to supply 18 of the twin-engine
fighters later this year while the remaining 108
would be made by state-run Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd under technology transfer
Robert Vadra to
be taken off nofrisking list at
Properly dispose off RTI
airports?
applications, appeals:
Govt to departments
PM Narendra Modi to
motivate parents, students
on 'Mann ki Baat'
CBI, CVC give view on
Lokpal amendments to
Parliamentary panel
New Delhi
National
P-3
Tuesday , February 24 2015
BHUBANESWAR
agreements with India.But negotiations
have proved fraught, both under Modi`s
government and its Congress predecessor,
while a committee which is looking into the
deal has reportedly found that it was not the
cheapest option.France`s defence ministry
has said the visit will give the governments a
chance to discuss "international affairs and
defence industry issues", but there is little
doubt Rafale will dominate proceedings.Le
Drian`s visit comes barely two months after
he also came to India for talks with Parrikar
when they both agreed to push on with
negotiations.Modi`s right-wing
government, which won power in elections
last May, has been blowing hot and cold
about the progress of discussions.
A defence ministry spokesman said during
Le Drian`s visit in December that
outstanding differences "would be resolved
in a fast-track manner".But the government
has also commissioned a report about the
project costs, adding yet more
uncertainty.Speaking at an air show in
Bangalore last week, Parrikar said he
expected the contract negotiation committee
(CNC) to submit its report within weeks."I
have asked the CNC to speed up the process of
completion of the report for us to take a
decision on the acquisition of Rafale," he told
reporters.India`s Business Standard
newspaper reported earlier this month that the
committee had found the Rafale proposal was
in fact more expensive than a rival one by
Eurofighter for its Typhoon jets.The paper
quoted defence ministry sources as saying the
Rafale deal was "effectively dead" although
the Indian top brass is still publicly backing
it.If the deal were to collapse, it would be a
BSF wants special pay for being
1st line of defence at borders
New Delhi
New Delhi
Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law,
Robert Vadra, is reportedly likely to be taken off
the no-frisking list at airports.Vadra's name is
expected to be taken off the list of the dignitaries
even though Union Home Ministry is yet to take a
call on the Civil Aviation Ministry's demand for
the same, as per news reports.Among the
dignitaries who are exempted from frisking
include the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker,
Supreme Court judges and those given protection
by SPG.Shortly after the Narendra Modi-led
government came to power at the Centre, it was
said that the dignitaries mentioned on the nofrisking list would be assessed.The list is
prepared by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
(BCAS) on the basis of inputs given y the Home
Ministry.Meanwhile, after reports of government
considering cancellation of such facilities to
Robert Vadra surfaced last year, his wife Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra had asked the SPG to withdraw the
exemption given to her family at the airports.
Country's largest border guarding force BSF
has made a strong pitch for a special 'border
service' pay for its men stating the troops are
deployed well ahead of the Army along
international borders and they face the "first
brunt" of an enemy attack.The 2.5-lakh
strong Border Security Force (BSF) has
sought the special allowance on the lines of
what is being granted to Army troops under
Military Service Pay (MSP) when deployed
in hard and harsh border areas, like on the
Indo-Pakistan border.The BSF, in a report
presented to the Union Home Ministry and
the 7th Pay Commission, said it meets the
criteria for qualifying under this category
like the Army and other defence forces, as it
is the "first line of defence on borders with
Pakistan and Bangladesh and it faces the first
brunt of enemy and has been defending the
brders of India from the last 49 years".The
force has said it is "ironical" and
"demoralising" for its men in border combat
that they do not get special allowances like
their colleagues in the Army as they are
deployed in very much the same area and
conditions."Ironically, the army personnel on
Line of Control and elsewhere are placed in
similar situations, similar area, facing similar
enemy and similar threat, deployed in the
similar hardships and similar climate are
entitled for MSP, (but) the co-located BSF
personnel gets none."The life of a BSF
personnel s much harder, difficult, risky and
committed than that of the Army personnel.
Thus, it is very demoralising that while the
Army personnel get the MSP, the BSF
personnel are deprived of it despite similar
kind of commitments, risks and hardships,"
the report accessed by PTI said.The force,
raised in 1965 and celebrating its 50 years in
2015, demanded that the BSP should be given
to its troops at the rate of 30 per cent of their
existing basic pay.BSF draws some parallels
and exceptions vis-a-vis some of its
characteristics when compared with the
Army."Like army, the BSF recruitment is
conducted under tough physical/medical
Government calls all-party meeting
ahead of tough budget session
New Delhi
The government called for an all-party
meeting on Sunday as it braces for a tough
budget session beginning tomorrow.Lok
Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has also
called a meeting today evening of leaders of
parties in the house to ensure its smooth
functioning.The government's agenda
includes 44 items of financial, legislative and
non-legislative business.The session will
begin with Pesident Pranab Mukherjee's
address to members of both houses of
parliament.The NDA government will find it
tough to get bills replacing six ordinances
passed.The government faces an uphill task
in getting the bills aimed at replacing
ordinances passed as opposition parties have
conveyed their firm stand against some of
them including the land acquisition
ordinance.Though the government has held
back channel discussions on contentious
bills with leaders of opposition parties, there
is no sign of a breakthrough so far.An official
huge embarrassment for the French
government, which is preparing to
welcome Modi for his first visit to Europe
as premier in April.Dassault was able to
celebrate the signing of a purchase
agreement with Egypt last Monday for 24
Rafales, the first foreign sale of the
fighters.While the company`s chief
executive Eric Trappier has acknowledged
the Indian negotiations have taken longer
than expected, he told France`s Les Echos
financial daily recently that "we are not
particularly worried".One of the main
sticking points has been over who should
carry the can for any problems with the 108
planes that would be made in India, with
the government in Delhi wanting
guarantees from Dassault.Dassault
however has baulked at the idea of taking
responsibility for the laIndia, which has
long been the world`s largest buyer of
defence equipment, is in the midst of a
multi-billion-dollar upgrade of ageing
hardware, and recently lifted a cWhile his
government has pledged t push forward
with purchases which stalled under
Congress, Modi wants to end India`s status
as the world`s number one defence
importer and to have 70 percent of
hardware manufactured domestically by
the turn of the decade.
release said that th financial business (11
items) include presentation of and discussion
on general and railway budget, voting on
demands for grants, supplementary demands
for grants for 2014-15 and excess demands, if
any, for 2013-14. The rail budget will be
presented Feb 26, Economic Survey Feb 27
and general budget Feb 28.The legislative
agenda comprises introduction, consideration
and passing of seven new bills by both the
houses including the Finance Bill, 2015 and
bills replacing the six ordinances.
While 10 new bills are slated to be introduced,
CM
KY
the government's agenda
includes passing of three bills
pending in the Lok Sabha and
seven in the Rajya Sabha. Those
pending in the Lok Sabha are:
The Constitution (122nd
Amendment) Bill, 2014 relating
to introduction of GST, The Lok
Pal and Lok Ayuktas and other
Related Law (Amendment) Bill,
2014 and The Repealing and
Amending Bill, 2014. After
being passed by the Lok Sabha,
these bills will be taken up by the
Rajya Sabha.Bills pending in the
Rajya Sabha include four bills already
passed by Lok Sabha - The Companies
(Amendment) Bill, 2014, The Public
Premises Eviction of Unauthorised
Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2014, The
Regional Rural Banks (Amendment)
Bill, 2014, The Repealing and Amending
(Second) Bill, 2014, and the Payments
and Settlement Systems(Amendment)
Bill, 2014.Other pending bills are: The
Prevention of Corruption (Amendment)
CM
KY
CM
KY
guidelines and as a border man they are
expected to maintain the highest standard of
physical fitness and discipline throughout
their service to be able to serve under
toughest conditions."Unlike army, there
being no concept of peace station in the BSF,
the majority of BSF personnel are compelled
to live separately away from their families
due to adverse service conditions. This
invariably results in an inevitable long
separation from family life and alienation
from the same society from where he joined
BSF at the ender age of 18 plus," the report
said.The force said it has demontrated its
capabilities and bravery alongside Army
during the outbreak of various hostilities
along the Indian borders like the 1971 war,
the 1999 Kargil conflict and 'Op Parakram'
(post Parliament attack)."BSF is deployed on
extreme frontiers of India. But due to
operational imperatives and to maintain the
operational efficiency of the force the troops
are shifted from extreme hard to hard/normal
areas and vice-versa after a gap of 2 to 3
years.
Bill,2013 and The Constitution (Scheduled
Casts) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
The new bills pertain to on the National
Cooperative Development Corporation, the
Warehousing Corporation, Andhra Pradesh
reorganisation, arbitration and conciliation,
repeal of appropriation acts, registration of
births and deaths, whistle blowers protection,
Indian Institutes of Management, National
Academic Depository and Identification of
Scheduled Castes.The non-legislative business
for the session includes discussion on the
motion of thanks to the President's address.
The first part of the session will continue till
March 20. The second part will commence
after a month-long recess from April 20 and
conclude May 8.There will be 20 working days
during the first half of budget session and 13 in
the second half.During the intervening recess,
standing committees will take up detailed
examination of the demands for grants of
different ministries.
Gandhian Anna Hazare is also scheduled to
hold a protest against the land acquisition
ordinance from Monday at Jantar Mantar.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is
expected to join protest by the party against the
ordinance.Janata Dal-United leader KC Tyagi
said "morale of opposition will be high"
following defeat of Bharatiya Janata Party in
the Delhi elections.
CM
KY
Business
Business
BHUBANESWAR
News
News box
box
Top six Sensex firms
add Rs 57,869 cr in
market valuation
New Delhi:
The top six Sensex companies together added Rs
57,869.38 crore in market valuation last week, with
bluechips such as TCS, ITC and HDFC stealing the
show.Barring ONGC, RIL, Infosys and SBI, rest of the
six companies in the top 10 list saw a rise in their market
capitalisation for the week ended Friday (February 20).
The market valuation of TCS surged by Rs 26,677.87
crore at Rs 5,23,930.35 crore while that of ITC soared by
Rs 14,385.58 crore at Rs 3,16,821.68 crore.
HDFC's market value zoomed by Rs 10,231.97 crore at
Rs 2,09,691.51 crore while CIL added Rs 3,284.51 crore
at Rs 2,41,727.27 crore.The market capitalisation of
HDFC Bank climbed by Rs 1,677.36 crore at Rs
2,68,515.60 crore while that of HUL rose by Rs 1,612.09
crore at Rs 1,94,734.09 crore.On the other hand, RIL's
market value suffered a loss of Rs 14,220.1 crore at Rs
2,82,541.66 crore and the market capitalisation of
ONGC dipped by Rs 7,400.5 crore at Rs 2,83,400.61
crore.SBI's capitalisation declined by Rs 3,583.55 crore
at Rs 2,25,651.72 crore while Infosys lost Rs 1,389.66
crore at Rs 2,62,345.53 crore.In the ranking of top 10
firms, TCS stood at the number one position, followed by
ITC, ONGC, RIL, HDFC Bank, Infosys, CIL, SBI,
HDFC and HUL.Over the last week, the benchmark BSE
Sensex rose by 136.48 points at 29,231.41.
CM
KY
DLF to sell 50%
stakes in 4 projects
to PE firms for Rs
3,000 cr
New Delhi
CM
KY
Realty major DLF plans to divest around 50 percent
stake each in four new housing projects to private equity
firms for over Rs 3,000 crre, a senior company official
said on Sunday.India's largest real estate firm expects to
close some of the deals by June and would utilise the
funds to improve its cash-flows that have been affected
due to slowdown in housing demand."We are looking
for private equity in greenfield housing projects in
Delhi-NCR and South India," DLF Chief Financial
officer (CFO) Ashok Tyagi told PTI.He said discussions
with few private equity players have started but declined
to disclose their names.Tyagi hoped that at least 2-3 PE
deals should get closed by June-end. "We are targeting to
raise about Rs 2,500 crore by June from 2-3
deals".Asked about the dilution of stake in each of the 4
housing projects, Tyagi said it would be around 50
percent.On the utilisation of funds raised via private
equity at projects level, he said the same would be
utilised "to augment the operating cash flow of our
development arm DevCo".DLF has divided its real
estate business in two parts - DevCo, under which all
residential projects fall, and RentCo, which is the rental
business from office and retail projects."Since sales are
slow, we are planning to raise about Rs 3,000 crore
through private equity. In the short term, PE fund will be
the substitute for the cash flow which would have
normally come from sales," Tyagi said.DLF CFO said
out of Rs 20,336 crore net debt, nearly Rs 6,500 crore
pertains to DevCo."Debt of DevCo will remain around
this level in short term and we will pare the debt as and
when sales improve," he added.On RentCo's debt, Tyagi
said it would increase in the short term and eventually
get reduced through launch of two Real Estate
Investment Trusts (REITs).Earlier this month, DLF had
reported 9 percent decline in consolidated net profit at
Rs 131.79 crore for the quarter ended December due to
fall in sales and other income.Its net profit stood at Rs
145.29 crore in the yar-ago period.Income from
operations fell 5 percent to Rs 1,956.72 crore for the
third quarter of this fiscal from Rs 2,058.42 crore in the
corresponding period of the previous year.
Total income declined by 20 percent to Rs 2,079.82
crore for the quarter ended December from Rs 2,590.2
crore in the year-ago period.DLF has a land bank of
about 295 million square feet, of which 50 million
square feet is under development.
EPFO mulls medical
benefits for its pensioners
New Delhi
Retirement fund body EPFO is planning to provide
medical benefits under its pension scheme through the
Employees' State Insurance Corporation, a move which
would immedately benefit around 46 lakh
pensioners.The Employees' Provident Fund
Organisation's (EPFO) Pension & EDLI Implementation
Committee (PEIC) has recently concluded in its meeting
held on January 30 that the pensioners should be extended
the facility of medical benefits."..Medical benefit as an
extra benefit should be recommended to Labour
Ministry," the committee concluded as per the minutes of
the committee's meeting held last month.It was suggested
that the surplus in Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance
scheme could be used for extending medical benefits
through ESIC.It was also pointed out in the meeting that
retired government employees are provided medical
benefits under the Central Government Health Services
and even unorganised workers are covered under the
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) but there is no
such facility for EPFO pensioners.A senior official said,
"If EPFO chooses the ESIC for extending health benefits
to its pensioners then they would be able to use the OPD
(out patient department) facility .
P-4
Tuesday , February 24 2015
IBA agrees to meet PE players seal over
$1.17 bn deals in
bank unions on
January: Thornton
Monday to avert strike
New Delhi
Mumbai
The Indian Banks Association has decided to hold
further talks with leaders of public sector bank
unions who have given a call for four-day nationwide strike from February 25."The IBA has invited
us for talks on Monday in Mumbai and we have
agreed to participate in the talks," United Forum of
Bank Unions (Maharashtra) and All-India Bank
Employees Union vice-president Vishwas Utagi
said.The unions have threatened the strike to press
wage-hike demand. This will be their fifth strike this
fiscal.IBA has offered a 13 percent hike which will
put a burden of Rs 4,095 crore on the banks, against
the unions' demand of 19.5 percent hike which
would increase the salary bill by Rs 10,000 crore per
annum.
The twenty-eight public sector banks in the country
have a combined employee strength of about eight
lakh.ating huge losses or steep decline in net profit
amid rising bad loans and record low credit
growth.The unions are also demanding a five-day
week as in other public sector undertakings and
regulated banking hours against the present
system of not having defined working hours for
officers.However, an IBA official said that fiveday week was not acceptable to the government,
and regulated hours were not feasible either as the
daily work has to be completed anyway.UFBU
also wants that about three lakh vacancies in the
sector be filled up, but it is opposed to contract
hiring or outsourcing."We hope that the
government would intervene and help in arriving
at amicable understanding. If no tangible
outcome comes from Monday's talks, UFBU
would be constrained to go ahead with the strike,"
Utagi said, alleging that the IBA and the
government were creating roadblocks in
talks.The wage revision of PSB employees is due
since November 2012. Earlier, unions had
deferred one-day strike of January 7 as IBA
improved the wage-hike offer to 12.5 per cent
from 11 percent. They also postponed a four-day
strike from January 21. In December the unions
had struck work for four days on rotation from
December 2.
FIIs pump Rs 16,500 cr in
capital markets in February
New Delhi
Foreign investors have poured in a little
over Rs 16,500 crore in Indian capital
markets in this month so far on hopes of
a pro-growth Budget and rising
expectations that government will
accelerate reforms.The latest inflows
take the total investment to Rs 50,205
crore (USD 8.2 billion) since the
beginning of 2015.In January, overseas
investors had pumped in Rs 33,688crore
in Indian debt and equities.Foreign
institutional investors (FIIs) have
bought shares worth Rs 6,850 crore in
February so far.In the debt segment,
they invested funds to the tune of Rs
9,667 crore, taking the total investment
to Rs 16,516 crore, the Central
Depository Services' data showed.FIIs
were rechristened as foreign portfolio
investors or FPIs last year under a new
regulatory regime that promises to make
it easier for them to invest in
India.Market participants attributed the
robust inflows to positive investor
sentiment driven by the government's
Private equity deals worth USD 1.17 billion were sealed in the very
first month of this year, registering a jump of 74 percent over last year,
says a Grant Thornton report.According to the assurance, tax and
advisory firm, the upward trend in PE investment activity continued
in January with 74 percent higher deal values compared to the same
month last year.In January 2014 there were 54 private equity deals
worth USD 675 million.Private equity investments witnessed
heightened interest in IT & ITeS, particularly in the e-commerce
space, which drove both values and volumes.In one such
investments, online marketplace ShopClues raised over USD 100
million from a group of investors led by Tiger Global.The month also
saw big ticket investments from global PE players into the Indian
hospital sector, led by Manipal Health Enterprises' proposed sale of
its 24.75 percent stake to global private investment firm TPG.BFS
also witnessed renewed interest, with Ujjivan Financial receiving
close to USD 100 million of funding, making it the single largest
investment into a microfinance lender in India.Other top PE deals of
the month include, IDFC -India Infrastructure Fund's USD 81 million
investment in DB Power Limited for a 15 percent stake in the
company and SAIF partners' USD 60 million investment in One97
Communications, the Grant Thornton report said.Sector-wise, IT &
ITeS attracted 37 transactions worth USD 411 million, followed by
pharma and healthcare (5 deals, USD 303 million) and media and
entertainment (5, USD 39 million) respectively."IT & ITeS continue
to lead both M&A and PE activity in India with M&A majorly driven
by consolidation trends within the sector and PE still maintaining the
sector as flavour of the month," Grant Thornton India LLP Partner
Prashant Mehra said.
Stock market to
remain volatile ahead
of F&O expiry, Budget
New Delhi
announcement of several reform
measures in recent months and
expectation of more announcements
in the Union Budget, to be presented
on February 28.Investors are keenly
focused on the new government's
first full-year Budget, looking at it
as a gauge to measure the
government's reform
momentum."The upcoming Budget
could be the most important one for
the stock market after the early
1990s, when India launched
economic liberalisation," Morgan
Stanley said in a report.Of the total
inflows, a lion's share came into debt
markets, which analysts attributed to
measures taken by Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) and the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to
attract long-term overseas investors.
Stock market is expected to remain volatile during the week due to
key events such as presentation of economic survey and General
Budget, and xpiry of derivative contracts, say experts.The prebudget expectations will start building up and corresponding
sectors may see increased interest, analysts said.Moreover, the
stock market will be open on the Budget day, February 28, and
trading would be conducted during normal hours from 0900 hrs to
1530 hrs, despite it being a Saturday. The stock market is generally
closed on Saturdays and Sundays, except for special
circumstances."We expect markets to remain volatile on account of
key event of Railway and Union Budget along with the expiry of
February series," an expert said.Market trading would also be
influenced by investment trend by overseas investors, movement of
rupee against the dollar and crude oil price."Movement of index in
near term will remain on further reform initiatives to be taken by the
government in the upcoming budget on February 28, 2015. In near
term Nifty is likely to remain volatile amid February contract
expires but expected to continue its uptrend," said Vivek Gupta,
CMT ? Director Research, CapitalVia Global Research
Limited.Parliament will commence the budget session on February
23. The Railway Budget will be presented on February 26, which
will be followed by the Economic Survey on February 27 and Union
Budget on February 28.
IBA agrees to meet bank unions on
Monday to avert strike
Mumbai
The Indian Banks Association has
decided to hold further talks with
leaders of public sector bank unions
who have given a call for four-day
nation-wide strike from February
25."The IBA has invited us for talks on
Monday in Mumbai and we have agreed
to participate in the talks," United
Forum of Bank Unions (Maharashtra)
and All-India Bank Employees Union
vice-president Vishwas Utagi said.The
unions have threatened the strike to
press wage-hike demand. This will be
their fifth strike this fiscal.
IBA has offered a 13 percent hike which
will put a burden of Rs 4,095 crore on the
banks, against the unions' demand of
19.5 percent hike which would increase
the salary bill by Rs 10,000 crore per
annum.The twenty-eight public sector
banks in the country have a combined
employee strength of about eight lakh.
Most state-run banks have been
reporting huge losses or steep decline
in net profit amid rising bad loans and
record low credit growth.
The unions are also demanding a fiveday week as in other public sector
undertakings and regulated banking
hours against the present system of not
having defined working hours for
officers.However, an IBA official said
that five-day week was not acceptable
to the government, and regulated hours
were not feasible either as the daily
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work has to be completed anyway.
UFBU also wants that about three lakh
vacancies in the sector be filled up, but
it is opposed to contract hiring or
outsourcing."We hope that the
government would intervene and help
in arriving at amicable understanding.
If no tangible outcome comes from
Monday's talks, UFBU would be
constrained to go ahead with the strike,"
Utagi said, alleging that the IBA and the
government were creating roadblocks
in talks.The wage revision of PSB
employees is due since November
2012. Earlier, unions had deferred oneday strike of January 7 as IBA improved
the wage-hike offer to 12.5 per cent
from 11 percent. They also postponed a
four-day strike from January 21. In
December the unions had struck work
for four days on rotation from
December 2.
Start-ups to create 3 lakh
new jobs by 2020
New Delhi
Start-ups are likely to create as many as three
lakh new employment opportunities in the next
few years while 80 percent of job-seekers are
opting for such ventures -- which are already
attracting funds from investors.According to
HR experts, the start-ups employed about
50,000 to 60,000 people in the last year itself
and the hiring outlook looks positive across
sectors in the near term.Research conducted by
HR consultants also showed that a vast majority
of up to 80 percent job aspirants prefer jobs at
start-ups, as compared to already established
companies.As per estimates of the talent
assessment firmMeritTrac, the start-up
ecosystem in India may hire 2.5 -3 lakh
employees by 2020."Indian start up ecosystem
is one of the fastest growing in the world. We are
witnessing an unprecedented enthusiasm in the
industry with respect to hiring for these start
ups," MeritTrac Innovations and New Products
Development General Manager Rajeev Menon
said.
The firm's research further showed that
over 80 percent of job seekers are willing to
get associated with start-ups.
Noting that hiring for start ups was not
easy in the past, Menon said: "The situation
is much different now. Job seekers are
willing to bet their careers with start ups.
They see greater opportunities to learn,
establish and grow faster in these start
ups"."The firms that have attracted funding
are surprisingly much better pay masters in
industry and equity that is offered by some
start ups adds to the attraction," Menon
added.Echoing sentiments, HR services
firm Randstad India CEO Moorthy K
Uppaluri said that "in the last two years, we
have seen a consistent increase in
candidates preferring start-ups over other
established firms and this trend is likely to
grow".Experts have attributed the hiring
trend among start ups to positive economic
sentiments and increase in interest among
venture capitalists to invest in start
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ups.Data provided by Career Shapers
HR Consulting showed that venture
capital firms invested about USD 1.06
billion (Rs 6,600 crore) in over 244
startups, during 2014."Indian start-ups
are not taking baby steps anymore and
have sufficient funds to sustain and hire
experienced professionals," Career
Shapers HR Consulting Principal
Consultant & Director Pankaj Minglani
said.
Mobile commerce platform
StoreHippo.Com CEO & Founder Rajiv
Kumar said: "Buoyed by government
initiatives like e-governance, easing of
regulatory norms, initiatives like 'Make
in India' and a positive outlook for the
Indian economy in the coming fiscal,
there will be a huge rise in the number of
start-up ventures"."A big shift is
underway in the Indian technology
space where emerging ventures are
winning business from large clients in
the face of competition from established
players," Kumar added.
Kumar noted that "several startups,
which offer more nimble solutions in
areas like data analytics, mobility,
security, cloud and mobile applications,
are often being chosen ahead of the big
boys like Infosys, Wipro, TCS,
Microsoft and IBM".As per experts,
hiring is expected to largely take place
from start ups engaged in e-commerce
space, cloud services, mobiles and
tablets as well as financial
services."Although predominantly startups are found in technology related
fields such as e-commerce, cloud
computing and data analytics, in the
recent times, many non-tech start-ups
are emerging across sectors like
education, microfinance, agro-based
products and corporate consulting,"
Moorthy said.
According to HR firm Unison
International's Managing Director Udit
Mittal, the hiring would mainly be for
positions at the mid-level and seniorlevel.
"Start up is 'democratising' business.
Today, anyone with a good idea or
capability can build a business. This is a
surprising change from the past. There is
a large pool of talent, awareness,
guidance, funding and above all - a
market where ideas can be
experimented," Menon said.
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Tuesday , February 24 2015
BHUBANESWAR
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World
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Caracas mayor to
appeal coup plot charge
Caracas
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The mayor of Caracas, who was detained and charged
with plotting to overthrow Venezuelan President
Nicolas Maduro`s government, will appeal the
"baseless" allegations, his lawyer said
Saturday.Antonio Ledezma`s arrest is part of a
growing crackdown on high-profile opponents of the
socialist president as OPEC member Venezuela
struggles with a deepening economic crisis.
"His defense will be using everything we have at our
disposal," attorney Omar Estacio told AFP.
"For now, we are planning an appeal because the
allegations against the mayor are baseless and
illegal."A leading opponent of Maduro, the 59-yearold mayor was arrested Thursday for his alleged
involvement in a conspiracy "to organize and carry out
violent acts against the government," prosecutors have
said.Opposition leader Henrique Capriles called on
the government to produce evidence of the supposed
conspiracy."Does Maduro think that putting evryone
in prison is going to get him 50 popularity points or
that he`s going to win elections?" the two-time
presidential candidate asked.Maduro, who has
accused the opposition of trying to topple him several
times since his April 2013 election, said that the mayor
was detained over a coup plot financed by the United
States.Washington dismissed the "baseless and false"
claims.erican bloc is planning to hold an extraordinary
meeting of foreign ministers on the situation in
Venezuela.Organization of America States Secretary
General Jose Miguel Insulza said Ledezma`s arrest
"has caused alarm" due to the way he was detained.He
called on the government to "stop those acts that lead
to a spiral of polarization that envelops Venezuelan
society."Last week, Ledezma and other opposition
figures signed a newspaper advertisement calling for a
democratic transition in Venezuela.Maduro -- an
elected socialist whom critics say has amassed more
and more power while pressuring out opposition -- has
seen his popularity sink to 20 percent amid a growing
shortage of basic goods, massive lines outside
supermarkets and soaring inflation of almost 70
percent in the recession-hit country.Plunging oil prices
also have eroded what is left in Venezuela`s
coffers.Venezuela still spends billions of dollars on
international cooperation, most heavily on propping
up the allied communist government in Cuba.
As many as 2,800 inmates to
be moved from Texas prison
Raymondville
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As many as 2,800 federal prisoners will be moved to
other institutions after inmates seized control of part of
a prison in South Texas, causing damage that made the
facility "uninhabitable," an official said.Ed Ross, a
spokesman for the US Bureau of Prisons, said the
inmates who had taken control are "now compliant" but
that negotiations were ongoing yesterday in an effort
for staff to "regain complete control" of the Willacy
County Correctional Center."The situation is not
resolved, though we're moving toward a peaceful
resolution," FBI spokesman Erik Vasys said yesterday
evening.It wasn't immediately clear what progress had
been made through the negotiations, but Sheriff Larry
Spence said there were no hostages involved in the
standoff and only minor injuries reported. Spence said
the inmates "have pipes they can use as
weapons."Management & Training Corp., the private
contractor that operates the center for the US Bureau of
Prisons, said about 2,000 inmates became disruptive on
Friday because they were upset with medical services
and refused to perform work duties.MTC spokesman
Issa Arnita said in a statement that prison administrators
met with inmates on Friday to address their concerns,
but the facility was placed on lockdown.Arnita said
inmates "breached" their housing units and reached the
recreation yard. The Valley Morning Star newspaper
reported fires were set inside three of the prison's 10
housing units.Authorities say about 800 to 900 other
inmates were not participating in the disturbance. The
inmates being held at the facility, which is in far South
Texas more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of
San Antonio, are described as "low-level" offenders
who are primarily immigrants in the US illegally.
"Correctional officers used non-lethal force, tear gas, to
attempt to control the unruly offenders," Arnita said in
the statement.No inmate breached two perimeter
security fences, and there's no danger to the public, he
said.Though it was unclear what about the medical
services had upset the inmates, a 2007 report by the
American Civil Liberties Union found that inadequate
access to medical care was among the most common
complaints of detained immigrants.
Rockets target Libya airfield
used by anti-Islamist general
P-6
Video showing beheading of 21
Egyptian Coptic Christians by
ISIS was doctored?
Three Italians
killed, two hurt in
Swiss Alps
avalanche: Police
Geneva
Washington
The gruesome video released by the
Islamic State that showed beheading of
21 Egyptian Coptic Christians near
Libyan beach has been claimed as
'faked' by experts, reports stated on
Saturday.According to Daily Mail, the
experts believe that though the men
were killed by the ISIS militants, doubts
are being raised over whether some
scenes were manipulated.The experts
have raised doubts over militants
featuring in the video to be 7ft tall and
also on whether the men were all
murdered on the beach and whether they
were all killed at the same time.
The FoxNews quoted Editorial Director
of the Florida-based Terrorism Research
& Analysis Consortium, Veryan Khan as
s a y i n g , “ T h e I s l a m i c S t a t e ’s
manipulation of their high-production
videos has become commonplace. The
murders likely took place in a studio,
and the background image shown was
likely from another location, the Bay in
Sirte, a part of the Mediterranean Sea on
the northern coast of Libya. There are
several technical mistakes in the video
that show it was manipulated.”Backing
Veryan Khan's point of view, Hollywood
horror film director Mary Lambert also told
FoxNews that “The shot that seems really
tampered with is the one with the really tall
Jihadists and the dwarf Christians. Also the
close-ups of Jihadists on the beach are most
likely green screen.”Other experts also
opine that the sound of the ocean is likely a
well-known audio track. Moreover, the blood
stream of blood shown at the end of the video
and during the execution of the last victim is
also not real one.The Egyptian Coptic
Christians workers were kidnapped in Libya
by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in late
December and early January. In the video they
are shown wearing orange jumpsuits while
their executioners are in black.
Three Italians were killed and two were injured
when they were hit by an avalanche while
skiing in an area known as "Death Valley" in the
Swiss Alps on Saturday, police said.Two
women and one man died in the accident, while
one man remained in serious condition and
another man had been slightly injured, police in
the canton of Valais said in a statement.The five
were skiing cross-country near a guesthouse in
the Grand Saint-Bernard pass, not far from the
Italian border, when a massive sheet of snow,
measuring 80 metres (260 feet) across and up to
300 metres long (nearly 1,000 feet), dislodged
and swept them away.The accident happened
shortly after 1:00 pm (1200 GMT), at an
altitude of around 2,300 metres, and weather
conditions and thick fog complicated the rescue
operation, police said.Rescue helicopters were
forced to land further away from the avalanche
site, and rescuers had to cover a greater distance
on foot, police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet
told AFP.They did manage to locate the skiers,
who were all carrying avalanche victim
detectors. Some were buried under as much as
2.5 metres of snow.But four had been seriously
injured and taken by helicopter to nearby
hospitals, where three of them died."The fourth
is undergoing resuscitation, so it`s quite
serious," Bornet said.
Fleeing Nigeria air strikes, Boko
Haram militants drown in Lake Chad
Abuja
In a major victory to Nigerian armed forces,
Boko Haram militants are said to have bitten
the dust as the military claims to have driven
them out of the town of Baga.
The Nigerian military said that the Boko
Haram militants fleeing the Nigerian Air
Force strikes drowned in Lake Chad,
however a 'substantial' number of militants
are said to have survived with “various
degrees of injury, in the series of encounter
along the routes of advance of the as troops
headed for Baga”.Flaunting their victory
after a fierce battle with the militants, the
military said that they had managed to chase
the Boko Haram men despite a net of
landmines scattered over 1500 spots along
their route of advance.
The army also seized weapons and vehicles
from the terrorists.The military has now
begun a “comprehensive cordon and
search” operation to flush out those troops
that may be hiding in the town.
Geneva
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in
Geneva Sunday for renewed talks with his
Iranian counterpart on Tehran`s nuclear
programme, after warning "significant
gaps" remain as a key deadline
approaches.World powers are trying to
strike a deal with Iran that would prevent
Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb in
return for an easing of punishing
international economic sanctions.Kerry is
set to sit down for two days of talks with
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif, whose country denies its nuclear
programme has military objectives.The US
top diplomat on Saturday warned that major
differences remained between the two
sides."There are still significant gaps, there
Palestinians slam
Israeli FM for
call to execute
prisoners
is still a distance to travel," Kerry told a
press conference at the US embassy in
London.There is a heightened sense of
urgency to move forward as the clock ticks
down towards a March 31 deadline to agree
on a political framework for the
deal."President (Barack) Obama has no
inclination whatsoever to extend these talks
beyond the period that has been set out,"
Kerry said.US and Iranian diplomats have
been meeting in Geneva since Friday, and
senior negotiators from the so-called P5+1
group of Britain, China, France, Russia, the
United States and Germany were also
expected to meet on Sunday to help drive
the talks forward.Kerry stressed Saturday
that there was "absolutely no divergence
whatsoever in what we believe is necessary
for Iran to prove that its uclear program is
going to be peaceful.""The P5+1 remains
united on the subject of Iran," he said.As a sign
that efforts were stepping up a notch, US Energy
Secretary Ernest Moniz flew in to snowcovered Geneva Saturday to take part in the
talks for the first time.Ali Akbar Salehi, the
director of the Iranian Atomic Energy
Organisation, was also participating in the
negotiations.The two officials and their
delegations spent five hours at the negotiating
t a b l e S a t u r d a y, I r a n i a n m e d i a
reported.Observers said Moniz and Salehi`s
participation was a promising sign that a deal
could be within reach.Kelsey Davenport, head
of the Nonproliferation Policy Arms Control
Association in Washington, pointed out in an
email to AFP that Moniz with his technical
expertise would "be a key validator when a deal
is concluded."And Salehi, who plays a similar
role, would "likely be instrumental in selling the
agreement in Tehran," he added.
But Kerry played down any suggestion that
their participation meant the talks were on the
verge of a breakthrough."I would not read into it
any indication whatsoever," he said, adding that
Moniz was present because of the "technical"
nature of the talks.d type of centrifuges Tehran
can retain.
A senior Palestinian official
condemned Israeli Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman for calls to
execute Palestinians imprisoned in
Israeli jails.
Issa Qaraqe, chief of the Palestinian
corporation for Palestinian prisoners
in Israeli jails, told Xinhua that the
statements of Lieberman "represent
racism, incites for murder and express
hatred and hostility."
He added that these statements "give a
license for killing the prisoners and
using all means against humanity and
haphazard practices. This man
represents the Israeli
government."The senior Palestinian
official also said that Lieberman`s
statements "violate all international
laws and conventions, mainly 4th
Geneva convention, which call on the
occupying authorities (Israel) to
protect prisoners in its jails."Israeli
radio earlier quoted Lieberman as
saying that over the past three
decades, Israel freed more than 3,000
prisoners from its jails, including
prisoners who committed crimes of
murder. "
He added that the release of
Palestinian prisoners involved in
first-degree murder "weaken the
Israeli power of retaliation because it
gives hope to those murderers to be
released in any prisoners` swap deal."
"The only way is to execute those
prisoners," he said, according to the
radio.
There are 6,500 Palestinian prisoners
inside the Israeli jails, according to an
official statistic made by the end of
last year.
New ISIS video shows captives being
'paraded in cages' through Iraq streets
Baghdad
In yet another propaganda video
released by the Islamic State, 21
hostages confined in cages are
shown being paraded through
Iraqi streets, and then being
interviewed before being killed
apparently.According to SITE
Intel Group, the hostages who
were paraded in cages were
Kurdish peshmerga fighters, who
were paraded through packed
streets of Kirkuk province in
Iraq.For a change, the new video
does not show any gory scenes,
but nonetheless, is meant to
sketch a haunting picture of what
happens to those who are
captured by the ISIS.
The nine-minute video titled
'Healing the Believers' Chests',
shows the Kurdish fighters clad
in orange jumpsuits, confined in
cages perched atop white
coloured cars, with black ISIS
flag hoisted atop the vehicles.
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Ramallah
Kerry, Zarif to meet for
nuclear talks as deadline looms
Benghazi
Rockets were fired at an eastern Libyan airfield used by
an anti-Islamist general but fell short, the facility`s
manager said Saturday, adding that there were no
casualties or damage.Unknown assailants fired four
rockets at the international airport just outside Labraq,
from which General Khalifa Haftar`s forces launch raids
against Islamist positions in the east.The airport, which
has civilian and military terminals, has been targeted
repeatedly in recent months.Labraq is some 65
kilometres (40 miles) west of the Islamist stronghold of
Derna, which was hit on Monday by Egyptian and
Libyan warplanes.The raids were in retaliation for the
beheading of 21 Coptic Christians by local jihadists
affiliated with the Islamic State group.The town also lies
roughly half that distance west of Al-Qobah, where IS
launched suicide bombings Friday in response to the
Derna attacks, killing 44 people and wounding 37, the
Libyan health ministry said Saturday.A previous toll had
put the number of dead at 40, but four more succumbed
to their injuries in the hours following the attack, the
ministry said.Labraq is one of the few airports still
operating in the North African country, after both the
Tripoli and Benghazi facilities were put out of action in
clashes.Libya, which has been roiled by turmoil since
the NATO-backed ouster of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in
2011, is awash with weapons and rival militias battling
to control its cities and oil wealth.It has two rival
governments and parliaments, one recognised by the
international community and the other with ties to
Islamists.With the capital in the hands of Islamist
militias, the recognised government has taken refuge in
Al-Baida, just a few kilometres west of Labraq.
Tuesday , February 24 2015
BHUBANESWAR
However, in an unsual twist, the
prisoners were then interviewed
by the captors who were bearing
microphones with he ISIS symbol
on them.After being interviewed,
the prisoners were then dragged
out of the cages and made to kneel
down.Like all other ISIS videos,
this one too is slickly produced,
with camera stopping on the face
of each prisoner as information
about him is being flashed on the
screen.The video ends with a shot
that zooms in on the face of an
elderly peshmerga fighter,
apparently in his 60s or 70s,
before cutting to black,
symbolising a dark fate for the
captives.Earlier, the Islamic State
had released a video of 21
Egyptian Christians being
beheaded by the sea shore,
turning waves crimson red. The
latest video only highlights the
series of inhumane acts carried
out by the ISIS, which is known to
have beheaded victims, tortured
women using them as sex slaves,
and burning people alive in cages.
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Sports
News
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World Cup 2015: Wasim
Akram warns Pakistan to
win or go home
BHUBANESWAR
Struggling England
brace up for Scotland test
Christchurch
Pakistan great Wasim Akram told his compatriots on
Sunday they had to win the next game in their World Cup
campaign or get ready for an early flight home.Pakistan
have had a miserable start to the tournament, being well
beaten in their opening two group matches.Their 76-run
defeat by arch-rivals and defending champions India was
followed by an even heavier 150-run loss to the West
Indies in Christchurch on Saturday.Pakistan next face
Zimbabwe in a must-win Pool B game on March 1, which
Wasim warned will be a "make or break" for them."I am
very optimistic that they can win but if they don't they
have to go back home early," Wasim told AFP."They
must feel for the people who come to the ground in
numbers and millions are watching back home," added
Wasim a key member of the Pakistan side that won the
World Cup when the tournament was last staged in
Australia and New Zealand in 1992.The top four in each
of the two pools of seven will qualify for the quarterfinals. Wasim criticised the team management and
captain Misbah-ul Haq for not playing five bowlers."I
have been screaming this for several months now but
they are playing with four bowlers and weakening their
strong point," said Wasim, widely regarded as the
greatest left-arm paceman cricket has ever seen."We are
using an extra batsman and yet we are unable to chase,
then it's disappointing and will land Pakistan in more
trouble. They must rebuild the team soon."Pakistan
dropped leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who played against
India in Adelaide, from the XI that took the field against
the West Indies and conceded a total of 310 for six at
Christchurch's Hagley Oval.
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If that wasn't enough, Pakistan then recorded the worstever start to an innings in all one-day internationals, with
their first four wickets falling for just one run.They were
bowled out for a mere 150 runs in 39 overs.Wasim said
the West Indies' resilience was an example for Pakistan to
follow. "West Indies lost their first game (against Ireland)
but they staged a comeback and outplayed Pakistan in all
aspects of the game," said Wasim, who questioned the
selection of opener Nasir Jamshed.
"When Jamshed was dismissed for a duck in the warm-up
game against England, then there was no need to recall
him," said Wasim of the left-handed opener who was out
for a second-ball nought on Saturday."In the first place,
Jamshed never merited selection in the team as there
were some other players who had done well at domestic
level."
Jamshed was brought in as a replacement for Mohammad
Hafeez after the spin-bowling all-rounder was ruled out
of the World Cup with a calf injury just a week before the
start of the tournament.
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Windies chief blasted
for Chris Gayle
'retirement' retweet
Sydney
West Indies cricket chief Dave Cameron was blasted
today for apparently retweeting a demand for outspoken
opener Chris Gayle to be given "a retirement
package".In the latest controversy to hit the World Cup
team, West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president
Cameron's behaviour was condemned as "unacceptable"
by players' representatives.The drama unfolded during
the Windies' match against Pakistan at Christchurch on
Saturday when Gayle was out for four, stretching his run
without a century in ODI cricket to 20 matches.One fan
tweeted: "Gayle goes... Can't buy a rn. Let's give him a
retirement package ... Can't fail repeatedly and still front
up based on reputation".Cameron then apparently
retweeted the post even as the match was ongoing. The
West Indies Players Association (WIPA), often at
loggerheads with the WICB in a long-standing battle
over contracts and payments, immediately denounced
Cameron."WIPA is extremely disturbed by the
unacceptable re-tweeting by Mr. Dave Cameron,
President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), of a
negative "fan" tweet which was directed at our member
Mr. Christopher Gayle," said a statement."That Mr
Cameron's retweet came in the middle of the West Indies
team's critical game against Pakistan renders it even
more unacceptable."WIPA chief executive Wavell
Hinds added: "We denounce any such behaviour by any
official of the WICB in any given
circumstance."Cameron, who is seeking re-election,
apologised for his actions and removed the post from his
account. "No offense intended. Full apologies extended.
Rally round the West Indies," he wrote on @davec51.On
the eve of the World Cup, Gayle had accused the WICB
of victimisation after Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard
were axed from the squad for their roles in the
abandoned tour of India last year.
Gayle has since been summoned to appear before a
disciplinary board to explain his comments. Despite the
controversy, the West Indies went on to defeat Pakistan
by 150 runs at Hagley Oval on Saturday.
P-7
Tuesday , February 24 2015
Sachin chants
back as Tendulkar
drops in at MCG
Melbourne
Christchurch
A floundering England will
be looking to avoid a
potential banana skin when
they take on minnows
Scotland in a crucial Pool A
cricket World Cup match at
the Hagley Oval, here
t o m o r r o w. T h e E o i n
Morgan-led side has had a
terrible couple of outings
against co-hosts Australia
and New Zealand as they
head into their third game of
the 50-over showpiece
event.
If losing to Australia in the
opene by 111 runs was
disappointing then being
bundled out for 123 and eventually
losing by 8 wickets against the Black
Caps was embarrassing.
England's 123 was mowed down by
the Brendon McCullum-led side in
12.2 overs as a hapless English attack
looked on.Middle-order batsman
James Taylor made a valiant 98 not
out at the MCG and Joe Root made a
hard-working 46 at Wellington but
the batting unit has failed to fire in
totality.Even the decent-looking
English pace attack on paper has
looked vulnerable once the
opposition got going. The likes of
James Anderson, Stuart Broad and
Steven Finn might not have had
enough runs to defend against New
Zealand but were guilty of leaking
too many runs against the George
Bailey-led side in their first
game.With their backs to the wall
against a not-so-fancied Scottish
side, England will be looking to put
their best foot forward."England
don't look as if they'll get out of the
group at this stage," said former
England captain Paul Collingwood,
who has switched loyalties to Scotland
since joining their coaching staff.
Scotland, who are hungry for success,
have also did not have the best of
outings against New Zealand in their
first game in Dunedin, but the Preston
Mommsen-led side got some
encouragement from their three-wicket
loss.
Novak Djokovic
plans next step to
greatness
Dubai
London
Novak Djokovic may have chosen an ideal place to clarify how to make use
of what, he suggests, has become the happiest phase of his life.
The world number one returns to the ATP tour at one of the world`s most
popular tournaments, the Dubai Open, starting on Monday, after capturing
his eighth Grand Slam title in Australia last month and his first as a father and
a husband."Everything has been going in such a positive direction in my life,
so I try to live these moments with, you know, all my heart," said Djokovic,
who will try to ride these powerful emotions towards further success and
perhaps to tennis greatness.Winning the title a fifth time in Dubai next week,
as he is favourite to do, should be a particularly pleasing experience at what
the players have voted the best 500 category tournament for ten of the last 11
years.But Djokovic wants more than that.He wants to integrate what he
learnt about himself in Melbourne to develop his game still further, with half
an eye on his greatest aim, the French Oen starting in May, the only Grand
Slam title to have eluded him. This is the most physical of the four majors,
and one of Djokovic`s most important lessons may be how to prevent phases
of "feeling weak", which caused his unexpected time out during the
Australian Open final - and how to deal with them if he can`t."I don`t think
20 or 30 minutes (feeling weak) is a major concern for the future," Djokovic
claimed."On the contrary, I think that being able to bounce back from that
period of 20 minutes and finish the match the way I finished it can only serve
as an encouraging fact."However it may well be a concern, not least because
Djokovic modified his game in order to cope."I started hitting the ball and
trying to be a bit more aggressive coming to the net, shortening the points,"
he said.He may seek to refine his abilities at this in Dubai, and perhaps find
opportunities to smooth any rough edges on his long friendship with Andy
Murray, the former Wimbledon and US Open champion.c`s mid-match
cramp in the Melbourne final, Djokovic saying: "I`m not going to talk bad
things about him in the press," and Murray saying: "I was disappointed with
myself because I got distracted."This prompted Pat Cash, the former
Wimbledon champion, to claim that Murray "needs a good, hard look in the
mirror and to get his head together." If so it may benefit Murray mentally to
face Djokovic again, though he will have to reach the final to have a chance
of that, as he has landed in Roger Federer`s half.The 17-times Grand Slam
champion will be trying to extend his record of Dubai titles to seven at one of
his favourite venues (and a second home), and perhaps also to show
detractors that he is not a faded legend.That was one of the crueller
interpretations of Federer`s dispiriting loss to Andreas Seppi in Australia.
Long retired from the game but Sachin
Tendulkar's mere presence was good enough for a
near-capacity crowd to go hysterical during
India's World Cup game against South Africa at
the Melbourne Cricket Ground, here
today.Having retired from international cricket in
November, 2013, Tendulkar hasn't dropped in for
international matches often and therefore the
legend's presence at the iconic venue was just the
icing on the cake that the fans needed in such a
marquee match.Tendulkar is the 'Brand
Ambassador' of World Cup and once he arrived,
he was quickly whisked away to the ICC's
Hospitality Zone with tight security in
place.However the moment the MCG giant
screen showed Tendulkar, clad in violet shirt and
dark trousers, enjoying the match, the chants of
"Sachiiin, Sachiiin" were back again.It seemed
that he never retired. When his image was flashed
for the second time on the giant screen, he did
wave at the crowd and it was met with deafening
applause.While the lucky ones in the ICC
Hospitality Box got their share of selfies and
autographs, the ones outside had to be content by
clicking the 'Master' picture.
For Sachin, it seems as if he has now completed a
'Circle of Life' with the World Cup. In 1987, he
was present at the Wankhede Stadium during the
semi-finals as a ball boy and then was an integral
part in the next six editions.Today, he was again
back to cheering his team. In person, he was not
on turf, in spirit, he was very much there.
Louis van Gaal
frustrated by Man
United slip-up
Manchester United manager Louis
van Gaal expressed frustration
after his side squandered a chance
to avenge their Premier League
opening day loss to Swansea City
in a 2-1 defeat.Ander Herrera gave
the visitors a 28th-minute lead at
the Liberty Stadium on Saturday,
but Swansea equalised less than
two minutes later through South
Korean midfielder Ki Sungyueng.The game was won 17
minutes from time when Bafetimbi
Gomis inadvertently deflected
Jonjo Shelvey`s long-range strike
over David de Gea to bring
United`s 19-game uneaten run to a
halt."It is always frustrating when
you dominate a team and lose,"
van Gaal told reporters after a
result that saw his team slip to
fourth place."Your disappointment
is much bigger because of that. If
you think they deserved to win,
you have to say."The first half, I
think, was equal. I counted the
number of chances Swansea had
and we had the same. We scored
one each, so there was no big
difference."In the second half,
there was a big difference. But we
were not effective. We dominated
the game, even with 10 men,
because Robin van Persie could
not run anymore after his injury."I
cannot say anything about my
players except that we lost. The
disappointment is much bigger. I
think you have to see the slowmotion of the match, then you can
see which players were not
effective."Sometimes you can
control the ball instead of shooting
directly. Normally we are very
effective, so it is amazing that we
have lost."Van Persie left the stadium
on crutches after injuring himself
late on and his striker partner Wayne
Rooney admitted it had been a day to
forget."We certainly deserved to win
the game," said the United captain.
"That`s the disappointing thing.
When you play well and can`t get the
win. But that`s football."Gomis`s
fortuitous goal allowed ninth-place
Swansea to complete a first ever
home-and-away league double over
United and victorious manager
Garry Monk said he was more than
satisfied with the manner of
victory."I would rather be lucky than
good," he said. "Yes, we had to ride
some pressure, but even with the
players they have, they only had one
shot."We scored a very good goal in
the first half and responded as you
would want your players to
respond. We had shots cleared
off the line and we more than
competed."I think we needed to
be a bit better in the second
half, but we dealt with the
pressure they put on us. In the
end, we scored a fantastic goal
and probably could have had a
third."Monk also expressed
pride in his players` reaction after a
disappointing 2-0 loss at West
Bromwich Albion in their previous
outing."It is the first time in the
club`s history that we have got the
double against them and I told the
players before the game that
anything, in terms of creating
history, is worth fighting for," he
said."To be able to do the double, I
think everyone connected with the
club should be proud. I have
always believed in my team."It
won`t always go to plan, but we
responded well after a
disappointing result at West Brom.
We stuck together and got the win,
which our performance deserved.
We have to be pleased."I have
spoken to the group about an
opportunity to create a special
season. We might not be winning
the league, but we have different
things to fight for."You have to be
remembered for something. We
have 13 games left in our season
and we have to remain focused on
those games."
ICC WC 2015: Sri Lanka beat
Afghanistan by four wickets in a thriller
Sri Lanka have won their first World Cup
match by beating resilient Afghanistan by
four wickets, in a thriller. The minnows have
once again proved their mettle with both bat
and ball. But a well made hundred by
veteran player Mahela Jayawardene and
whirlwind cameo by Thisara Perera (47 off
26) helped Lanka to cross the line with ten
ball to spare. Heartening performance by
Afghanistan bowlers as they put SL under
immense pressure even while defending a
small total of 232. Mahela has been given
the Man of the Match award for his hundred.
Thisara Perera's cameo (47 off 26) helped
Sri Lanka to beat minnows Afghanistan by
four wickets in a tight contest with ten balls
to spare. Another outstanding performance
by the minnows in the World Cup. Jeevan
Mendis and Thisara Perera are in the middle.
Perera is playing a blinder here. He has
reached to 33 off 20 balls with the help of
four boundaries and a six. Can he lead his
side to victory today? 14 runs required from
18 balls.What a thriller it has turning out to
be. Both the set batsmen -- Mahela and
Mathews -- are back in the hut. Immediately
after completing his hundred Mahela lost his
concentration and gave away his wicket.
And with that Afghanistan are back in the
match. Now the equation has gone down to
36 runs off 30 balls and SL have four wickets in
hand.
Grip of Afghanistan on the match is
loosing as the match is slipping away from them.
Duo of Mahela-Mathews have already added 124
runs for the fifth wicket. Afghan skipper is now
running short of ideas. Meanwhile, Mahela is just
two runs shy of his hundred. What is knock he has
been playing for his team. SL now required 58
runs off 60 balls. Mirwais Ashraf and Mohammad
Nabi are bowling in tandem for the minnows.
Mathews is doing the right thing by taking a single
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and giving
more strike to
senior pro
Mehela, who is
looking is good
nick. It can still
be anyone's
game as SL
required 86
runs off last 15
o v e r s .
Afghanistan
have to break
this partnership
to put some
pressure back
on the batting
side.In the 26th
o v e r
Jayawardene
played Shenwari for a single off his second ball
to complete his fifty. After reaching the land
mark, Mehela has started playing a free-flowing
game. In the 30th over by Shenwari he smashed
two consecutive boundaries to collect 11 runs
from the over. Pair of Mehela and Mathews have
added 77 runs for the fourth wicket. Mahela and
Mathews are playing sensible cricket. Both are
well aware of the fact that if they lose one more
wicket here, they will be in deep trouble. Mahela
is mere one run shy of his fifty. Only one
boundary has been come in the last five
overs as SL added 18 runs to their total.
Afghanistan have to break this
partnership, otherwise the duo in the
middle can take the game away from
them. Double bowling change. Asghar
Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari have
been introduced into the attack for the
very first time. All the Afghan bowlers
have shown impeccable discipline thus
far. Mahela and Mathews have to work
hard to get SL out of this tricky situation.
Time for Mathews to lead the side from
the front.Hamid Hassan picks up his
second wicket, Karunaratne walks back.
The southpaw tried to steer the ball
towards third man, found a thick outside
edge and after fumbling the ball at first
slip Mangal eventually completed catch.
Skipper Angelo Mathews is the new man
in. Lankan's are in deep trouble. Is
another World Cup upset on the cards?
Meanwhile, SL crossed the 50-run mark.
Jayawardene and Karunaratne have to
stitch a big partnership here. Both the
batsmen are struggling at the moment to
play the Afghan seamers as they are
bowling on right channels. 12 runs have
been scored in the last four overs.
Minnows are dominating the
proceedings.
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Tuesday February 24 2015
BHUBANESWAR
New initiative launched by RSP
for welfare of Contract labourers
Rourkela:Taking another step towards
the welfare of the contract labourers,
Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) has launched
a new initiative ‘Prayas’. This
communication forum will help in
making the contract labourers aware
about their rights and benefits. They will
also be introduced to various provisions
of the SA-8000 standards. In the first
session organised by the Contract
Labour Cell of RSP on 20th February at
HRD Centre, 64 contract labourers were
covered.
Mr.S.K.Nayak, GM(P&A) in his address
on this occasion expressed happiness
over the introduction of such an
informative forum for Contract Labours
and emphasized the importance of
various statutory provisions available for
safeguarding their interest.
In the interaction programme
organized on the occasion, Mr. T G
Kanekar, AGM (Personnel) CLC,
clarified the various doubts of Contract
Labourers pertaining to benefits,
statutory provisions like ESI &
Provident Fund etc.
Topics like wage structure, bank
payment, pay slip, ESI & PF coverage,
Medical Benefits etc were also covered
in the various sessions. They were also
informed about the importance of safe
working and their roles and
responsibilities pertaining to safety at
the work spot. Emphasis was also given
on various provisions of SA-8000, like
child labour, forced labour, provision of
health and safe working environment,
rights, discrimination, working hours,
safety, wages, verbal abuse etc. The
provisions were explained in lucid
manner through movies, video clips and
Pre Budget Expectations shared by Mr Rajesh SudCEO & MD, Max Life Insurance
Mumbai:The upcoming first full year Union Budget of
the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, would be carefully
matched, as it is expected to provide directional clarity
on the Modi Governments economic agenda. This is
the time and the biggest opportunity for the Government
to showcase its vision for the economy and industries.
The budgeted fiscal deficit of the centre is 4.1% of the
GDP for the current financial year. In his last budget
speech, the Finance Minister, had set the fiscal deficit
target of 3.6% and 3.1% respectively for FY 16 and FY
17. Which given the need for providing growth to the
current economy, may have to be revised. He may
continue to reduce fiscal deficit through control on
unproductive Government expenditure and increase in
revenue.
IMI, Bhubaneswar hosted
Annual Fest-Phronesis
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Bhubaneswar in July 2006.
The foundation of the OCL
EyeCentre was laid by Shri
Naveen
Patnaik,
Honourable Chief Minister
of Odisha on 15th December
2013.
The Centre at Rajgangpur
will be a secondary level eye
specialty hospital offering
examination and treatment
of all common eye diseases.
Known for quality and
equitable service, the OCL
Eye Center of the L V Prasad
Eye Institute will deliver
essential primary and
secondary ocular care
services through a team of
well trained people headed
by an eye specialist. To
build local competency,
many of the staff are being
recruited locally and trained
at L V Prasad Eye Institute.
The OCL Eye Centre is
equipped with all necessary
modern eye care equipment
for examination, diagnosis
and surgery. Full-fledged
out-patient care will be
offered from February 28th
and a few weeks later eye
surgery will commence. Half
of all care will be offered
free-of-cost or will be
subsidized for economically
underprivileged people.
There are also provisions
for overnight stay in the
Eye Centre though most
modern eye surgeries are
day-care surgeries and do
not need admission. Over a
period of time the OCL Eye
Center will also establish
fixed facilities for eye
screening at the village
level. The village and
community level eye care
programs
will
be
comprehensive
preventive, curative and
rehabilitative.
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Indian Oil donated 2 medical van to Ramkrishna Mission Puri.Photo-Ganguly
Bhubaneswar:International Management Institute
(IMI), Bhubaneswar today hosted its Annual
Academic-cum-Cultural Fest, Phronesis-2015 at its
campus. The programme comprised of various
events like academic quizzes, debates and cultural
events like X-factor, Fashionista Stylus & Celeblitz
night by DJ Kamya. In addition to the students from
IMI Bhubaneswar, student participants from various
institutes like XIMB, BIMTECH, KIIT, IIIT, OUAT,
Silicon, VSSUT, OES etc. also took part in the events.
The winning teams were awarded prizes, trophies
& certificates at the end of the cultural programme
by Prof. Ramesh Behl, Director of the institute. The
programme was organised by the students of IMI,
Bhubaneswar.
the target. While target
was for constructing sixty
kms drain line in the city
while only twenty kms
have been completed till
this day. There was great
discrepancy in satellite
imagery and ground reality
survey for the laying of
drainage lines. The faulty
drain lines lacking required
uniform levels would
cause major health issue as
the drain water could not
be discharged properly.
Similarly the target for
providing more power to
the city is in a limbo.
Quoting the statement of
Anirban Mukhergi the
project officer Mahapatra
said the project officer
admitted that because of
local disturbances the
project work could not
take of and it is doubtful if
the project could be
completed before the fete.
It was announced that for
the festival 150 specialist
doctors, 200 assistant
surgeons, one thousand
paramedics would be
pressed into service.
Surprisngly the district
head
quarter
hospital(DHH)which got
ISO certificate has no
cardiology, nurology and
nephrology departments.
There is acute shortage of
other medical support
staffs mahapatra alleged.
The target to increase
hundred beds in DHH and
another two hundred beds
in IDH has become a day
dram he added. The DHH
has no special facility to
treat swine flue and Ebola
patients. Since millions of
devotees from across the
country would flock into
this tiny city there is
possibility of spread of
these dreadful diseases
Mahapatra said.
This apart Mahapatra said
Bhubaneswar: Ahead of
the Rail Budget 2015, the
BJP, Odisha unit headed by
State President Kanak
Vardhan Singh Deo has
requested the Rail Minister
Shri Suresh Prabhu to
introduce two new trains
that will improve rail
connectivity for Odisha.
One of these is the
introduction of a new
Bhubaneswar- Mumbai
Duronto Express. Shri
Singh Deo has said that
keeping in view the fact
that lakhs of Odia people
now work in Mumbai in
all sectors, mainly Govt
and private companies, IT
and labour class, a direct
point to point, non-stop
Duronto Express will not
only reduce travel time but
will also be otherwise
very convenient as most
Odia passengers don’t get
off in between. Moreover,
there is currently only one
direct
train
from
Bhubaneswar to Mumbai,
the Konark Express,
which takes over 36 hours
to reach its destination.
The other new train
requested is a TitlagarhAllahabad Express. Shri
Singh Deo said that
presently there is only one
train from entire Odisha,
i.e. Purushottam Express,
that goes from Puri to
Allahabad completely
bypassing
Western
Odisha. For most Odias,
a visit to Allahabad and
holy dip at the Sangam
is a mandatory part of
post- funereal rites. A
direct
TitlagarhAllahabad Express will
cater to the Western
Odisha and Southern
Chhattisgarh population,
who will be saved extra
journeys to Bhubaneswar,
Raipur or Vizag.
Shri Singh Deo also
added that the BJP, State
unit is hopeful that Rail
Minister Shri Prabhu will
positively consider and
agree to their request for
which the people of
Odisha will be grateful to
him.
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Gajapati Maharaja inaugurated a Shree
Odisha Dangaria Kandha burn
Jannath Batika in Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar: Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb
on Sunday inaugurated a Shree Jannath Batika, a garden
aimed at growing trees to meet log requirement for
making of Puri Rathas, in the premises of the ITER
College here by planting some neem trees.
The garden has jointly been planned by the Siksha O
Anusandhan University and the Prerana, a cultural and
social organisation. School and Mass Education Minister
Debi Prasad Mishra also attended the plantation
programme.
Addressing a meeting held on the occasion, the Gajapati
said the creation of Shree Jagannath Batikas would serve
two purposes, environment protection and meeting of
log requirement of Rathas. Prerana president Dr Dillip
Srichandan announced that Prerana would supply neem,
dhaura, fashi and asana saplings free of cost to those
who would want to create Shree Jagannath Batika in the
premises of schools, colleges and youth clubs and in
the rural jungle area.
Among others, BMC Mayor Anant Narayan Jena, DGP
Sanjeev Marik, Central RDC Bikash Mohapatra, Khordha
district Collector Niranjan Sahu, former Forests and
Environment Director Dr Bhagirathi Behera, film
producer Prakash Srichandan, Nalco CMD Ansuman
Das, Principal Chief Conservator of graced the occasion
‘TARDY N’KALEBAR PROJECTS TO LEAD TO MESS’
Puri:
Lalatendu
Bidyadhar Mahapatra the
congress stalwart and
former PCC working
president in a press
conference
today
lambasted the state
government for poor
preparedness for the
coming Nabakalebar
ritual of the Lord
jagannath and Rath yatra.
Mahapatra alleged that
huge funds allocated for
several works being
misutilised and the
quality of work is far
from prescribed norms
while crores of fund
have been swindled. The
state government would
be sole responsible for
any mishap due to poor
preparedness for the fete
Mahapatra said.
Elaborating Mahapatra
pointed out that laying of
drainage and sewer net
work falls far short of
HSC EXAMS :Students searching for their Roll No.s
BJP Odisha unit requests Rail Minister
to introduce two new trains in Odisha
OCL INDIA & L V PRASAD EYE INSTITUTE JOIN HAND
TO SET UP OCL EYE CENTRE AT RAJGANGPUR
Rajgangpur: Former
President of India Dr APJ
Abdul
Kalamwill
inaugurateL V Prasad Eye
Institute's"OCL Eye
Centre" at Rajgangpuron
27th February 2015 in the
presence of ShriJualOram
(Hon'bleMinister, Tribal
Affairs, Government of
I n d i a ) ,
ShriAtanuSabyasachi
Nayak (Hon'bleMinister,
Health &Family Welfare,
Government of Odisha)
and ShriMangalaKisan
(Hon'bleMember, Odisha
Legislative Assembly).
The OCL Eye Centre is
LVPEI's first secondary
centre in Odisha and
marks the augmentation of
LVPEI's services in the
state, which began with
the inauguration of their
tertiary level speciality eye
care
centre
at
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Page
various works like
developing and widening
of all connecting routes to
Puri remain incomplete.
The double tracking of
railway lines between
Sakhigopal to Puri is
moving at a snails pace and
if
this
momentum
continues it would be
impossible to complete it
before the fete. Similar is
the situation of four laning
of
Puri-Bhubneswar
national high way. The
work is lagging much
behind the target time.
Apart from these the
quality of work of the road
construction inside the city
is substandard and the
roads constructed new
recently need another set
of repairs now he added.
The administration is
expecting participation of
nearly fifty lakh devotees
in the Nabakalebar ritual
and
rath
yatra.
Unfortunately lack of
coordination
among
various departments of
the government is likely to
mar the prospects of a
smooth conduct of the
fete while crores of
money from the state
coffer is being embezzled
by vested interests
Mahapatra alleged.
The congress leader
Lalatendu Bidyadhar
Mahapatra expressed
concern over non
payment
of
remunerations to the
Daitas for their service
during the last rath yatra
and over ongoing repair
and conservation work
of
archaeological
survey of India (ASI)
which is on for last
forty years. The DCC
president Sarat Rath and
congress
leader
Priyadarshan Pattnaik
were present.
copies of land acquisition Ordinance
Bhawanipatna: Hundreds
of Dangaria Kandha and
Jharania Kandha tribal
people joined a large group
of anti-displacement
activists of the Niyamgiri
Suraksha Samiti summit at
the Niyamgiri hills in
Kalahandi district on
Sunday and burnt copies
of the land acquisition
Ordinance
newly
circulated by the Narendra
Modi Government.
The tribes and activists,
who join collectively at the
end of the three-day
annual Niyam Raja Parab
summit at the hills,
resolved that they would
continue to protest the
“pro-corporate”
Ordinance till it is quiet.
The activists pronounced
a state-wide campaigning
against the Ordinance that
they say goes against the
Forest Rights Act
portrayal the Gram Sabhas
powerless.
Copies of the Ordinance
were also burnt by lots of
people’s organizations at
various places across
Odisha concurrently to
strengthen their opposition
to the Centre’s move.
The Samiti is also opposed
to the existing alumina
refinery which is being run
by Sterlite Industries Ltd,
a Vedanta group company,
as the same is adversely
affecting the ecology in
the area. The Samiti is
contemplating to move
the court of law seeking
permanent closure of the
refinery, Niyamgiri
Suraksha Samiti leader
Lada Sikaka said.
The yearly cultural
carnival is being
organised in a big way
since the anti-Vedanta
campaigning by the
Niyamgiri Suraksha
Samiti gained strength
several years ago. It is
attended by tribes from
112 villages in the
Niyamgiri hills.
Sesa Sterlite plans corporate name change to Vedanta Ltd
Mumbai: Sesa Sterlite
Limited, the Indian
subsidiary of Vedanta
Resources Plc, a globally
diversified
natural
resources
company,
announced today that the
company plans to adopt a
new corporate name;
'Vedanta Limited'. The
change in name would be
subject to shareholder
approval. The company is
engaged in the exploration
and
production
of
aluminium, zinc, lead silver,
copper, iron ore, oil & gas
and commercial power.
"The name change from
Sesa Sterlite to Vedanta
Limited unifies our
growing portfolio of global
operations, reflects our
commitment to all our
stakeholders and our ability
to create value while
aligning our identity," said
Mr. Tom Albanese, Group
CEO, Vedanta, adding that
the organization is proud to
be a part of the natural
resources sector in India, contributing significantly
to the Indian GDP. "Our strategy to be the lowestcost player and the most efficient will continue to be
a critical foundation of our business operations," said
Mr. Albanese.
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