Over 83 per cent polling in the second phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal; Voting was peaceful.

In West Bengal, very heavy polling was reported in the second phase of assembly elections today. Nearly 83 per cent polling was recorded in the second phase covering 50 Assembly Constituencies in 3 districts - Murshidabad, Nadia and Birbhum. Briefing reporters in New Delhi, Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi said that polling was peaceful and incident free.

State Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta said, police have arrested three persons in Murshidabad after a clash between Congress and CPIM workers. Three Presiding officers were removed due to dereliction of duties. 

National Panchayat Diwas Awards

On the occasion of National Panchayat Diwas  on Sunday 24th April, 2011, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has decided to give  the annual PEAIS  2011 Awards to the best performing States under the Panchayat Empowerment & Accountability Incentive Scheme and the Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha 2011 Awards to best Gram Sabhas and Gram Panchayats in the country (7 Nos), the e-Panchayat Awards 2011 and present the award to the winners of the nationwide Drawing and painting competition and Essay competitions held during the “Year of the Gram Sabha” ( 2nd October 2009-2nd October 2010).  The detail of awards to be given by  the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and NAC Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi  is as under:

India-Bangladesh Border Haats to be inaugurated in June

 

The Union  Commerce and Industry Minister, Shri Anand Sharma, during his ongoing Bangladesh visit addressed the need to further strengthen economic integration between the two countries.  He noted that private sector investment from India to Bangladesh to the tune of  US $ 3.5 billion is in the pipeline. Increased Indian investments in Bangladesh will provide employment and value addition for Bangladesh exports to the rest of the world.  

Both sides noted that trade has increased significantly between the two sides.  Bangladesh exports have increased 6 times in the last few years.  In the first three quarters of the current year, it has reached the level of US $ 359 million, which is higher than the exports of US $ 304 million last year. India and Bangladesh agreed to take further steps to promote trade and economic cooperation. These include 

India, Pak working on mechanism for release of fishermen

India and Pakistan are working on a mechanism for early release of their fishermen crossing the maritime boundary of the other inadvertently.The announcement was made in a joint statement issued in Islamabad at the end of the visit of Indian members of the Judicial Committee on Prisoners to Pakistan. The proposals reportedly include release of the first time offenders at sea itself without any lengthy legal procedures. The Coast Guard and Pakistan Security Agency will work out modalities for this proposal.

Beware! now, it is vishing

After phishing cases, in which credit card details of the victims are obtained by the fraudsters over email, it is vishing, where such information is gathered over phone that has come to light in the city. The Chennai police is probing three vishing cases, in which the victims were cheated of over Rs.1.5 lakh. The complaints were lodged with the Central Crime Branch in February and March. According to CCB sources, the fraudsters managed to obtain the onetime password (OTP), issued by the bank, from the victims over phone. The Cyber Crime Cell of the CCB, which has been handling phishing cases for many years, has also been entrusted with the vishing (derived from the combination of voice and phishing) cases.

Lokpal bill draft to be ready by 30th June: Moily

Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily has called upon both social activists and political leaders to refrain from making statements and counter-statements on the Lokpal issue. Talking to media persons in New Delhi on Friday, he said instead of getting emotional on the issue, the focus should be on preparing the draft legislation. Moily is also a member of the Drafting Committee for the Bill. He said the Government was committed to prepare draft of the Lokpal Bill by June 30. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has already said that the Bill will be introduced in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. 

Commemoration of the National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April 2011

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organizing the National Panchayati Raj Divas on Sunday (April 24, 2011) to mark the passing of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24th April, 1993 which institutionalized Panchayati Raj through the Village, Intermediate and District levels Panchayats. This registers a defining moment in the history of decentralization of political power to the grassroots level. The impact of the 73rd Amendment in rural India is very much visible as it has changed power equations irrevocably.