2nd meeting of Lokpal bill drafting comm on Mon

The Joint Drafting Comm comprising five Union ministers and as many representatives of civil society to frame an effective anti-graft law will hold its second meeting on Monday to discuss the latest version of the Jan Lokpal Bill prepared by Anna Hazare's team.Ahead of the meeting to be held in New Delhi on Monday, Chairman of the Committee, Pranab Mukherjee will hold a strategy session with government representatives to firm up Centre's stand on the latest draft of the Jan Lokpal Bill which, among other things, envisages a provision empowering the office of the Lokpal to intercept telephone conversations.

M M Joshi reappointed PAC chairperson

Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has been reappointed as chairperson of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), notwithstanding controversy surrounding him with regard to the draft report on the 2G spectrum scam.Joshi was nominated by his party following which Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has reappointed him as chairman of PAC which is responsible for conducting the financial audit of various departments and ministries.

Android: the smartphone system with multiple faces

Android is not always the same. About 170 different smartphones run the mobile operating system, but there is no one single standard.Everything can change from one Android-operated smartphone to the next: interface, functions, options available. The one thing that stays the same: with an Android-enabled smartphone, you’re only a click away from the internet.

We make much ado about anything and everything

In Tamil, there is a saying that too much of even honey is poison. I am sure that similar sayings are there in other languages of this great nation. However, as a society with such a rich and diverse culture and heritage, we seem to have a national “obsession” with overdoing almost everything. I have often had an intriguing feeling to see this obsession causing so much of detriment to people. In public places, we see people talking loudly and endlessly without caring about others. In buses and trains, even during night, we can find people talking or sometimes quarrelling loudly. I have felt extremely embarrassed by such unruly behaviour of fellow Indians even in international flights. 

Why endosulfan, all insecticides are poison

The pathetic plight of the people of Kasaragod in Kerala, in the wake of the endosulfan fiasco, brings into focus an issue which is a ramification of the green revolution. Whatever the technical grounds for its acceptance or rejection, the fear engulfing the minds of people can be removed only if a full-fledged assurance is given on the complete ban on the pesticide. 

Insecticides which kill the worms that destroy crops are seldom selective in their action. Most of them affect other life forms though at a higher dose. An insecticide is basically a poison. By its very mode of action, a poison is detrimental to all life forms; only the dosage to manifest the adverse effects varies.

India loses ground in ICT ranking

India has slipped five places in the network readiness index rankings of countries released by the World Economic Forum and the business school INSEAD. The rankings indicate the relative position of countries in information and communication technologies (ICT).The rankings, presented in the 10th anniversary edition of the Global Information Technology Report 2010-11, paints a picture of an India that has fallen behind in “most indicators.” This has resulted in its slipping to 48 from the 43rd rank last year. 

Finance, food and the poor - Opinion

All eyes are focused on the world’s food economy as food prices show renewed buoyancy, just 3 years after their previous spike. By March 2011, the World Bank’s food price index was close to its previous 2008 peak, generating fears that the world is just an event or two away from a major food crisis. The Bank’s Food Price Index ruled 36 per cent higher than a year earlier, with increases being the sharpest in maize, wheat, palm oil and soya bean (see the Picture).

Infosys born again

The Infosys board on Saturday decided to rechristen Infosys Technologies Ltd. as Infosys Ltd.“The Infosys brand is so strong that that we would like to rename the company as Infosys Limited,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan explained. He said the fact that the company's operations in a range of businesses — from consulting to business process outsourcing — across the world, has given it a strong brand value. “The name change is part of our vision 3.0 for the company,” he remarked, referring to the third stage of the company's evolution.

Courtesy : The Hindu

Private practice by government doctors no criminal offence: court

Private practice by a government doctor cannot be construed as a criminal offence, and at the most, departmental action can be taken against him or her, the Supreme Court has held.In a big relief to government doctors, a Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra said: “The demand for/receipt of fee while doing private practice by itself cannot be held to be illegal gratification as the same obviously is the amount charged towards professional remuneration. It would be preposterous, in our view, to hold that if a doctor charges fee for extending medical help and is doing that by way of his professional duty, the same would amount to illegal gratification as that would be against even plain common sense.”

Delhi Metro to use longer girders to expedite construction

To save time and conform to the latest international technologies, the Delhi Metro will use 25-metre long girders on some of the elevated viaducts to be constructed for the ambitious Phase-III, work on which will begin after the Union Government approves the project.Using 25-metre long girders in the Phase-III will save time as well as minimise the inconvenience caused to people during the construction of the project, which will see another 107 km of the national capital getting connected with the Metro.

Attractive salary hikes in store for IT professionals: experts

IT industry is likely to witness attractive salary hikes and job offers for experienced professionals, resulting in high attrition over the next few quarters as demand for talent will outstrip supply, say experts.“It looks like a talent war among the IT companies, where people hold multiple job offers and try to select the best firm. And companies are also making efforts to select best talent pool for their requirements,” said Sunil Goel, Director, GlobalHunt, an executive search firm.

Jodhpur-Pali- Marwar to be the Second node of DMIC in Rajasthan

The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Anand Sharma announced that Jodhpur-Pali- Marwar will be the second node of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor in Rajasthan. After a high level meeting with the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Ashok Gahlot and Industry Minister Shri Rajinder Pareek at Jodhpur today, Shri Sharma informed that the first node in the state i.e. Khushkhera- Bhiwadi-Neemrana is witnessing steady progress. Final application for development of Aerotropolis to be developed in Rajasthan have been submitted to the Civil Aviation Ministry. Shri Sharma assured that the matter will be vigorously pursued at the highest level. He further assured that the expenses for the construction of road between Neemrana and Bhiwadi will be borne by the Central government. The Chief Minister, Shri Gahlot assured the due diligence in land acquisition for the projects and also asked the Union Minister to consider the possibility of development of an airport in Jodhpur.

Statement on behalf of the Government of India on the Purulia Arms Drop Case

On the intervening night of 17/18th December, 1995, a huge consignment of sophisticated arms and ammunition was airdropped over some villages in Purulia Distt. of West Bengal. On this incident an FIR no. 152 dated18.12.1995 was registered in Jhalda Police Station and investigation was taken up under the various sections of IPC, Arms Act and Explosives Act etc. 

Vice President to Deliver UPSC Foundation Day Lecture on Governance on May 3

UPSC Foundation Day lecture on Governance will be held in Vigyan Bhawan on May 3, 2011. Vice President of India, Shri Hamid Ansari will be the main speaker. This year’s theme for the lecture is ‘Governance and Public Service.’

No undue sympathy to students falling short on attendance: Court

The Delhi High Court has come down heavily on students bunking classes saying no sympathy should be shown to those falling short of requisite attendance and allowing them to appear in examinations will lead to total academic chaos.“No student can excel in his or her life, unless he or she devotedly attends the classes of a course which he or she undertakes. Attendance is a rule and absence from class is an exception,” Justice Kailash Gambhir said, while dismissing the pleas of three journalism students of Jamia Millia Islamia, falling short of requisite attendance to take their final-year examinations.

Speaker will decide on PAC draft report: Sibal

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has termed the draft PAC report on 2G Spectrum allocation as “not a report” because it has not been adopted by the Parliamentary Committee, but said it is for Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to decide on the matter.“The PAC Chairman (Murli Manohar Joshi) himself said he had adjourned the meeting. So obviously for a report to be adopted, it has to be adopted either unanimously or by a majority. In any case it was not adopted by a majority, so there is no report,” Mr. Sibal told Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN’s Devil’s Advocate programme. 

Srinagar-Leh National highway set to open on Monday

The strategic 434-Km long Srinagar-Leh National highway will be thrown open for vehicular traffic on Monday after five months closure owing to heavy snowfall, Border Road Organisation (BRO) said.“The snow clearance operation on the highway -- only road linking frontier region of Ladakh with rest of Jammu and Kashmir -- has been completed and the road will be thrown open for vehicular traffic on May 2,” a senior officer of the BRO said.

AIEEE question papers leaked in UP, test postponed

Question papers of the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) were leaked in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday forcing the CBSE to postpone the test by a few hours.Immediately after the question papers were leaked, the CBSE postponed the two exams which were scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM and 2:00 PM today, a senior HRD ministry official said in New Delhi.

"The exams for the 1st paper which was scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM will now begin at 12:00 PM. The second paper which was to begin at 02:00 PM will now start at 7:00 PM," the official said.Sources said the question papers were leaked in Uttar Pradesh.

About 12 lakh students across the country are scheduled to write the prestigious exam at over 1,600 centres in more than 80 cities on Sunday.This is for the first time that the AIEEE is being held in the online mode.Nearly one lakh students from 20 cities will take the examination online.AIEEE is conducted to gain admissions into National Institutes of Technology and other engineering colleges in the country.

Courtesy : The Hindu

Trade Negotiators given Guidelines

The Trade and Economic Relations Committee held its 17th meeting on the 29th April 2011 under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.

The committee reviewed the status of the India-European Union Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement and discussed the various issues involved in the negotiations. It was observed that concern has been raised by various quarters about the Indian stand on issues on Intellectual Property Rights, especially in the context of the Indian Pharma products. The Prime Minister firmly directed that the Indian side shall not take on any obligation beyond TRIPS/ Domestic Law.

PM asks CBI to probe corruption cases without fear or favour

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate corruption cases without any fear or favour in a speedy manner.After inaugurating the CBI headquarters in the national capital, Dr. Singh asserted that the central agency should bring guilty to book irrespective of their positions. "CBI should act without fear or favour and bring all those to books who are guilty irrespective of their positions. Whoever transgresses the law of the land, however mighty, has to be brought to book," Dr Singh said.

PAC Chairman Murli submits his controversial report on 2 G scam to LS Speaker

NCT, April 30:Public Accounts Committee Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi today submitted the controversial report on 2 G scam to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar despite the rejection of the draft report by majority members. Today is the last day of his term as head of the Committee.Joshi said, the Speaker should accept report on 2G and table in Parliament. He said he has not given clean chit to anybody. He also claimed that the rejection of report by 11 PAC members is unconstitutional.

PM announces several schemes & projects for Bundelkhand

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh says, funds allocated to the development of the backward Bundekhand region have not been actively used by both the UP and MP Governments. Addressing a rally at Banda in Bundelkhand region today he said the centre had announced several schemes and projects worth thousands of crore of rupees for the development the region. Expressing the Centre's commitment to the progress of the region, he said he has already released 1800 crore rupees to both UP and MP state governments during last two financial years for different schemes for this region. An economic package of more than 7200 crore rupees was announced in 2009 but these were not actively used.

Call for PMR units in more hospitals

The extension of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) units to Primary and Community Health Centres in the State is the need of the hour to effectively utilise the service of specialist doctors in the stream, Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy has said.

India to launch FTA negotiations with Australia

The Prime Minister's Trade and Economic Relations Committee (TERC) on Saturday gave its nod for launching free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Australia. It also decided that India will not take Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) obligations beyond the domestic laws or mandated by World Trade Organization (WTO).

Technical snag halts Endeavour haunch

The final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour was aborted just hours before lift-off because of a technical problem. The astronauts were on their way to the launch pad when NASA called off the countdown due to a malfunction in the shuttle's onboard heaters.A huge crowd had converged at Cape Canaveral area for the lift off. The Space Shuttle is likely to take at least three days to fix the fault.

Courtesy : AIR

Taliban announce start of spring military offensive against US led coalition

The Taliban has pledged to launch a spring offensive against the US led coalition and its allies in Afghanistan. The militant group says the operation will begin tomorrow, but did not say how long the surge will last. The Taliban said in a statement today the targets of insurgent attacks will include military bases and convoys, as well as Afghan officials, including members of the peace council. The insurgents urged Afghan citizens to stay away from the centers and activities of the coalition forces. The Taliban said the offensive is being activated to protect Islam and religious values.The announcement of the militant operation comes one day after senior officers with the U.S.-led coalition and Western diplomats in Afghanistan warned they expected a surge in militant attacks. 

Courtesy : The HIndu

UN urges political parties in Nepal to find common ground for new constitution

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called upon Nepal’s political parties to step up efforts in reaching consensus on outstanding issues, including the integration and rehabilitation of Maoist army personnel and fundamental issues regarding the new Constitution.In a press statement ,Secretary General has said the peace process remains overdue and incomplete due to continuing differences among the parties despite significant achievements.