Sonia says there is urgent necessity to combat graft and corruption

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said there is urgent necessity to combat graft and corruption and urged Anna Hazare in a letter not to doubt her commitment in the fight for probity in public life. 

Responding to Anna Hazare's complaint against her "colleagues", Congress President Sonia Gandhi today assured him that she does not support "politics of smear campaign" and she was strongly committed to the institution of Lokpal.

Poverty declines by 5% in 2009-10 says Planning Commission

Poverty in the country has declined by five percent to 32 per cent in 2009-10.Disclosing this in New Delhi yesterday Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said poverty has shown declining trend from 2004-05 as per the preliminary data available with the Commission.

Prime Minister’s Inaugural Address at Civil Services Day

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh addressed the 6th Civil Services Day in New Delhi today. Following is the text of the Prime Minister’s inaugural speech on the occasion:

“ I am very happy to be amidst you on the occasion of the sixth Civil Services Day. I welcome all of you to this gathering. I also extend my greetings to all members of the Civil Services on this occasion.

Let me also congratulate the officers who have won awards today for excellence in their work. I am sure their example will inspire other civil servants to higher levels of commitment and performance in the service of our nation.

12th Plan to target 9-9.5 pc GDP: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Raising doubts over feasibility of achieving 10 per cent average economic expansion in the 12th Plan (2012-17), Plan Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the next plan would target GDP growth of 9 to 9.5 per cent in the next five years. 'If you ask me personally, I think setting target of 10 per cent (GDP growth) as an average for 12th Plan, is not feasible.it would be somewhere between 9 to 9.5 in next Plan period," he told reporters ahead of the meeting of the full Planning Commission. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wants the Commission to aim at higher growth target for 10 per cent during the 12th Plan, as against 8.2 per cent estimated in the current plan.

Water first for agriculture, not industry, in Maharashtra

In a decision termed “historic” and “revolutionary” by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, the State government has changed its policy on water allocation, giving priority to agriculture over industry Mr. Chavan announced the decision in the Legislative Council, where the controversial Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2011 was passed on Wednesday. Reversing its earlier move to divert irrigation water for industrial use, Mr. Chavan said that as per the changed order of priority, water would be allocated first for drinking purposes, followed by agriculture and then industry. With this amendment, the Bill would be re-tabled in the Assembly. “Food security and farmers are our top priority. That does not mean we give any less importance to industry. If need be, we will buy water for industrial purposes, but will not divert irrigation water,” Mr. Chavan said.

PSLV - C16 Lauch Sucessful

It was “sweet seventeen” for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on Wednesday, with the PSLV-C16 scoring a spectacular success by putting three satellites into orbit with precision. It was the PSLV’s 17th consecutive successful mission out of the 18 launches from Sriharikota. At the end of 18 minutes of “a delightful” flawless flight, the fourth stage of the rocket shot India’s Resourcesat-2 into its orbit. About 40 seconds later, the fourth stage bulleted again the Youthsat and the X-sat into their orbits. The accuracy was such that the Resourcesat- 2 reached an orbit at an altitude of 822.9 km against the targeted 822 km. The mission lifted the veil of despondency that had fallen over the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after the failure of the GSLVD3 with an indigenous cryogenic stage in April last year and of the GSLV-F06 with a Russian cryogenic engine in December.