ED seeks scam related documents from CWG OC

Enforcement Directorate, probing the Rs 600 crore Commonwealth Games overlays scam, has sought a host of documents related to tender and award of contract from the Organising Committee to widen its probe in the light of the arrest of its dismissed Chairman Suresh Kalmadi.Sources said the ED has summoned officials concerned in the Games body to appear before it with the required documents and clarify certain details to it.

Nissan Leaf electric named World Car of the Year

The zero-emission Nissan Leaf is the winner of the World Car of the Year award at the New York Car Show, marking the first time that a fully electric car has taken the accolade.The 57 jurors from 23 countries remarked that the Leaf “feels like a normal car, only quieter.” The Leaf beat off new models from Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Dacia, Ford, Opel and Volvo and finished ahead of the Audi A8 limousine.

FM holds Bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Vietnam

The Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee had a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung in Hanoi, Vietnam, today. During the meeting, Shri Mukherjee said that the Strategic Partnership established between the two countries is based on implicit mutual trust, a convergence of interests including in the field of defence and security and similar approaches on global and regional issues. As two dynamic and fast growing economies of Asia, our effort is to add greater content, through concrete programmes and projects, to our Strategic Partnership, he said.

20th Meeting of the National Welfare Board of Seafarers held; Government to bring Bill on Rights for Seafarers Soon

The 20th meeting of the National Welfare Board of Seafarers held here today. This was the first meeting of the Board after its reconstitution in November, 2010.The Union Minister of Shipping, Shri G.K. Vasan said in his opening remarks that the Government is very keen to strengthen the welfare schemes for seafarers. A number of issues including revamping of Welfare Schemes of SWFS, Contributory Annuity Scheme of SPFO, Welfare measures initiated for seafarers, Augmenting the facilities of Seamen Welfare Clubs at different ports, etc. were discussed.

ADB meet: India stresses on better governance in Asia

Underscoring the need for regional cooperation for development, India has said countries within Asia should strive for better governance and transparency in policy making.Addressing the Governors' Seminar on 'ASIA 2050' at the annual meeting of the ADB in Hanoi, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said an enabling environment and appropriate institutional structure is a prerequisite for the Asia growth story to unfold.

Multi hazard warning system for Kerala coast

Coastal communities in Kerala will soon be better prepared to face natural hazards such as cyclones, tidal waves, storm surges and tsunamis, thanks to an early warning and information system to be established by the Hyderabad- based Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) here.

SC reserves verdict on forming SIT to track black money

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a plea to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to track the black money stashed away in foreign banks and to take steps for bringing it back to the country.A bench of justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar also reserved its verdict on a petition seeking directions to the government to make public the names of persons who have kept black money in the Liechtenstein Bank.

Osama's killing will not change discourse of Indo-Pak dialogue: India

India today said that the momentous killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Pakistan will not change the discourse of Indo-Pak dialogue but made it clear that use of terrorism as a policy to further strategic goals is unacceptable.Asserting that the killing vindicates India's position that without the elimination of the terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries in Pakistan there cannot be an end to the global war on terror, highly placed sources said, what was sensational was the fact that Bin Laden was found living in a large mansion in Abbotabad, 80 kms from Islamabad.

Huge asteroid to fly close to earth on November 8

Mark your calendars for November 8, because that’s when a massive asteroid will sweep past the Earth.The asteroid called 2005 YU55 has a diameter of 1,300 feet and will approach the planet at 0.85 lunar distances.Due the object’s size and whisking by so close to Earth, an extensive campaign of radar, visual and infrared observations is being planned.

Eliminating endosulfan - Opinion

The decision of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants to include the pesticide endosulfan in the list of chemicals scheduled for elimination at the global level is a positive step. For the controversial insecticide to be replaced with benign alternatives, though, it is critical that official policy makes the development of low cost substitutes a priority. India has done well to reiterate its commitment to the phasing out of pollutants, which includes polychlorinated biphenyls, under the Convention. It has come up with a National Implementation Plan to cleanse the environment, while admitting that POPs have been found in human and animal blood and tissues, in the environment, and in foods. Given the evidence linking such chemicals to cancer, birth defects, diminished intelligence, and reduced immunity, there is a strong case to adopt the precautionary principle on the use of endosulfan. It is indeed significant that the World Health Organisation has classified this organochlorine insecticide as “moderately hazardous” and the POP Review Committee of the Stockholm Convention recommended its elimination on the ground that it could have adverse effects on human health and the environment.

Notification of Slums

‘Slums’ is a State subject. The data of notified slums is maintained by the State Governments. However, the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) has published a report namely “Some Characteristics of Urban Slum 2008-2009” based on its 65^th round sample survey on conditions of slum in the country. According to the NSS Report details of notified and non-notified slums in 10 States is annexed at Annexure-1. The Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation had set up a Committee to look into various aspects of Slum Statistics/Census and issues regarding conduct of slum Census 2011. The Committee has estimated the slum population in 2001 at 75.26 million and the State-wise details are as per Annexure-2.

Implementation of USHA Scheme

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation is implementing the Central Scheme of ‘Urban Statistics for Human Resource and Assessments (USHA)’ which aims at the development and maintenance of national database, MIS and knowledge repository relating to urban poverty, slums, housing, construction and other urbanization-related statistics in line with the national emphasis of strengthening statistical base of policies and programmes. Its key objective is to support the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and other Ministries with an information base and knowledge inputs for the purpose of planning, policy-making, project design, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, particularly in the context of programmes relating to urban poverty, slums and housing.

Encourage Organ Donation: Azad

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad has called for stepping up the drive to generate awareness about organ and tissue donation in the society. The Minister noted that there is a huge gap between demand and availability of human organs and tissues. Shri Azad today released a book published by the Organ Retrieval Banking Organization of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, titled – “A Tribute to Life”. The book features the donors and their families who have taken the crucial decision of donating organs and tissues of their near and dear ones and rendered yeomen service to society by saving lives of many other people in need.

Vice-President Delivers 2nd UPSC Lecture on Governance; Calls for out-of-box thinking on Quality of Higher Civil Service

The Vice-President, Shri M. Hamid Ansari today called for out-of-the-box thinking on quality and content issues pertaining to our higher civil services. He was delivering the second lecture of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Lecture Series on Governance in New Delhi today. The lecture series aims at providing a forum for raising issues of contemporary relevance to governance and public administration. Shri Ansari said that the higher civil services in the country, therefore, must be role models of elite behaviour upholding the Rule of Law. This is not a homily; it is part of our constitutional scheme of things and a professional and moral obligation of a civil servant to the nation and to the citizens, he said. 

Tagore - The Poet, Songwriter, Philosopher, Artist and Educator

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was the youngest son of Debendranath Tagore, a leader of the Brahmo Samaj. Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta into a wealthy and prominent family.  His grandfather had established a huge financial empire for himself.  Tagore received his early education first from tutors and then at a variety of schools. Among them were Bengal Academy where he studied history and culture. and then  University College, London, where he studied law but left a year later for unlikeness of the weather.