E-paper Feb. 26, 2009

VOL: 2 ISSUE 46

Feb. 26, 2009

SC orders judicial probe, transfer of cops New Delhi, Feb 26: Te r m i n g t h e Madras High Court

state government in Tamil Nadu to transfer four top cops

violence as "serious" and "sad", the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the

responsible for the police’ excesses against lawyers while ordering a

judicial probe. A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan also appointed a retired apex court judge Justice B Srikrishna to inquire into the clash between lawyers and police in Madras High Court. T h e B Srikrishna committee will submit its interim report within two weeks to the apex court. The apex court, while trying to restore calm among the agitating lawyers’ community, directed the state government to transfers the Joint Commissioner of Chennai and three Deputy Commissioner of Police for their role in

the clashes. However, the bench stopped short of o r d e r i n g t h e suspension of the top cops citing that it would be against the morals of bureaucracy. The bench allowed the two committees set up by the High Court to assess the damage to the vehicles and the properties of the Court and to look into the injuries caused to the lawyers to function. The Supreme Court asked the lawyers, who are on a strike since January 29, to withdraw their agitation at the earliest. The court posted the matter for

further hearing on March 3. Appealing to the agitating lawyers to maintain decorum and discipline in the court, the Bench said they should not hold meetings and shout any slogans in the Court corridors. The apex court had on Wednesday given a 24 hours deadline to the Tamil Nadu government to inform at whose instance the police had entered the Madras High Court premises on February 19. The advocate body from Chennai had objected to the setting up of the committee by t h e Ta m i l N a d u

Government. The court had earlier ruled out setting up of a judicial inquiry under a sitting judge. The bench said the incident was serious in which the judges and lawyers became victim of the clash and there was a lot of destruction of property. The apex court said that the state should generously consider offering financial assistance to the lawyers whose vehicles were damaged by the police in the court premises. The court said that for those lawyers who were injured in the clash, the state will bear the expenses for their treatment.

Jai Ho' rents air as Rahman arrives to a rousing reception ‘Chennai, Feb 26: 'Jai Ho,' the

Maestro A R Rahman rent the air outside the

as the Oscars winner arrived here to a

o s c a r w i n n i n g composition of Music

International Airport in the wee hours of today,

rousing reception. A huge crowd

waiting outside the airport, burst into applause as Rahman, accompanied by his mother and wife arrived, carrying two Oscars, he won for best original score and best original song 'Jai Ho' for the film Slumdog Millionaire. As they were screaming for his attention, the crowd surged ahead to greet the Mozart of Madras as the security personnel sweat it out to take Rahman to his waiting car. Rahman's sisters, his family members, Drummer Sivamani with his team, actor Parthiban and scores of people from various walks of life and students from

Rahman's music school accorded a rousing reception to him. R a h m a n arrived at 0215 hrs by an Emirates flight from US enroute Dubai as the 'Congrates Jai Ho Rahman' illuminated banner greeted him outside the airport. There was music and dance all around the airport and shouts of Jai Ho and drum beats rent the air as Rahman lifted the Oscars statuette and waved to the crowd. On behalf of t h e Ta m i l N a d u g o v e r n m e n t , Information Minister Parithi Ilamavazhuthi received Rahman by presenting him a golden shawl.

He was given a ceremonial drive from the airport to his residence, where he told a television channel 'I dedicate the Oscars to the people of the country and young and budding music artistes.' He said the Oscars would not take him to the west and he would continue to play music for Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and English films. The entire stretch of the road, leading to his residence was decorated with flowers and illuminated lights as Rahman, travelling in a open car, stepped into his house on a carpet of roses, amid bursting of crackers and waving of tri-colour.

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M S Swaminathan appointed Sikkim University Chancellor Gangtok, Feb. 26 A c c l a i m e d agriculture scientist Prof M S Swaminathan, also famous as 'Father of Green

Revolution in India', has been announced by Sikkim University as its chancellor. Sikkim University, the 23rd varsity in India, a n n o u n c e d t h e appointment of Prof MS Swaminathan on Wednesday in a communique. ''A trained plant

geneticist, Professor Swaminathan's advocacy of sustainable agricultural has led to the Green Revolution in India. i t made him an acknowledge d world leader in the field of sustainable food security,'' t h e communique said. Prof Swaminathan is currently a Rajya Sabha m e m b e r, a position to which he was nominated by the Centre in recognition to his outstanding contribution towards the sphere of agriculture. P r o f Swaminathan, also the chairman of the National Commission on Agriculture, Food and

Nutrition Security of India (National Commission on Farmers), is also holding the UNESCO-Cousteau Chair in Ecotechnology at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai. Among the endless list of awards received by Prof Swaminathan, the notables are the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1971, the Albert Einstein World Science Award in 1986 and the first World Food Prize in 1987 and the Volvo and Tyler Prize for Environment. He also bagged the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace and Disarmament and Development in 2000, the Franklin D Roosevelt four Freedoms Medal and the Mahatma Gandhi Prize of Unescoin 2000. - Agencies

CM to attend Assembly on Feb 27:Minister Chennai, Feb. 26 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who is recuperating after a spinal surgery, would come to the State Assembly on February 27, the last day of the brief Budget Session. Announcing this in the State Assembly, Finance Minister and Leader of the House K Anbazhagan said the Chief Minister was keen to attend the proceedings and might make it to the House on the last day though doctors had advised him complete rest. T h e C h i e f Minister was very much

interested to attend the House at least for a day during the Budget Session and he would definitely come to the Assembly on February 27 with the help of doctors. Mr Anbazhagan said like the Chief Minister, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also taking rest after a heart surgery and was all set to take up official work in a couple of days. He wished both the leaders long life. ''I also wish Opposition Leader J Jayalalithaa on the occasion of her 61st

birthday. She should live long to see the continuance of the DMK Regime in the State.'' On the AIADMK's demand for the dissolution of the State Assembly following the February 19 violent clash between the lawyers and the police, the Minister said no one had the right to demand the dissolution of the House. ''One can demand the dismissal of the government and not the dissolution of the House,'' he claimed. - Agencies

Karunanidhi to be discharged on Mar 1 Chennai, Feb. 26: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who underwent a spinal cord surgery, will be discharged from hospital on March 1 and has been advised rest for the next four weeks. The 84-year-old Chief Minister was examined by Delhi-based spine surgeon Dr Arvind Jaiswal, who performed the surgery on February 11 at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital (SRMCH) here, and all the sutures were removed on

Wednesday, a medical bulletin issued on Wednesday night said. " H e (Karunanidhi) was made to stand and sit on a chair. He has been advised rest for next four weeks and had also been advised various physiotherapy exercises. He will be discharged from the hospital on March 1," SRMCH Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr S S K Marthandam, heading a team of 14 doctors set up to monitor the Chief Minister's

health condition, said. Karunanidhi was admitted to the hospital on January 26 for treatment of a muscle strain that had been causing pain in his spinal cord and the doctors on Feb 9 decided to perform the surgery as there was no reduction in the pain. Accordingly, he underwent a three-hourlong minimal invasive surgery under general anaesthesia. - Agencies

Feb. 26, 2009

Varsity team talks to PMR staff, students Chennai, Feb. 26 A five-member team comprising Anna University (Chennai) professors and an official of the directorate of technical education (DoTE) on Wednesday inspected the PMR Institute of Technology in suburban Adyalampattu, a self-financing college which was in the news recently for alleged impersonation of faculty. "We have video-graphed the deposition of all staff, m a n a g e m e n t representatives and students. We verified the various charges against the institution. After examining the recorded deposition, we will submit a report to the university on our findings," a member of the inspection team told media. "The team will meet parents separately and submit a final report within ten days. Initially, the team was slated to inspect the college on February 18, two days after classes resumed on the campus. But the college management

represented to us seeking time till March 2 to rectify certain inadequacies. We decided to send the team today," vice chancellor P Mannar Jawahar said. The team comprised professors P Kanagasabapathy, P Devadas Manoharan, V Jayabalan and T V Geetha; and additional director of technical education Elwin Chandramouli. The university had earlier this month threatened to issue a show cause notice to the college management asking why its affiliation should not be withdrawn the institution allegedly produced a couple of school teachers and outsiders as faculty during an inspection. T h i s h a d sparked a students' unrest on February 9. The protesting students and parents alleged that t h e r e w a s n o infrastructure on the campus and demanded that they be transferred to other colleges. The students of the PMR

Engineering College, a sister-institution also joined the protest. However, officials made it clear that students cannot be transferred from one college to another in the middle of an academic year and decided to depute a team to assess the ground realities on the campus and take action accordingly. The officials also instructed the college management to rectify the deficiencies on the campus. "Originally, the university did not mention about infrastructural deficiencies in our college. The students had subsequently raised the issue of the aeronautical laboratory being illequipped. Now two laboratories are in place and we have procured the equipment for the third laboratory which will be installed soon. The supplier had delayed delivery of the equipment. We have the required staff," P Muthuvel Raj, chairman, PMR group of institutions said. - TNN

Security beefed up at DGP's office Chennai, Feb. 26 Security has been intensified at the DGP's office here following reports that agitating advocates could picket the building, officials said. "Commandos

were posted at the DGP's office, while security was strengthened up at the city commissioner's office," they said. In the wake of the lawyers-police clash at the Madras High Court on February 19, the

advocates have been demanding action against top police officials, including the DGP and Commissioner. Several people were injured when police resorted to lathicharge then. -Agencies

St John's school announces scholarships Chennai, Feb. 26 The St John's International Residential School in Palanjur near Chennai has come up with a full scholarship scheme that will annually fund the education of three candidates from the next academic year. The scholarship has been instituted in memory of the founder of the institution. "The Bishop Rajakumar Full Scholarship Scheme is aimed at helping deserving candidates belonging to three categories children of State government

employees, central government employees and print media journalists from Tamil Nadu. One student will be selected in each category every year and awarded a full scholarship. A high level committee will be formed to decide the working modalities of the scheme including the criteria for selection," R Kishore Kumar, senior principal, St John's International Residential School, said at the XVI annual day of the institutions celebrated last week. According to him, the school has also

set up a research and development division which will study the learning difficulties normally experienced by the students and work on Correcting Techniques' to counter learning disabilities. Chandraayan I & II project director M Annadurai, Central Board of Secondary Education (Chennai Region) joint secretary N Nagaraju and United States vice consul in Chennai Ravindra M Srivastava participated in the annual day celebrations, a press release said. -Agencies

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Feb. 26, 2009

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DRDO to make indigenous Arjun tank hi-tech CrPC amendments may be sacrificed Chennai, Feb. 26 Indicating the Tamil Nadu government's readiness to reconsider notification of the amended version of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the state, finance minister K Anbazhagan told the state assembly on Wednesday that the government would take a suitable decision on the matter within a week. Advocates have been opposing amendments to the present form of the CrPC, and have been urging the state government not to notify the amendments which had already been passed by the both houses of the Parliament and obtained the Presidential assent on January 21. Following this, lawyers in the state had abstained from courts on February 18 protesting the possible notification of the amendments in the state. On Wednesday,

Anbazhagan, while replying to a debate on the budget, said the government would take an appropriate decision on the matter within a week. As per the amended Section 401 of the Code, police cannot arrest any person accused of having committed an offence carrying a sentence of less than seven years. Instead of the arrest, the accused shall be served with a memo of appearance directing them to appear before the jurisdictional police for inquiry. Assailing this provision, lawyers have been arguing that this would prompt the police to book every accused for grave offences so that the person concerned could be arrested instead of simply being asked to appear for inquiry. However, a senior advocate of the

Madras high court said the amended Code, which received the Presidential assent on January 21 codifies several mandatory pre-arrest formalities laid down by the Supreme Court in the D K Basu and other cases, and expresses a lot of sensitivity to women victims of grave offences such as rape. "Ranging from in camera hearing, preferably by a woman judge, in sexual harassment cases, to a useful victim compensation scheme, this version of the CrPC is full of pro-human right elements," he said, adding that the amended Section 372 even empowers a victim, besides the prosecution, to appeal against the acquittal or award of lesser sentence to an accused. - TNN

Reshuffle in police department : Ravi is new JC for Chennai North Zone Chennai, Feb. 26 T h e s t a t e government on Wednesday appointed deputy inspector general of police, administration, M Ravi as joint commissioner of police for the city's north zone. SN Seshasai, who was transferred and posted as joint commissioner, north zone, following the policelawyers clash at the high court had not taken charge. He has now been posted as DIG, CB-CID, Chennai. The earlier joint commissioner, north, M Ramasubramani, under whose jurisdiction the high court police station falls, had been shifted as DIG railways, but he has gone gone on leave. He is now on the waiting list said a notification on Wednesday from the Government Coimbatore DIG P Sivanandi, Madurai DIG SS

Krishnamoorthy, Madurai SP M Manohar, who had been ordered to be shifted by the election commission in previous elections have now been transferred to posts unrelated to election work. In the run-up to the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, then DIG intelligence Sivanandi had been ordered to be shifted by the election commission, following a complaint by the DMK. Krishnamoorthi and Manohar were shifted during the recently held Tirumangalam by-election. Sivanandi was on Wednesday transferred as DIG railways, while Krishnamoorthy becomes D I G , C B - C I D , S I T, Chennai in an existing vacancy. Manohar has been posted as deputy commissioner of police, t r a ff i c p o l i c e , s o u t h ,

Chennai. Ashok Kumar Das, DIG, technical services, was transferred as Ramanathapuram DIG. VA Ravikumar, DIG of CBCID will be the new DIG for Coimbatore range. Nirmal Kumar Joshi, DC, traffic, Chennai sourth will b e t h e d e p u t y commissioner of Pulianthope vice S Panneerselvam. Tiruvannamalai SP V Balakrishnan was transferred as Madurai SP and Panneerselvam will be the new SP for Ti r u v a n n a m a l a i . N K Senthamaraikannan will be the new DC, Washermanpet in the city. S Santhi is the SP for the newly created Tirupur district. -Agencies

Tourism Ministry confers national award for Hotel Pandian Chennai, Feb 26 : The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has conferred the National Tourism Award 2 0 0 7 - 0 8 i n Tw o - S t a r Category to Hotel Pandian in Egmore for the second time. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram presented the award in presence of the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, Ambika Soni at a function in New Delhi last evening, a release from Hotel Pandian said here on Wednesday P F Manoraj, Executive Director of Hotel Pandian and his spouse Nita Pamela Manoraj received the award at the National Tourism Awards Function at Convention Hall, The Ashok

in New Delhi. ''It is indeed a honour and a great privilege to be chosen to receive the National Tourism Award for the second time'', an elated Mr Manoraj said after receiving the prestigious award. Hotel Pandian, a unit of Harrington Hotels Private Limited, Pandian Group of Companies, is an ISO-Certified Two-Star Hotel in Egmore, the accommodation hub of the city. It has 90 airconditioned and non-a/c rooms, 24-hour check-out, round-the-clock room service, Multi-Cuisine Restaurant, Permit Room (Bar), Banquet Halls, On-

line reservation, WiFi, internet browsing, safe deposit, money changing, western money, travel counter, same day laundry, doctor on call and business communication. The hotel had the honour of having received the best Two Star Hotel in Tamil Nadu in 1996. 199798 and 1999-2000 Regional Tourism Award for Excellence in Two-Star category by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and 2003-2004 National Tourism Award for outstanding performance in Two-Star Category by M i n i s t r y o f To u r i s m , Government of India. -Agencies

Chennai Feb 26 : The Defence R e s e a r c h a n d Development Organization (DRDO) will be developing around 12 futuristic systems in five years for incorporation into India's first indigenously built Arjun main battle tank (MBT), an official said here. "The futuristic technology systems include automatic target tracking, defensive aids, laser warning, tank simulator systems. We are looking at developing robotic vehicles that would work on tele-link," R. Jayakumar, associate director of the DRDO's Combat Vehicles R e s e a r c h a n d D e v e l o p m e n t Establishment (CVRDE), told reporters. The organisation also plans to automate the tracking of targets. "With the firing and mobility powers of the tank being satisfactory, the focus is now on making the vehicle invisible to the e n e m y t h r o u g h development of detection avoidance and laser warning systems," said

Jayakumar. One of the labs under the DRDO, CVRDE is also in the process of developing tank simulators similar to flight simulators. " A f t e r undergoing simulator training, a soldier can comfortably operate the vehicle," said Jayakumar. When asked about the status of the Indian Army's order for 124 Arjun tanks, CVRDE director S. Sundaresh said: "The order will be completed this year. We are confident of getting more orders, which would enable us to have more local component content in the battle machine." Presently, the local content is around 50 percent. The engine and power train has been imported from Germany. "We plan to source engines from Cummins India for future orders. If more orders come by, we can reduce the imported content to 25 percent," Sundaresh added. The research organisation has transferred the technology to the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi town.

"More than 10,000 drawings running into around 2,000 pages have been passed on to the v e h i c l e m a n u f a c t u r e r, " Sundaresh said. Asked about the delays in developing the tank, officials said the army froze its specifications only in November 1985. “The tank was unveiled in 1995. It takes at least 10 years for any country to develop a battle tank from the scratch. The army put the pre-production tanks (15 units) to rigorous tests totalling more than 70,000 km and fired over 7,000 rounds. No other tank would have undergone such tests," said Jayakumar. Meanwhile to commemorate the DRDO's golden jubilee, five of its labs - C V R D E , Ve h i c l e s Research and Development E s t a b l i s h m e n t , Ahmednagar; Research and Development Establishment (Engineers), Dighi; Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Manali; and Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Bangalore - will hold a two day exhibition here starting Feb 28. -Agencies

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No PG degree unless student completes 3-year graduation: SC New Delhi, Feb 26: The Supreme Court has upheld a UGC rule which says that no student shall be eligible for a Masters degree, including under the Open University System (OUS), unless he or she has successfully completes a three-year degree course. "The provisions of the UGC Act are binding on all Universities whether conventional or open. Its powers are very broad," a two-judge bench of Justices S B Sinha and Mukundakam Sharm observed. The bench passed the observation while upholding a Madras High Court judgement that the Masters Degree awarded by the Anamalai University to a candidate under the OUS system was not valid as the requisite three-year prior degree course was not fulfilled in the case. In the instant case, the High Court had set aside the appointment of N Ramesh as incharge principal of the Film and Television Institute of Tamil

Nadu after a rival contender Sibi Madan Gabriel challenged his appointment that the former's MA degree awarded by the university was not valid as it was not recognized under the UGC rules. Under the UGC Act, provisions for the said rules made in 1985 no student shall be eligible to seek admission to a Master's (postgraduate) degree unless the candidate has successfully pursued a three-years degree course of BA/BSc/BCom ( G e n e r a l / Honours/Special). Interpreting the various provisions of the UGC and the Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU) Act, the apex court said that the former will prevail as it was intended to regulate and set up minimum standards of higher education. "In the matter of higher education, it is necessary to maintain minimum standards of instructions. Such

minimum standards of instructions are required to be defined by UGC. "The standards and the co-ordination of work or facilities in universities must be maintained and for that purpose required to be regulated," the apex court said. Under the UGC Act provisions for the said rules made in 1985 no student shall be eligible to seek admission to a Master's (post graduate) course unless the candidate completes his or her three-year degree. H o w e v e r, i n violation of the rules the university awarded the Masters Degree to Ramesh who did not undergo the mandatory three-year course as per the UGC guidelines. "The UGC rules apply equally to Open Universities as also to formal conventional universities," the apex court clarified. - Agencies

Alpine mountain range ‘beneath Antarctic ice' London, Feb. 26 Scientists claim to have found evidence that a 3,500-metre mountain range, called Gamburtsev, discovered beneath the Antarctic ice, looks almost like the Alps in Europe. The Gamburtsev mountains were first located 50 years ago by Russian scientists. But little was known about their scale and morphology. Now, an international team has claimed that the view would look like the European Alps if ice could be stripped away. "We now know that not only are the mountains the size of the European Alps, but they also have similar peaks and valleys. This adds even more mystery about how the vast East Antarctic ice sheet formed," Fausto Ferraccioli of the British Antarctic Survey was quoted by the 'New Scientist' as saying. The Gamburtsev range is thought to be the birthplace of the ice sheet. It sits at the centre of the continent, far from warming sea air, and reaches between 3000 and 4000 metres above sea level.

According to the scientists, this means that some 35 million years ago when the ice sheet started to form, the range would have been very cold. It is unclear, though, how fast the ice spread across the continent, and whether the ice formed the jagged landscape or the peaks were there first. If the ice sheet formed slowly, glaciologists would expect to see rounded plateaus in places where it eroded the rock, but the surveys found no such soft landscapes. This may suggest that the ice g r e w v e r y r a p i d l y, effectively preserving an ancient Alpine landscape beneath kilometres of ice. On the other hand, Ferraccioli, who led the team, said it would be foolish to ignore the possibility that the flow of rivers and glaciers carved deep valleys as the ice formed. H o w t h e mountains came to be in the first place is also something of a mystery. One theory -- that they

were volcanic peaks -was weakened by data published last year, which found that the sediment downstream from the peaks is not volcanic in origin. Yet it is difficult to see how the peaks could have grown out of the collision of two tectonic plates -- East Antarctica is thought to be a homogenous, stable plate. One of the first tasks in sifting through the data, Ferraccioli said, will be to see if there is any evidence of major differences in the geology of the mountains. "Such differences could be a sign that there is an inactive fault line beneath the ice that could have formed the range." Alternatively, a broad collision elsewhere could have pushed the mountains up within the plate -- a bit like a lump of play dough being squished between two wooden blocks, the scientists said. - Agencies

Feb. 26, 2009

LED The next generation in lighting launched Chennai, Feb. 26 Te c h n o l o g y finds a way to replace everything that previously existed with better and more effective

alternatives from time to time. The evolution gives immense scope for development of quality. It also reduces the impact of what we take from the environment and what we release back into it. Lighting has come a long way since Edison's first light bulb. Today we have the technology to revolutionize lighting with state-of-the art LED lamps which illuminate much better with greater efficiency with far lesser power consumption. Going green is the current day mantra and this applies to lighting as well. With a whole range o f c o m p l e t e l y revolutionary lighting solutions now on offer, LED is the way ahead.

With over 41 years in the electronics field, and excellent business tie ups with the best electronics brands from around the world, Precious Lighting have now launched a completely new line of lighting solutions which are all set to redefine lighting in the country. LED lighting is the technology of the new generation which not just looks better and illuminates better but also reduces power consumption through technological innovations in deriving maximum output with minimum power inputs. The product line on offer includes complete lighting solutions for commercial, domestic and industrial purposes. T h e n e w generation LED lamps are in sync with the current requirements of creating a greener world across all domains. The extensive product portfolio includes a large variety of LED Tube Lights, Light Engine Module, Focus Light, Street Lights, Decorative Lights, Reading Lights, Wall Washer and numerous other indoor as well as outdoor lighting options. . Most of these

lamps can replace conventional lights with the same light fittings that are used on them. With the best value for money proposition in the branded lighting segment, Precious Lighting is confident of making it to the top spot in the sector, and create a brand which is based on customer satisfaction. With a large number of operational lighting systems in various Hotels, Airports and homes, the cost benefits of the products over a long run are already being felt by those using it. Thus with such a value proposition which does not just save money but also conserves scarce resources, LED is the way forward as it portrays cost effective lighting options over the long run and requires minimal maintenance. Precious Group was established in 1968 with excellent technical expertise in product specifics and retailing, they have earned a position of repute amongst the customers and competition alike. With sheer focus on doing the best and offering the very best. the company has revolutionised new lighting options For more information Contact: 45120001 - Staff Reporter

Court grants regular bail to ‘Statesman' Editor, Publisher Kolkata, Feb 26: A local court on We d n e s d a y g r a n t e d regular bail to the Editor and Publisher of English daily 'The Statesman' who were arrested on February 11 on the charge of insulting the religious belief of a community, following street protests against an article published in the newspaper. The interim bail

given to Ravindra Kumar, Editor of The Statesman, and Anand Sinha, its Printer and Publisher, earlier was confirmed by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate S S Anand. They had been arrested on the complaint by Mohm Shahid at the Bowbazar police station under sections 295A (maliciously insulting the religions or the religious belief of any class) and

34 (common intention) of IPC and given interim bail on February 11. A fresh petition was, however, filed during the day by a person named Quddus to prosecute them under section 302 of CRPC (permission to conduct prosecution). The CMM fixed the hearing of the petition on March 25. - Agencies

'PCO' without phones Nongnah, Feb 25 This is perhaps the only 'PCO' where there are no telephones but is the lone spot from where villagers can connect with the world outside. A small concrete pulpit atop a hillock in this remote village of Nongnah, about 130 km west of Shillong, has been christened as 'phone booth' by the locals. For, this is the only place where they get mobile phone network. “We have to climb up this hill and reach this 'public booth' to make and receive calls. Most of the villagers have to walk for about 20 minutes to reach here," one of them said. There are about 3,000 residents in this nondescript village of Meghalaya's West Khasi Hills district and the nearest PCO is more than 15 km away. More than 50 per cent of the villagers have mobile connections, either Reliance or Bangladesh Grameen Phone. The villagers said that though the 'public booth' is the only communication link for them to the outside world, they sometimes fail to get network even from there.Government officials, who visit the place, are also caught in this communication trauma. While this village is yet to enjoy the advent of new technology where distances are cut short through mobile or telephone communication, sub divisional officer of the area K Nongbri said, "I am aware of the problems. Development will take place even if slowly."

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Times Chennai E-Paper

Feb. 26, 2009

No policy to 'beat away' encroachers on railway land: Lalu Confer Bharat Ratna on Savarkar, BJP member demands in Lok Sabha New Delhi, Feb 26 A senior BJP member demanded in the Lok Sabha that the government confer "Bharat Ratna" on legendary freedom fighter Vir Savarkar, whose birth anniversary is celebrated today. Raising the issue as matter of Public importance, Mr Hansraj Aheer said the highest civilian award should go to Savarkar by taking into consideration the sacrifices he had made for the nation. He said Savarkar fought against the British regime since his childhood

and was in prison for a long period of time. He was even incarcerated in the jail in Andaman Nicobar. E a r l i e r, M r Basudeb Acharya (CPIM) appealed to the government to take immediate steps to increase the salary of the 300,000 Gram Dak Sevaks who formed the backbone of the postal services. He said they constituted 80 per cent of the total workforce manning the rural postal services. Mr P C Thomas

(Kerala Congress) urged the government to open a regional office of the Kendriya Vidyalaya in Kerala in the context of the increase in the number of schools. The state now had 800 schools and another 200 are being opened. M r Va r k a l a Radhakrishnan (CPI-M) wanted the government to issue notification, b e f o r e t h e announcement of the poll schedule, sanctioning a bench of the Kerala High C o u r t i n Thiruvananthapuram. -Agencies

India's border with Bangladesh secure: Chidambaram New Delhi, Feb 26: India's borders with Bangladesh are "secure" and there are no threats to the 4,095-km boundary in the wake of the rebellion in Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in the neighbouring country, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday. "Our borders are secure. Our BSF is on the alert. I don't think the BDRArmy dispute in Bangladesh will spill over to our border," he said

when asked about the situation in Bangladesh. There is "no threat to the borders," Chidambaram said. Following the rebellion that had broken out in BDR headquarters in Dhaka yesterday, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said that it was "exclusively an internal matter of Bangladesh." Replying to a question on the truce between the Pakistan authorities and the

Taliban in Swat and other provinces, Chidambaram said the arrangement between the two sides was a matter of concern for South Asia. "It has been stated in Parliament that the arrangement between Pakistan and the Taliban in respect of Swat does raise concern for the entire South Asian region. Beyond that, I do not wish to say anything," the Minister said. -Agencies

Indian Navy to provide 30 doctors to Maldives on a temporary basis New Delhi, Feb 26: The Indian Navy will provide around 30 doctors on a temporary basis to the Maldives following a request made by President Mohamed Nasheed to Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, an official said Thursday. P r e s i d e n t Nasheed has asked Mehta, who is visiting the Maldives, to provide doctors on a temporary basis to work at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male. "The navy chief had received the request and it has been accepted. The navy will now forward the request to the government to take a decision," a navy official told IANS on condition of anonymity. Maldives has shared long-standing ties with India and has been an

important member of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). "Indian doctors will work both in IGMH and in different districts throughout the Maldives," the president's office press secretary Mohamed Zuhair said Wednesday. President Nasheed said that he made the request with the objective of providing relief to the long queues of patients waiting for t r e a t m e n t a n d consultations. Speaking at the news conference held at President Nasheed's office Wednesday, Mehta said the Indian Navy can accommodate the president's request and that efforts will be made to fulfil the request in the coming days. Mehta said top priority would be given to

the matter as it was of humanitarian nature and that further details will be provided once all arrangements are in place. He said just as India stood by Maldives in national emergencies, will do so in future. "To provide 20 or so doctors, to work for 30 or so days is something the Indian Navy can do," said the admiral. Mehta was on a four-day visit of the Maldives from Feb 21-25 for talks on maritime security with the leaders of the island nation. Mehta also called on the Maldives' Minister for Defence and National Security Ameen Faisal, Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Shaheed and Chief of Defence Staff Mossa M. Zalil. -Agencies

New Delhi, Feb 26: As 1,042 hectares of railway land continue to be under illegal occupation, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad today said the government has no policy to "beat away" encroachers but it will persuade them to move away. " T h e U PA government has no policy to beat away encroachers. We follow a policy of persuasion," he said replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Lok Sabha. Prasad said the Ministry of Railways also makes efforts to establish contact

between the state government and the encroachers to help them find proper housing. However, he asserted that there was no policy to pay any compensation to the illegal occupants of railway land. Minister of State for Railways R Velu said railway land measuring about 1,042 hectares is under illegal occupation and the number of places having encroachments is about 1.42 lakh. In reply to a separate question, Prasad said the main reasons for delay in completion of railway

projects have been paucity of funds, delay in land acquisition and forestry clearance, failure of contracts, adverse law and order conditions and other market forces affecting the progress. Funds for projects have been "increased considerably" over the last few years and contract conditions modified to bring in efficiency in contract management, he said. Prasad said states have been requested to regularly review the projects to sort out pending issues. -Agencies

Human error in President's chopper incident: Praful Patel New Delhi, Feb 26: Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Thursday said that human error led to the Feb 9 incident in which President Pratibha Patil's chopper narrowly escaped crashing into an Air India aircraft in Mumbai. "There was human error in the incident, the matter is being investigated. We have taken serious note of the matter," Patel said while relying to a query of K S Manoj, a Communist

Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP from Kerala, in the Lok Sabha. In a major safety breach on Feb 9, a New Delhibound Air India flight with 170 passengers and 10member crew narrowly escaped colliding with a helicopter which was part of the president's fleet, minutes before taking off from Mumbai Monday morning. This is the first time that the government has accepted that there was human error in the

incident, although, the minister didn't name the person responsible for the incident. Patel also said that the government has recruited a sizeable number of people to positions in Air Traffic Control, who will be working with their counterparts in the armed forces to avoid such incidents in future. -Agencies

Pakistan must be taught a lesson in a way it understands: Modi Nashik, Feb 26: Accusing the UPA government of handling Pakistan with kid gloves post Mumbai attacks, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi h a s s a i d t h e neighbouring country must be taught a lesson in a language it understands. "Unless you reply to Pakistan in the language it understands, terrorism will not be wiped out from this country and the UPA is incapable of doing this," he said addressing a

public meeting in Pimpalgaon near here yesterday. Modi said 26/11 happened because of the UPA's "ineffectiveness". The government compromised on national security because of their vote bank politics, he added. He said, "26/11 was a war on India, but our government sends letters to Pakistan and Pakistan has the audacity to respond with 30 questions." "Give me those questions and I will teach

the government how to respond," he said. Questioning Manmohan Singh's leadership capabilities, he claimed that not a single Congressman in the country says that Manmohan Singh is their leader. "They take somebody else's name. Have you seen such a situation where the PM of the country is not accepted as the leader by his own party? How can he run the country?" he asked. -Agencies

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Tata to launch 'Nano' on March 23

Business

Govt reviewing EPF scheme to ensure better benefits New Delhi, Feb 26: The Employees Provident Fund scheme is being reviewed to assess how better benefits could be provided to employees and two committees have been set up for the purpose, government told the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Replying to a Calling Attention Motion, Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, however, said there will be no amendment to the Employees' Pension Scheme 1995 in the wake of Sixth Central Pay Commission as the two issues are not related.

He said two committees, including one headed by a Special Secretary, have been set up to review the EPF scheme and ensure that it brings better benefits to the employees. " W e a r e reviewing the scheme. We are taking a relook at the scheme," Fernandes said. A decision will be taken after the committees submit their recommendations, he said. The Minister said discussions are underway to see how the corpus for the scheme

could be raised, which will require hiking of contribution by the government as well as the employers. The Minister said under the present scheme, commutation of pensionary benefits is permitted, which has led to the loss of Rs 40,000 crore. Employees use this facility and as a result lose their pensionary benefits, he said, adding the government has already decided to stop commutation. -Agencies

Meltdown effect: 20,000 Indians returned losing jobs abroad New Delhi, Feb 26: About 20,000 Indians have returned home after losing their jobs overseas due to the global economic crisis, the government said on Thursday. Though the exact number of people who have returned is not available, there are reports which indicate that between 16,000 to 20,000 Indians have come back here after the economic slowdown, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour. T o a s u p p l e m e n t a r y, t h e Minister said that the

number of incidents of overseas employers keeping passport of Indian employees have come down by 50 per cent. But he did not provide the period when this reduction has been witnessed. He said the government is aware that some employers keep the employees' visas with themselves and do not renew these in time, rendering them illegal immigrants. The government is holding talks with foreign countries on the issue. The UAE has issued direction to employers not to keep the visa of their

employees, he added. The Minister also said there is a need to make changes in the Immigration Act, which was last amended in 1983. On the issue of migrant workers, he said the government has taken a number of initiatives, including signing of bilateral agreements to protect their interests. Asked how many Indians are in jails abroad, he said the government does not have the figure, but it is very vigilant and would collect the information. -Agencies

Ranbaxy promises timely action on FDA letter Mumbai, Feb 26: Stating that it has received a letter from the US health regulator on falsification of data and test results, Ranbaxy on Thursday said it would take appropriate action and respond in a timely manner. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said "Ranbaxy will analyse the letter and other information fully and respond appropriately in a timely manner." It said that the letter from USFDA

Feb. 26, 2009

indicates that all pending a n d a p p r o v e d abbreviated new drug application (ANDA)'s from its Poanta Sahib facility added to 'Application Integrity Policy'. AIP is invoked when a company's actions raise significant questions about the integrity of data in drug applications. AIP covers applications that rely on data generated by the Paonta Sahib facility only. The company said that it would

continue to co-operate with the USFDA. No effort or action would be spared to timely protect key ANDA's from Poanta Sahib. F u r t h e r, t h e FDA has said it has no evidence the drug on the market are substandard and also that they comply with specifications upon testing, the filing added. "No products from Ranbaxy's other manufacturing facilities are included in the AIP," it said. -Agencies

New Delhi, Feb 26: Country's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors today said it will launch its much awaited People's car 'Nano' in Mumbai on March 23, and accept bookings for the vehicle from second week of April. The Nano will be on display at Tata

Motors dealerships from the first week of April, after the commercial launch on March 23, the company said in a statement. Earlier, the car was scheduled to go on sale last October, but the launch was delayed due to the problems pertaining to the main plant location in Singur (West Bengal) which got

caught in middle of a political turmoil. The Nano, claimed to be the world's cheapest car with a price tag of Rs one lakh, was unveiled on January 10, 2008 during Auto Expo in the national capital and was also displayed at the Geneva Motor Show. -Agencies

RCom offers 500 min free talktime L u c k n o w, F e b 2 6 : R e l i a n c e Communications on Thursday introduced a all-India long-validity pack for users of Reliance CDMA, which will bring down STD calling tariff by up to 30 paise per minute or even low. "Reliance has always kept the interest of those CDMA subscribers, who need regular calling to other Reliance CDMA subscribers," Reliance

Comm Regional Head (Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand) Saleem Haq said while introducing the offer. On Rs 2,222 recharge, 500 minutes of free STD/local talktime per month for 12 month would be offered, while Rs 4,444 recharge pack gives 500 minutes of free STD/local talktime per month for lifetime. The longvalidity all-India Reliance CDMA to Reliance CDMA calling packs are

encouraged to increase STD usage from this segment -- which brings down Reliance to Reliance effective calling tariff to 30 paise per minute or even lower, Haq said. "This is in addition to already introduced STD calling products STVs for the benefit of those who repeatedly recharge with STD STVs every month," Haq said, adding these packs are available till March 31, 2009. -Agencies

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Salt in your coffee? Rahman 'predicts'Oscar in future for Tamil film, will do better Chennai, Feb. 26 Music maestro, the 'Mozart of Madras' is confident that a Tamil filmmusic director- had every chance of bagging the prestigious Oscar in future. ''Definitely, the 43 year-old Rahman, who returned home from Los Angeles, to tumultuous welcome at Chennai airport, holding up the golden statuettes he had won for his compositions in ''Slumdog Millionaire'', observed, in brief seperate interaction with newspersons and television channels later.

He was welcomed back home by percussionist Sivamani's orchestra and the traditional Kerala 'Kottu Melam'- a percussion instrument. R a h m a n observed that his achievement has done the spadework for a Tamil film to win the Oscar and said he would now use his triumph as inspiration to bag the Oscar for a Tamil film. Unable to control his joy at the welcome extended to him by music loving people even at that hour of the day, Rahman

waved to them. ''The bridge has been built now. Certainly this would happen'', he observed adding this was the beginning for him. Rahman's mother said her son's achievement has done India and Tamil Nadu proud. Rahman's sister Reihana said she, her brother and other family members would go on a thanksgiving pilgrimae to Muslim shrines (Dargahs). -Agenciesa

Taiwanese java fans accustomed to pouring sugar into their coffee now have the option of flavoring their brew with another white powder: salt. Ta i p e i ' s buzzing 85C Bakery Cafe is offering a T$40 ($1.15) drink which melts sea salt into the coffee foam to give a more complex mouthful for customers constantly seeking out the new in the island's competitive coffeehouse market. The cafe chain expects salt to hold, said company's publicity director Kathy Chung. The cafe's 326 stores islandwide have sold about 15,000 cups of salted drinks since the concept was introduced in December, Chung said. "Taiwanese are very greedy, so they want lots of flavors in one mouthful," she said.

"Also we have a lot of products, more than 50 kinds of drink, and our boss is always pressuring us to keep coming up with new things." Sea salt is c o n s i d e r e d h e a l t h y, Chung added. At the cafe, baristas marinate unrefined salt in a thick cream while making a light Arabica brew, sugar pre-added. The coffee is poured into the cup and the foam mix, with a dash of cocoa powder, is placed on top. "We haven't heard any strong views about it," Taipei barista Lin Yi-wu said, though some customers are "a bit surprised." Hung Hsiao-yu, who purchased a salty take-out coffee this week, said the trend could perhaps become mainstream. "Most people are used to

a sweet flavor, but there are two kinds of drinkers," said Hung, 21, who aspires to work in the coffee business. "Some will keep drinking salted coffee, and some will go back to the sweet stuff." The coffee shop chain aims to launch sea salt drinks at its stores in Shanghai and Australia later in the year, Chung said. T a i w a n ' s beverage business is known for creating bubble tea, a beverage containing gelatinous tapioca pearls which has spread to other parts of Asia. In a bid to lure coffee connoisseurs, some Taiwanese coffee farmers are using seeds partially chewed by Formosan rock monkeys, long a scourge to coffee growers because they eat the ripe berries, to produce a naturally sweet blend. -Agencies

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