Nation remembers Indira Gandhi on 25th death anniversary

STAFF WRITER 10:37 HRS IST

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) The nation today remembered late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 25th death anniversary with leaders paying homage to her.

Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul paid floral tributes to the late leader at her memorial Shakti Sthal.

Congress leaders Sushil Kumar Shinde, AK Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ajay Maken, R K Dhawan and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit were among others who paid homage to the late prime minister.

Indra Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh body guards at her residence on October 31, 1984.

Sri Lankan PM to inaugurate Buddhist centre at Sanchi

STAFF WRITER 22:3 HRS IST

Bhopal, Oct 30 (PTI) Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ratnashri Wickramanayake arrived here today on a three-day visit to inaugurate a Buddhist Prayer Centre at Sanchi, about 45 km from here.

Wickramanayake, who arrived in a special plane, was received at the Bhopal's Raja Bhoj Airport by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, official sources said.

He will inaugurate the Sanchi Vandana Niketana (Buddhist Prayer Centre) tomorrow at Sanchi, the world heritage site.

India wants to resolve all issues with neighbours: PM

STAFF WRITER 12:37 HRS IST

New Delhi, Oct 30 (PTI) Reaching out to Pakistan for the third consecutive day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India wishes to resolve all outstanding issues with it and all other neighbours through dialogue and spirit of partnership overcoming the "areas of difficulties".

He noted that Pakistan is grappling with a major problem on account of rising terrorism and wished it success in dealing with it.

"We seek to live in peace with our own neighbourhood and with the world. We have always been and wish to remain good neighbours and good global citizens," Singh said addressing the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here.

Contending that India's destiny is "intrinsically linked" with that of its neighbours, he said "we seek good relations with each one of them".

‘Central, State Government protecting Amar Singh’

LUCKNOW, Oct 29: Lawyer Shivakant Tripathi, who filed a criminal case accusing Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh of financial fraud, on Thursday alleged that both the Central and State government were trying to protect the politician. Tripathi also alleged that Singh was a threat to his life.

"I am pursuing this forgery, that is initially of over Rs 500 crore, along with my two sons just for the betterment of the economy of the State. However, both the Central and the State Government are trying to protect him (Amar Singh) for their personal benefit," Tripathi said at a press conference here. The scam could well go over Rs 5,000 crore if investigated by an independent law enforcement agency, he alleged, adding he only sought the matter be investigated by an "independent and unbiased agency - be it central or State".

The case was lodged by Tripathi in Kanpur last week accusing Singh of using illegal means not only to bring about the merger of a number of companies into six companies owned by him, but also artificially raising the share prices of these companies. Initially the Uttar Pradesh Government had passed on the FIR to the Kolkata police on the plea that the companies referred to in the complaint were based there. However, the Kolkata police returned the FIR, remarking that Uttar Pradesh police was free to initiate action in the matter as the Kolkata address of the companies did not bar them from proceeding in the case. The case was transferred to the Uttar Pradesh police’s Economic Offence Wing (EOW) on Tuesday. (IANS)

India ‘shocked’ at attack on UN guest house in Kabul

BANGALORE, Oct 28: External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Wednesday expressed the country’s shock over the terror attack on a United Nations guest house in Kabul in which 12 people, including six UN staff, were killed. “We are shocked by the dastardly attack on the UN guest house in Kabul. We convey our deep sympathy to the UN for the loss of life and hope more security measures will be taken to prevent such attacks,” Krishna told reporters here.

The attack took place in the Shirpoor diplomatic enclave when unidentified gunmen barged into the guest house at dawn and opened indiscriminate fire, killing the UN staff instantly. Three guards of the compound were also killed in a gunfight that erupted between the attackers and the security forces. The guest house accommodates the international staff of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The Taliban is bitterly opposed to the UN. The attack comes ahead of the November 7 presidential runoff election.

Expressing concern over the grave situation in Afghanistan, Krishna said the Indian embassy in Kabul was attacked by suicide bombers twice - early this month (October 8) and last year (July 7), claiming many lives. “We had brought it to the notice of the Afghan government, which conducted an inquiry that revealed the attacks were carried by outsiders,” Krishna recalled.

Asked if the Afghan policy of the US was over relying on Pakistan, the minister said he could not dictate or wish the US and Pakistan has a particular foreign policy direction. “We can only hope the situation will improve. We command the efforts of the Afghan Government and its people for conducting elections. As doubts were raised about the outcome, a runoff election is due (November 7). We can only speak for India and not for the US or Pakistan,” Krishna noted. (IANS)

Delhi Government has hiked the DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) fare

New Delhi: Breaking News! The Delhi Government has hiked the DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) fare with effect from today. The minimum fare will be Rs 5, while the maximum fare will be Rs 15. The tickets, which were of Rs 3 and Rs 5 will now cost Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively. The Rs 10 ticket will now cost Rs 15. The DTC student bus pass will cost Rs 100.

The distance covered on Rs 5 wicket will be up to 4 km, while the distance covered on Rs 10 ticket will be between 4-8. All tickets above 8km distance will cost Rs 15.

There will be no hike in the fares of Autos and Taxis. The Delhi Government has also decided that all blueline buses will be taken off the road by April 2009. There will be no hike in fares for the blueline buses. The decision was taken at the Cabinet Meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Thinksoft Global fixes IPO price at Rs 125 per share

initial public offer

Thinksoft Global Services, which extended the closing date of its initial public offer (IPO) from September 24 to October 1, 2009 on tepid response from investors, has fixed the IPO issue price at the upper end of the revised price band at Rs 125 per share.

The initial offer was subscribed over two times on the final day on October 1 with the company reported to have mopped up Rs 45.57 crore in the 36.46 lakh share IPO.

The company plans to use the IPO proceeds for establishing a new testing centre, to meet issue expenses and to get the shares listed on stock exchanges.

Thinksoft Global is primarily engaged in software testing services focusing on banking, financial and insurance services industry. The company has established a global presence in New York, London, Frankfurt, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brussels, Sydney, Bangalore and Chennai through its wholly owned subsidiaries and branch offices.

The company’s shares are proposed to be listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Pak plans to push terrorists to create mayhem in India: PC

New Delhi, Oct 25: Pakistan-based terror organisations Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen are planning to infiltrate terrorists into India to "create mayhem", Home Minister P Chidambaram said today, asserting that the country’s security forces were, however, prepared to meet any external threat.

He said Pakistan has no will to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of last year’s Mumbai attacks and voiced concern over the spread of Taliban in that country, apprehending that the danger could spread to the rest of South Asia including India.

Govt for talks with KSU on uranium project

STAFF WRITER 13:35 HRS IST

Shillong, Oct 22 (PTI) The Meghalaya government has invited the agitating leaders of Khasi Students Union, which has been holding protests against the proposed uranium project in the state, for talks.

"We have invited the KSU for a discussion as there is need to end the ongoing stalemate. We are concerned over the present law and order situation," Chief Secretary Ranjan Chatterjee said last night.

He said the state government did not want to force its opinion. There is always room for a dialogue. The issue should be resolved amicably, he said.

Over a dozen vehicles and a couple of government offices were set ablaze during the past one week in protest against the government's decision to lease land to UCIL in the uranium-rich areas for pre-project development works.

Inflation rises to 1.21% on firming food prices

Inflation
NEW DELHI: Inflation rose to 1.21 per cent for the week ended October 10 as prices of major food items firmed up further.


The wholesale price-based inflation stood at 0.92 per cent in the previous week.

Inflation rose to above one percentage mark after remaining below one per cent for five consecutive weeks and before that below-zero levels for 13 weeks in a row.

Prices of sea fish rose by 14 per cent, moong by 5 per cent, rice by 3 per cent, and urad, arhar, wheat by one per cent each. However, prices of fruits and vegetables declined by one per cent each.

Experts, including Prime Minister's economic advisory panel, expect inflation to reach 6 per cent mark by this fiscal end.

Firming up inflation could have bearing on monetary review to be announced by the Reserve Bank on October 27. Experts, however, believe that RBI will maintain a status-quo on interest rates.

Congress wins all three states

Congress wins all three states

NEW DELHI: The Congress will form governments in Maharashtra and Haryana, retaining power with slightly reduced numbers, while it was poised for
Assembly polls Congress ahead in all three states a clean sweep in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Congress, along with its ally NCP, was poised to retain power in Maharashtra. The party position in 74 of the 288 Assembly seats in Maharashtra- Congress-NCP wins 41, Shiv Sena-BJP wins 24, MNS 3, Third Front 3, and Others 3. The Congress-NCP combine is also leading in a majority of seats. ( Watch Video )

In the 288-member Maharasthra Assembly, Congress-NCP combine is leading in 137 seats as against Shiv Sena-BJP coalition which is ahead in 100 seats. The Raj Thackeray-led MNS is leading in 15 constituencies.

HARYANA
The ruling Congress is heading for a simple majority in the 90 member Haryana Assembly winning 11 of the 23 seats which were declared and leading in 29 others much less than 67 seats in 2005 which made the party come back to power with over two third majority drubbing the INLD.

INLD, which had yielded power to the Congress five years back, was set to improve its 2005 performance of nine having won seven seats even as the Om Parkash Chautala led party was leading in 22 others.

Parkash Singh Badal led SAD would be making its maiden entry in the Haryana assembly with its candidate Charanjit Singh winning from Kalanwali defeating his nearest rival Sushil Kumar Indora, who contested as a ruling Congress nominee after deserting Chautala's INLD shortly before the elections.

BJP nominee Anil Vij, who was an Independent nominee five years back, was elected from Ambala Cantt defeating his nearest rival former Agriculture Minister Nirmal Singh by a margin of 6338 votes.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had addressed his only election meeting at Ambala Cantt in support of Nirmal Singh and other party nominees in the district.

The saffron party nominees were leading in three other constituencies even though the party after breaking its alliance with Om Parkash Chautala led INLD had contested all the 90 seats.

Independents had won three seats and were leading in five others while HJC-BL and BSP nominees were leading in five and three constituencies respectively.

Haryana Congress President Phool Chand Mullana lost to Rajbir Barara (INLD) from Mullana by a margin of 2938 votes. Mullana was seeking re-election from Mullana.

In Kaithal district the party could retain only Kaithal out of the four constituencies. The sitting MLAs of the party lost from Guhla, Pundri and Kalayat.

Former chief minister and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president Om Prakash Chautala defeats Haryana's finance minister and senior Congress leader Birender Singh by a narrow margin of 621 votes from Uchana Kalan assembly constituency.

Congress' Savitri Jindal, mother of noted industrialist and Lok Sabha MP Navin Jindal, retained the Hisar assembly seat by a margin of 14,728 votes. She defeated her nearest rival Gautam Sardana,(Independent).
Venod Sharma (Congress) retained the Ambala City seat with a margin of 35,550 votes by trouncing his nearest rival Charanjeet Kaur of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). Congress’ Kuldeep Sharma also won the Ganaur seat. Congress heavyweight Randeep Surjewala retained his seat.

Indian National Lok Dal Secretary General and Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Chautala wins from Dabwali assembly constituency defeating Dr K V Singh of the Congress by a margin of 12,108 votes.

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh's father Yograj (INLD) has lost to D K Bansal (Congress) from Panchkula while HJC-BL President Kuldeep Bishnoi was ahead over Krishan Gopal Tyagi (INLD) from Adampur.

Three Independents Sukhbir Singh, Sultan Singh and Prahlad Singh won the Gurgaon, Pundri and Fatehabad assembly seats defeating nearest Congress rivals. Independents were leading in nine other constituencies.

ARUNACHAL PRADESH
The ruling Congress continued its triumphant run in Arunachal Pradesh, winning 17 of the 23 seats declared so far, as the Trinamool Congress sprang a surprise by bagging one seat in its electoral debut in the state.
Voting was held for 57 seats with three candidates already declared elected unopposed.

Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and two more ruling Congress members were declared elected unopposed - sitting MLA Tsewang Dhondup from Tawang and debutant Jambey Tashi from Lumla.

Khandu was elected unopposed from the Mukto constituency in Tawang district, bordering China, in the 1999 and 2004 assembly elections.

Of the 23 seats declared so far, the Congress party won 17 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Trinamool Congress won a seat each. Three seats were won by independents and candidates of smaller regional parties.

According to latest trends, the Congress is leading in 12 seats, while the Trinamool Congress is ahead in two seats.

Trinamool Congress candidate Kamthok Lowang won the Khnosa East seat defeating Congress candidate and former minister T L Rajkumar by a just 455 votes, the only surprise result so far in the polls.

According to latest trends and results, Wangi Lowang of the Congress defeated his nearest NCP rival by 2,693 votes in the Namsang constituency, while Tapang Taloh of the Congress party won the Pangin seat by 2,781 votes defeating his NCP rival Kaling Jerang.

Karikho Kri of the ruling Congress has also been declared elected, defeating Trinamool Congress candidate Nakul Chai by 3,845 votes.

Voting for the 60-member assembly elections ended Oct 13 with an estimated 72 percent polling recorded out of a total of 7,50,000 voters.

A total of 154 candidates were in the fray with the ruling Congress party fielding candidates in all the 60 seats.

Apart from the Congress party, the NCP has fielded 36 candidates, the BJP 22, although the surprise element is the Trinamool Congress with 26 candidates in the fray.

Of the 28 candidates fielded by the Trinamool Congress, five are former Congress party ministers and 10 are sitting MLAs from the ruling party who were denied tickets this time.

MAHARASHTRA
The Congress-NCP alliance, which had won 140 seats in the last elections, may end up with almost the same figure and may not have problems in forming the government with the support of rebels of both the parties and independents.

Affected vastly by the presence of Raj Thackeray-led MNS, the Shiv Sena-BJP combine has managed to be ahead in only 84 seats, far behind its 2004 tally of 116 seats. Shiv Sena won 2 seats and was ahead in 41 seats, while BJP bagged one seat and was leading in 46 seats.

With NCP leader Chagan Bhujbal floating the idea of rotating the post of Chief Minister, senior Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh said there was no doubt about his party getting the Chief Ministership in Maharashtra

"Whatever the question raised, I think the issue has been clarified by NCP chief Sharad Pawar that the chief minister will be from Congress," Deshmukh said.

He was responding to a question on Bhujbal's idea of rotating the post of chief minister in Maharashtra between Congress and ally NCP.

"I don't see any controversy on the issue in the wake of the clarification given by the NCP high command," he said.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal (NCP) was leading by 1,739 votes at the end of first round of counting at Yeola assembly constituency in Nashik district. His son Pankaj is leading in Nandgaon constituency.

In Alibaug, Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) candidate Meenakshi Patil is leading over Madhu Thakur of Congress after first three rounds of counting.

In Karjat constituency of Raigad district, Suresh Lad of NCP is ahead of Sena candidate Devendra Satam.
From Pen seat, Congress candidate Raviseth Patil is ahead of PWP candidate Dhairsheel Patil.

In Shrivardhan constituency, NCP's Sunil Tatakare is leading over Shiv Sena candidate Tukaram Surve and in Mahad, Sena nominee Bharat Gogawale is ahead of NCP candidate Manik Jagtap.

TOI

By 2010, India will have maximum no. of diabetics

NEW DELHI:
NEW DELHI: Only 7 out of every 100 adult Indians are diabetic.

This may appear to be a blessing, given that we do almost everything possible -- from sedentary lifestyle, faulty diet to high stress -- to attract such an affliction.

The global projections by International Diabetes Federation (IDF) also show that India has a much lesser prevalence of the disease than most other countries including US.

But that is just about the only satisfying bit of statistics unveiled in IDF's latest Diabetes Atlas.

IDF, which tracks the global spread of this scourge, says that by next year, the country will be home to 50.8 million diabetics, making it the world's unchallenged diabetes capital. And the number is expected to go up to a whopping 87 million -- 8.4% of the country's adult population -- by 2030.

China stands second in this infamous table with 43.2 million diabetes cases at present, which is expected to increase to 62.6 million by 2030.

The disease will prove costly for India, both in terms of lives lost and money wasted. In India, it will kill around 10.07 lakh people in the age group of 20-79 years every year -- the majority being women (5.81 lakh) from 2010.

Diabetes will cost the world economy dear -- $376 billion in 2010, or 11.6% of total world healthcare expenditure. Though India will spend only 1% of the total diabetes spending worldwide, the amount itself is staggering -- $2.8 billion. US, on the other hand, will account for $198 billion or 52.7% of the total diabetes spending worldwide. By 2030, diabetes is expected to cost the world economy $490 billion.

According to the latest figures released on Tuesday night at Montreal, Pakistan, which now stands 7th in the "top 10 worst affected countries with diabetes" list with 7.1 million diabetics, will jump three places by 2030 to become the 4th worst affected with 13.8 million diabetics.

Another of India's neighbours, Bangladesh, which at present does not figure in this list, will make an entry in another two decades, to claim the 7th worst affected country slot with 10.4 million diabetics.

Globally, the number of diabetes patients has risen sharply. While in 1985, 30 million people had diabetes, the number rose to 150 million in 2000. In 2010, 285 million people (6.6% of the global population in the age group 20-79) were found to be diabetic. However, by 2030, an estimated 435 million people are expected to suffer from this disease -- 7.8% of the adult population.

Dr Anoop Misra, director of the department of diabetes at Fortis Healthcare, told TOI from Montreal, "It is certain that India is on the ascending curve of the diabetes epidemic. The effort to prevent it in India must, therefore, start early with proper nutrition in pregnancy, prevention of low birth weight and proper physical activity from 10 years of age."

IDF president Prof Jean Claude Mbanya said, "The data from the atlas shows that the epidemic is out of control. No country is immune and no country is fully equipped to repel this common enemy."

Region-wise, Western Pacific records the highest number of diabetics at present (77 million), followed by South-East Asia (59 million).

Age-wise, the IDF report says, the worst affected are the 40-59-year-olds. By 2010, 132 million people in this age group are expected to suffer from diabetes. However, by 2030, this number will increase to 188 million.

The report points out another interesting trend -- women are the worst affected by this disease. In 2010, one million more women than men have diabetes (143 million women as against 142 million men). The difference is expected to increase to six million by 2030 (222 million women against 216 million men).

The urban population, as expected, has a higher incidence of the disease. By 2010, the number of people with diabetes in urban areas will be 113 million compared to 78 million in rural areas. By 2030, it is expected that this discrepancy will increase to 228 million people with diabetes in urban areas and 99 million in rural communities.

Globally, by 2010, four million deaths in the 20-79 age group will be due to diabetes -- 6.8% of global all-cause mortality in this age group. Majority of these deaths will be in India, China, US and Russia.

TOI

Mewar, Goa express collide near Mathura; 9 dead

NEW DELHI: Goa Express crashed into Mewar Express near Mathura early on Wednesday, killing at least 9 people and injuring 15, TV news channelsreported. Several passengers are feared trapped inside the wreckage.

DRM, Agra said initial probe shows that the driver of Goa Express ignored signals.

As many as 6 trains have been diverted and 5 trains cancelled. The 2909 Bandra-Nizamuddin Express, 2723 AP Express, 2627 Karnataka Express, 9325 Indore-Amritsar Express, 2951 Mumbai Rajdhani and 2192 Jabalpur-Delhi Express have been diverted. Agra-Nizamuddin Intercity Express 4211 stands cancelled.

Trains are moving on Delhi to Agra route after upline was restored.

The injured have been shifted to Mathura and Vrindavan hospitals. Police say the Army may have to be called in for rescue operations.

The collision occurred around 5.30am on Wednesday. One of the bogeys of the Mewar Express is reported to be completely damaged and gas cutters are being used to break open bogies.

Delhi helpline numbers: 011-24359748, 011-24355964
Mathura helpline numbers: 0565-2402008, 0565-2402009

TOI

Government approves divestment in power firms

NEW DELHI, Oct 19: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a proposal to divest stake in state-run utilities NTPC Ltd and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN). The government will offload 5 per cent of its equity in NTPC and 10 per cent in SJVN, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said here on Monday.

At the present valuation, the government will be able to raise over Rs 8,800 crore by divesting 5 per cent stake in NTPC, which generates over 30,000 MW of power. The government’s shareholding in the company would come down to 84.5 per cent after the divestment, Sharma told reporters. "After disinvestment it is expected that the market capitalisation of NTPC would be higher and it would help the company to raise resources in the international market on competitive terms," he said.

Spillover effect of Pak events can’t be ruled out: India

NEW DELHI, Oct 19: Not ruling out the possibility of spillover effect of the "very serious" situation in Pakistan, India today said its defence forces are prepared to meet any challenge and expressed confidence that any threat, including that from Taliban, would be neutralized. "The situation in Pakistan is very serious and terrorism is spreading," Defence Minister AK Antony told reporters here when asked to comment on developments in the neighbouring country and Taliban threat to attack India. Asked whether the Taliban threat was a cause for concern for India, he said, "We are always prepared to meet any challenge to our territorial integrity and national security from any quarter. Our security forces are keeping eternal vigilance". Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor did not rule out the possibility of spillover effect of developments in Pakistan. (PTI)

PM briefs President Patil on internal security

NEW DELHI, Oct 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan and discussed several issues with her, including internal security and food security, the President’s secretariat said on Sunday. The meeting took place in Diwali on Saturday. Both the leaders greeted each other on the occasion. "They also discussed various issues of national and international importance, particularly internal security issues, agricultural production and food security," the President’s secretariat said in a statement. Manmohan Singh also briefed President Patil about his forthcoming visit to Thailand where he shall be attending the ASEAN-India Summit. The meeting between the two lasted for about 30 minutes. (IANS)

Daredevils take on Victoria today

New Delhi, Oct 8: The spotlight will be on Virender Sehwag when he turns out for Delhi Daredevils against Victorian Bushrangers in the Champions League Twenty20 Group B enocunter in on Friday’s double header at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium.

Though he has handed over the captaincy to Gautam Gambhir to concentrate on his batting, Sehwag would still be the face of Daredevils.

The opener, who has been out of the national team after returning home midway through the Twenty20 World Cup in England in June with a sore shoulder, would like to get back into the groove with a bust cricket season ahead.

Daredevils look a formidable side with Gambhir in great touch with the bat. Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes are expected to share the new ball. The return of Glenn McGrath will surely add a zing to their bowling.

But the Victorian batting line-up is equally good with top Australian players like David Hussey, Cameron White, Brad Hodge and Andrew McDonald.

In the other match, reigning Australian domestic Twenty20 champions New South Wales Blues will take on South Africa’s Twenty20 winners Diamond Eagles led by Boeta Dippenaar.

New South Wales Blues led by Simon Katich are a strong contender for the title, having a host of star players — Stuart Clark, Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz, Doug Bollinger to name a few.

Blues’ fast bowling spearhead Lee is raring to go full steam after having made a successful comeback to international cricket with the ODI series in England and the Champions Trophy in South Africa. (IANS)

Kamal Nath seeks easier ECB norms

Kamal Nath seeks easier ECB norms

Date : Oct-08-2009 10:03

In order to fill the infrastructure shortage, the government needs $500 billion by 2012 while the road sector needs $70 billion and Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath is turning to the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for help.

However, not able to persuade foreign investors during his road shows abroad, he hopes for external commercial borrowing (ECB) norms to get more foreign money into the roads sector.

Moreover, currently the infra sector can use the ECB route to bring in up to $500 million for rupee expenditure. On the other hand, World Bank already announced a Rs 14,400 crore loan for the national highways and the minister hopes to raise at least Rs 48,000 crore from foreign investors.

Additionally, he plans to invite bids for 126 projects worth Rs one lakh crore in 2010 and is scouting for over $70 billion investment in the next 3 years.

Centre rushes more forces to Maha after naxal attack

STAFF WRITER 19:50 HRS IST

New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) The Centre today rushed additional paramilitary forces to Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, where 17 policemen were killed in an ambush by the Maoists, to assist the state security forces.

"Additional (central) forces are in Maharashtra and they are already on way to assist the state police," Union Home Secretary G K Pillai told PTI.

A police team of 45 personnel was on a patrolling duty in the Laheri police station area of Gadchiroli district when about 150 naxals ambushed them killing 17 of them, including a sub-inspector.

Taliban claims responsibility for Indian embassy blast

KABUL:

KABUL: Taliban on Thursday claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attack outside the Indian embassy here and claimed the toll in the blast was seventeen dead, al-Jazeera channel reported.

The channel quoting Taliban website identified the suicide bomber as Khalid.

Al Jazeera said Afghan government and intelligence sources have indicated involvement of foreign hand in the blast as "planned by a state and not a group of bandits", an apparent reference to Pakistan.

A suicide bomber today blew up an explosives-laden car outside the Indian Embassy here, killing 12 people and injuring 83, including three ITBP personnel, in the second attack on the mission in over a year.

The Indian Embassy staff was safe although the three ITBP personnel suffered "slight injuries" in the blast which was of the same intensity as that of July 7, 2008.

The wall of the highly-fortified embassy was damaged and a watch tower destroyed in the powerful blast that occurred near the outer perimeter at around 0827 hours (0927 IST) leaving a trail of death and destruction.

"A suicide car bomb blast took place near the Indian Embassy in which 12 people were killed and 83 wounded. Most of the wounded are civilians," Interior Ministry spokesman Zemaral Bashry said.

Indian Ambassador Jayant Prasad said the "Indian Embassy was the target" but the suicide bomber failed to breach the security perimeter.

"The blast was directed at the Embassy because the suicide bomber came up to the outside perimeter wall of the Indian Embassy with a car loaded with explosives, obviously with the aim of targeting the embassy," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said in New Delhi.

Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Fakiri said "brutal attack" was carried out by "enemies of the relations between the two countries" and their "bases are outside of Afghanistan".

TOI

Maoists behead kidnapped Jharkhand police officer

TAFF WRITER 16:2 HRS IST

Ranchi, Oct 6 (PTI) Maoists have beheaded Jharkhand police inspector Francis Induwar, who had been kidnapped by the ultras a week back reportedly demanding release of three arrested Naxalites including Kobad Ghandy in exchange for the officer, an act termed as unacceptable by the Centre today.

The body along with the severed head of 37-year-old Induwar, who worked in intelligence wing of the state police, was found near Raisha Ghati under Namkom police station area, about 12 km from here, Superintendent of Police (Ranchi Rural), Hemant Toppo, said.

Induwar, who is survived by his wife and three sons, had been kidnapped on September 30 by the Maoists from Hembrom Bazaar in Khunti district, about 70 km from here. The Maoists later reportedly demanded release of three rebels -- Ghandy, Chhatardhar Mahato and Bhushan Yadav -- in exchange for the officer.

Mittal scouting new sites for his Indian plants

STAFF WRITER 16:22 HRS IST

London/Ranchi, Oct 5 (PTI) ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, today threatened to abandon its USD 20 billion steel projects in two Indian states over delays, but will look for new sites within the country for the plants.

"The company continues to work on its two greenfield projects in Jharkhand and Orissa. However, in the event that land acquisition continues to prove difficult, we will start to search for alternative sites in India...," ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement.

The statement followed a report in The Financial Times, which carried an interview of Mittal, stating: "Lakshmi Mittal is close to pulling out of a USD 20 billion plan to build two large steel plants in India..."

In the statement, Mittal said: "ArcelorMittal has no plans to quit its investment plans for India... is an important country for steel demand growth and... important part of ArcelorMittal's long-term strategic plans.

Rain fury claims 240 lives in three states

STAFF WRITER 15:29 HRS IST

Vijayawada/Bangalore, Oct 5 (PTI) The heaviest flood in over a 100 years in India's southern and western part, Monday hit the Prakasam Barrage on Krishna River threatening several villages downstream even as the toll due to heavy rains and rampaging floods in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra climbed to 240

River Krishna virtually turned into a sea in all its fury as a record 10.61 lakh cusecs of flood water reached Prakasam Barrage.

This is the heaviest flood in river Krishna in more than 106 years as the previous record stands at 10.30 lakh cusecs in 1903, irrigation authorities said in Vijayawada.

The water level touched 21.

Post Session Market

Oct-05-2009 16:18
Oct-05-2009 16:18
Indian market today dived into red to close with huge losses along with other Asian counterparts. Profit booking together with weaker-than-expected US jobs report weighed on sentiments. The firm trading in US index futures along with positive European markets were unable to bring any respite. Moreover, investors priced in the weakness in global markets on Friday, 2nd October 2009, when the Indian market was closed for a public holiday. BSE Sensex ended above 16,900 level and NSE Nifty closed around 5,000 level.

The market opened below its last closing figure mirroring unfavorable cues from global markets. The US stock market reported loss for fourth straight session and ended lower on Friday, on disappointing job data. Decline in factory orders and weak jobs data gave more evidence that the economic recovery would be less healthy than expected. Further, domestic bourses continued to southbound on huge selling pressure over the ground. Profit taking after a run-up last week, also contributed to hit the investors’ sentiments. During last trading hours, market lost further ground to widen its losses led by all round selling. From the sectoral front, Reality, Teck, Metal, Bank, Auto, PSU and Oil & Gas stocks observed most of the selling from these baskets. Mid Cap and Small Cap stocks also stayed out of favor. However, FMCG stocks remained in limelight as contributed most of the buying.

Among the Sensex pack 23 stocks ended in red territory and 7 in red territory. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained negative as 1191 stocks closed in red while 779 stocks closed in green and 63 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 268.14 points or (1.56%) at 16,866.41 and NSE Nifty ended down 80.20 by points or (1.58%) at 5,003.20. BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with losses of 106.22 and 161.18 points at 6,195.79 and 7,426 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 17,062.01 and intraday low of 16,835.80.

Losers from the BSE Sensex pack are Bharti Airtel (8.05%), Grasim Industries (7.10%), Hindalco (6.75%), RCom (5.60%), DLF Ltd (3.95%), Sterlite Industries (3.59%), SBI (3.53%), Tata Motors (3.28%), MAruti Suzuki (3.17%), JP Associates (3.14%), TCS Ltd (2.61%), Tata Steel (2.53%), Reliance (1.54%), ICIIC Bank (1.48%), ACC Ltd (1.39%), Tata Power (1.05%) and ONGC Ltd (0.96%).

Gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are ITC Ltd (2.58%), Sun Pharma (2.29%), Reliance Infra (1.26%), HUL (0.64%), M&M Ltd (0.58%), Herohonda Motors (0.30%) and Wipro Ltd (0.26%).

On the global markets front, the Asian markets that opened before the Indian market, ended mostly lower. Nikkei 225, Singapore''s Straits and Seoul Composite ended lower by 57.38, 20.80 and 37.73 points at 9,674.49, 2,583.73 and 1,606.9 respectively. However, Hang Seng gained 53.58 points at 20,429.07. Meanwhile, markets in China have been closed since 1 October 2009 for National day and Autumn festival celebrations. Trading will resume on 9 October 2009.

European markets, which opened after the Indian market, are trading in green. In Paris the CAC 40 is higher 4.69 points at 3,654.59, in Frankfurt DAX index is trading up 9.48 points at 5,477.38 and in London FTSE 100 is trading higher by 5.13 points at 4,993.83.

The BSE Realty index decreased by (3.53%) or 159.15 points at 4,348.49 after recent gains in previous trading session. Losers are Orbit Co (5%), Parsvnath (4.95%), Unitech Ltd (4.88%), DLF Ltd (3.95%) and Anant Raj (3.38%).

The BSE Teck index dropped by (2.67%) or 88.17 points at 3,219.94. Losers are Bharti Airtel (8.05%), Balaji Tele (5.79%), Tata Teleserv (5.73%), RCom (5.60%) and HT Media (5.29%).

The BSE Metal index ended lower by (2.48%) or 352.18 points at 13,850.42. Main losers are Hindalco (6.75%), Jindal Saw (5.68%), Ispat Industries (4.45%), SAIL (4.06%) and Gujarat NRE C (3.91%).

The BSE Bank index ended down by (2.01%) or 199.68 points at 9,732.11, as Federal Bank 4.74%), Yes Bank (4.11%), Axis Bank (3.91%), SBI (3.53%) and Kotak Bank (3.17%) ended in red.

The BSE Auto index lost (1.76%) or 116.33 points 6,486.86 despite healthy monthly sales data. Losers are Escorts Ltd (6.61%), Bharat Forge (4.83%), Exide Industries (4.40%), Apollo Tyre (3.64%) and Tata Motors (3.28%).

The BSE FMCG index closed higher by (1.47%) or 38.10 points at 2,630.59. Gainers are ITC Ltd (2.58%), Nestle Ltd (2.33%), Colgate Palm (1.13%) and HUL (0.64%).

Grasim Industries ended lower by 7.10%. The company said that it will transfer its cement business to its unlisted unit Samruddhi Cement. This will eventually be merged into Ultratech Cement. However, on conclusion of the demerger, Grasim would hold 65% in Samruddhi while Grasim shareholders would hold the balance 35% and Grasim Cement''s grey cement and RMC businesses would be transferred to Samruddhi post-demerger.

ACC slipped 1.39% after the company announced that sales of cement fell 2.4% last month. The company sold 1.63mn tons in the month of September, compared with 1.67mn tons a year earlier.

Ashok Leyland Ltd fell 2.87% after total sales decreased 11.87% to 5,452 units in September 2009 over September 2008.

MIC Electronics surged 4.28%. The company''s LED based solar lanterns endorsed at Indo-US Energy Partnership Summit 2009 at Washington DC, USA.

Videocon Industries Ltd went up by 1.72% after the company said it will buy an equity stake in loss-making Finnish electronics firm Elcoteq.

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd gained 1.26% on reports the firm may sell shares in its power distribution and metro project units to the public and strategic partners to unlock value.

Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd lost 0.48%. The firm said it would issue 2.47 crore shares at Rs. 32 per share on a rights basis, at a huge discount of 62.92% over the ruling market price.

AREVA dropped 0.50%. the company’s Transmission and Distribution Division (T&D), AREVA T&D India Ltd has won a prestigious contract for the modernization of Channel Airport, from Pomerleau International - Consolidated Construction Consortium Limited.

AERA may revise development fee at major airports

user development fee

As the newly formed Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) is planning their review, the bulk user development fee (UDF) of up to Rs 1,070 charged at the Bangalore and Hyderabad airports and the development fee (DF) imposed at the Delhi and Mumbai airports could be modified. However, the Hyderabad airport levies Rs 375 and Rs 1,000 on every outgoing domestic and international passenger, respectively, as UDF whereas in the same way, Bangalore charges Rs 260 and Rs 1,070 from domestic and international passengers, respectively.

Additionally, the government also allowed the Delhi airport to levy Rs 200 and Rs 1,300 on every domestic and international passenger, respectively, as the development fee. Passengers at Mumbai pay Rs 100 and Rs 600. On the other hand, the fee is said to be revised keeping in mind the financial necessities of the airport projects and traffic projections while the passenger numbers have also enhanced since August on a year-to-year basis.

16 killed, over 4.5 lakh people evacuated in flood-hit Andhra

STAFF WRITER 15:16 HRS IST

Hyderabad, Oct 3 (PTI) Sixteen people were killed and over 4.5 lakh people evacuated after massive floods inundated parts of south India's Andhra Pradesh as the state government stepped up relief and rescue efforts with the help of 550 army personnel

Though the number of deaths due to the floods is 16, the toll is likely to increase further, Revenue Minister D Prasada Rao said here Saturday

Rescue personnel evacuated 1.5 lakh people in Kurnool district, 1.34 lakh people in Mahaboobnagar district, 15,000 people in Krishna district and 5,000 flood victims in Guntur district.



About 105 relief camps have been started in the districts of Kurnool, Mahaboobnagar, Krishna, Guntur and Nalgonda to help those affected by the floods, Rao said.

World Bank to fund USD 1 for clean Ganga project

STAFF WRITER 8:4 HRS IST
Washington, Oct 3 (PTI) As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is all set to make another serious bid to clean up the river Ganga, the World Bank has agreed in principal to make available USD 1 billion for the purpose.

"We are talking of a long term billion dollar commitment for the newly created National Ganga River Basin Authority, a body headed by the Prime Minister, which will take up the task of cleaning up river Ganga in a much more systematic and serious manner than has been the case so far," Ramesh said.

Prime Minister Singh is scheduled to hold a meeting in New Delhi Monday. The final decision in this regard is expected to be taken when the World Bank President Robert Zoellick visits India in December.

Ramesh said in principle there has been approval that the World Bank will support the project.

Rain fury claims 130 in Karnataka, Andhra; Army, air force begin rescue

Bangalore/Hyderabad,

Bangalore/Hyderabad, Oct 2 (IANS) At least 130 people have been killed in Karnataka and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh in heavy rain since Wednesday and army boats and air force helicopters Friday began to rescue hundreds of people marooned at several places.

One hundred and four people have died in six north Karnataka districts and 26 in Andhra Pradesh in the torrential rain caused by a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal.

Hundreds of people in the two states were trapped in flood waters and were waiting on rooftops and higher places to be rescued. Thousands more have been rendered homeless.

In Karnataka, the maximum number of 29 deaths were reported from Bijapur.

'Ovger 40,000 houses have been damaged,' a spokesperson for the Karnataka revenue ministry told IANS.

He said five helicopters and 40 boats have been deployed for rescue and relief operartions. Over 85 relief centres have been set up, he added.

In Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said the flood situation was grim and army personnel have been deployed for rescue operations.

Six helicopters have been pressed into service to rescue people. While four helicopters are being used to airlift the flood-hit in Kurnool district, two choppers were deployed in Mahabubnagar district. A helicopter rescued 15 people in the famous pilgrim town of Mantralayam.

Six power boats of the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation were also being used to rescue people.

According to reports reaching the Karnataka state disaster management office here, the majority of deaths till Friday morning have occurred in Bijapur (29), Gulbarga (13), Raichur (11), Koppal (10), Bagalkot (10), Davangere (9) and Bellary (8), Belgaum (6). Gadag (5), Bidar (2) and Chikkballapur (1)

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa Friday met senior civil, military and police officials here to decide the plan for rescue and relief operations in the seven affected districts.

The state government has released Rs.100 crore to provide immediate relief.

'Rescue and relief operations are in full swing in the worst-affected districts. Army troops and air force helicopters are being pressed into service to rescue the marooned and drop food packets in areas cut-off by flood waters,' chief minister's media adviser R.P. Jagdish told IANS here.

'Relief material is being rushed to the areas where the situation is critical. Hundreds of people living on river banks or low-laying areas have been shifted to safer places. The families of flood victims are being given 100,000 rupees from the state's calamity relief fund,' Jagdish added.

The Tungabhadra, a major river in north Karnataka, and several rivulets, steams and tanks were full and overflowing water flooded nearby areas and cut off road and other communications.

In the worst floods in the Krishna river in 100 years in Andhra Pradesh 26 lives have been lost while thousands of people remained trapped in flood waters in Kurnool and Mantralayam towns and dozens of villages in Kurnool and Mahabubnagar districts.

Revenue and Relief Minister Dharmana Prasad Rao said 120 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force based in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, were rushing to Andhra Pradesh for rescue operations.

Rosaiah spoke to Defence Minister A.K. Antony and union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to seek the help of defence and paramilitary forces for rescue and relief.

Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP) battalions were also deployed for rescue and relief.

The unprecedented inflows in Srisailam across the Krishna river following heavy rain in upstream Karnataka have triggered the worst floods in the Krishna basin in 100 years.

Floods in the Tungabhadra river and its tributaries added to the misery of people in five districts, especially in Kurnool and Mahabubnagar.

Almost the entire Kurnool town, about 250 km from state capital Hyderabad, and Mantralayam town in Kurnool district are marooned.

The floods have hit over a million people. In Kurnool district alone, half a million people were affected. Officials said 100,000 were shifted to relief camps.

Hundreds of villages in Kurnool, Mahabubnagar, Krishna and Guntur districts were cut off following incessant rain over the last two days under the influence of a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.

The continuing massive inflows in Srisailam, downstream Nagarjuna Sagar and Prakasam barrage posed a flood threat to several villages in Nalgonda, Guntur and Krishna districts. As a precautionary measure, the authorities have begun evacuating people from low-lying areas in Vijayawada city in Krishna district.

The Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers are reaching danger levels while several rivulets are overflowing. Over 350 tanks have breached, inundating towns and villages in the affected districts.

Flood waters from Srisailam have flooded Kurnool town, while the Tungabhadra's waters have gushed into Mantralyam town, 120 km from Kurnool town.

The bus station in Mantralayam town is under water. Some passengers have climbed to the top of the building. The Raghuvendraswamy temple is completely under water, officials said.

The chief minister has asked all district collectors to remain on high alert as weather experts have forecast more rain till Tuesday. According to the Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning Centre, heavy rain under the impact of the low pressure area was likely in north coastal Andhra, Telangana and Rayalaseema regions.

Meanwhile, road and rain transport to Rayalseema was badly hit by the floods. The state road transport corporation has stopped all buses to the region, comprising worst-hit Kurnool and three other districts.

Since the Hyderabad-Bangalore national highway is under water at several points, road transport between the two cities has come to a halt.

Train services, too, were hit by the floods. As many as 15 trains to the region were cancelled. A part of the track was washed away near Mantralayam, forcing the authorities to either cancel or divert trains, including those going to Bangalore.

It is not just the common man who is trapped in the flood waters in Andhra Pradesh but MPs, state legislators and other public representatives too are hit by the natural calamity.

In the worst-hit Kurnool district, at least three legislators are among the affected people. While one legislator is trapped in Mantralayam town, water gushed into the houses of two other legislators and one MP in Kurnool town.

In Karnataka district-in=charge ministers are supervising the rescue and relief operations in their respetive area and chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said he will make an aerial survey on Oct 4.

On Friday morning he met senior civil, military and police officials in Bangalore to review the rescue and relief efforts so far.

Though the southwest monsoon season, which began in June, usually withdraws from the Indian subcontinent around this time but a depression in the Bay of Bengal and heavy cloud formations in the Arabian Sea have led to heavy rain in the two states.

Meterological officials in Bangalore said there was possibility of rain continuing till Sunday.

Indo Asian News Service

PAN card application form

What Is PAN?

Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a ten-digit alphanumeric number, issued in the form of a laminated card, by the Income Tax Department.

A typical PAN is AABPS1205E.

Where to apply for PAN?

In order to improve PAN related services, the Income Tax department has authorized UTI Investor Services Ltd (UTIISL) to set up and manage IT PAN Service Centers in all cities or towns where there is an Income Tax office and National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) to dispense PAN services from TIN Facilitation Centers. For convenience of PAN applicants in big cities, UTIISL has set up more than one IT PAN Service Center and likewise there are more than one TIN Facilitation Centers.

How to find an IT PAN Service Center or TIN Facilitation Center?

Location of IT PAN Service Centers or TIN Facilitation Centers in any city may be obtained from local Income Tax Office or any office of UTI/UTIISL or NSDL in that city or from websites of the Income Tax department (www.incometaxindia.gov.in or UTIISL(www.utiisl.co.in) or NSDL (http://tin.nsdl.com)

Form 49 A can now be downloaded or photocopied or obtained from the local printer.

http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/archive/form49ae.pdf