India Border Clash:18 Injured In Bangladesh
March 15, 2010
India Border Clash:18 Injured In Bangladesh:DHAKA: At least 18 villagers were injured during a two-hour firefight between Indian and Bangladeshi troops across the troubled border, a security official in Dhaka said Monday.
The shoot-out occurred Sunday after indigenous Indian tribal people entered Bangladeshi territory to fish, local border chief Colonel Jahirul Alam said.
“Bangladeshi villagers tried to prevent them fishing. Indian border security forces started shooting, and our guards fired back,” he said.
The 18 injured Bangladeshis have been admitted to hospital, he added.
Officials in New Delhi were unable to confirm the reports.
Soldiers from the two countries often exchange gunfire along their 4,000-kilometre (2,500-mile) border, much of which has been fenced by India.
Early this month the heads of the two countries’ border forces met in New Delhi and pledged to scale back confrontations.
Putin Visit Seals Arms,Nuke Deals With India
March 13, 2010
Putin Visit Seals Arms,Nuke Deals With India:Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sealed a visit to India Friday with a raft of multi-billion-dollar arms and energy deals, including the construction of 16 Russian nuclear reactors.
The two countries also signed agreements for the long-awaited sale to India of a refitted Soviet-era aircraft carrier as well as 29 MiG fighter jets, further cementing Moscow’s role as New Delhi’s principal arms provider.
Energy-hungry India is one of the world’s biggest markets for nuclear technology and the reactor deal is a triumph for Russia’s state atomic agency Rosatom which faces stiff competition from French and US rivals.
While welcoming the deals, Putin stressed that the two Cold War allies were still short of realising the potential of their partnership, one half of the powerful four-strong group of emerging nations that includes China and Brazil.
“The level of our capabilities has not been reached,” he said following talks with Indian Premier Manmohan Singh.
Singh hailed the meeting with Russia — a “trusted and reliable strategic partner” and a “pillar of our foreign policy” — and pointed to the “rich and very substantive” agreements signed in nuclear energy, defence, space and other sectors.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said the reactor agreement covered the construction of “up to 16 nuclear energy units” at three Indian sites.
Earlier, Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia’s state atomic agency said six of the reactors would be built by 2017.
Two units are already under construction in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Russia won a deal to build four more in 2008. It was unclear if the 16 reactors referred to by Ivanov included these six.
The accord on the aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov, marks the end of a lengthy purchase process that was marred by a series of price disputes and delayed deliveries.
Ivanov said the ship would be delivered by the end of 2012. The final cost was not revealed, although experts believe it to be around 2.3 billion dollars.
Russia supplies 70 percent of India’s military hardware but in recent years New Delhi has looked to other suppliers including Israel and the United States.
Mikhail Pogosyan, the general director of Russian plane maker Sukhoi as well as the unit that manufactures MiGs estimated the value of the MiG-29K fighter deal at around 1.5 billion dollars.
The strong ties between Moscow and New Delhi date back to the 1950s after the death of Stalin. But India has in recent years also taken care to balance this friendship by fostering closer relations with Washington.
In a live webcast interaction with Indian businessmen, Putin said it was time for the old Cold War allies to boost trade beyond the limited scope of defence.
At just over 7.5 billion dollars in 2009, bilateral trade turnover is miniscule and the two countries aim to lift it to 20 billion dollars by 2015.
“There is the political will on both sides, but we need support from the captains of industry,” Putin said.
“Cooperation in hi-tech is the priority for us,” he added. “The Russian government is ready to directly support this activity, with the help of additional financial assistance, if need be.”
On security issues, Putin highlighted the presence of militant outfits operating along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, saying they were cause for concern not just to Russia and India but the entire region.
Putin also reassured that Russia had prioritised its military relations with India over rival Pakistan, with which New Delhi has fought three wars since 1947.
Putin To Sign Multi Billion Dollar Arms Deals In India
March 12, 2010
Putin To Sign Multi Billion Dollar Arms Deals In India
:MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was to seal a series of multi-billion dollar arms deals Friday during a visit to India aimed at boosting ties with Moscow’s old Cold War ally.
According to Russian officials, Putin will sign more than a dozen pacts amounting to 10 billion dollars, including an accord to resolve the troubled sale of a refitted Soviet-era aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov.
Other deals include a contract to sell India 29 MiG fighter jets and an agreement to install additional nuclear power units in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where it is already building two reactors.
The sale of the Admiral Gorshkov has been marred by a series of price disputes and delayed deliveries, fuelling concerns in Moscow that India could be tempted to end its dependence on Russian military equipment.
Putin’s foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said the new accord would “suit both sides” and help put the dispute behind them.
“We have an enormous interest in India,” he told reporters ahead of Putin’s arrival in New Delhi.
Russia supplies 70 percent of India’s military hardware but in recent years New Delhi has looked to other military suppliers including Israel and the United States.
The strong ties between Moscow and New Delhi date back to the 1950s after the death of Stalin. But India has in recent years also taken care to balance this friendship by fostering closer relations with Washington.
India’s foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash described Russia as a “valued partner and time-tested friend.”
“We have a similar outlook on a whole host of regional and international issues,” Prakash said.
Together with Brazil and China, Russia and India are part of the so-called BRIC grouping of major developing economies seeking to promote a multipolar world economy not dominated by the United States.
At just over 7.5 billion dollars in 2009, trade turnover is minuscule and the two countries will aim to increase it to 20 billion dollars by 2015.
According to Indian officials, energy is emerging as a new focus of cooperation between oil and gas-rich Russia and energy-starved India, which is always on the lookout for new fuel sources to power its growing economy.
Indian foreign ministry official Ajay Bisaria noted that New Delhi had invested 2.8 billion dollars in an oil field on Sakhalin island off Russia’s east coast and was in talks with energy firms Rosneft and Gazprom for more blocks in north Russia.
“India has had an energy strategy of investing in equity in that region and this continues,” Bisaria said.
Russia is expected to begin construction soon of another nuclear power facility in the eastern India state of West Bengal.
Putin, who last visited India as Russian president in 2007, is scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil.
RBI Action Seen:Fuel Inflation Accelerates
March 11, 2010
RBI Action Seen:Fuel Inflation Accelerates:NEW DELHI :Food prices moderated slightly while fuel price inflation accelerated in late February adding pressure on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise rates at its April policy review.
India’s wholesale price inflation (WPI) is already at 8.56 percent in January, just above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) end-March projection of 8.5 percent.
The food price index rose 17.81 percent in the 12 months to Feb. 27, marginally lower than an annual rise of 17.87 percent in the previous week.
The recent government decision to raise fuel prices has also stoked inflation. The fuel price index rose 11.38 percent in the 12 months to Feb. 27, shooting up from an annual rise of 9.59 percent in the previous week.
Market expectations of a rate hike remain unchanged as traders expect the RBI’s next move will be to raise its benchmark lending and borrowing rates by at least 25 bps each to 5.00 percent and 3.50 percent respectively.
The benchmark 10-year year bond is hovering just below the 8-percent mark mirroring expectations of a rate hike in the near term.
This despite talk that the federal government will borrow much of its estimated record borrowing of about $100 billion for the 2010/11 financial year, that begins on April 1, in the first half of the fiscal year.
The January industrial output data due on Friday, expected to be a robust 16.65 percent according to a Reuters poll, will also bolster the case for a rate hike in April.
Indian policymakers including the deputy chairman of the planning commission have said earlier this week that food prices will moderate over the next few months.Continue
Women’s Bill Row
March 10, 2010
Women’s Bill Row:NEW DELHI: The Women’s Reservation Bill and the forcible eviction of their colleagues in the Rajya Sabha.
Virtually no business could be transacted due to pandemonium in the House, which had to be adjourned twice till 1400 hours and finally for the day when it reassembled. Only one question could be taken up.
As soon as the House met for the day, members belonging to SP, RJD and JD(U) led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav rushed to the well and disrupted proceedings.
They shouted ‘marshal bulao’ (call the marshals) to protest the eviction of their party colleagues in the Rajya Sabha, forcing Speaker Meira Kumar to adjourn the House first during Question Hour and later at noon.
The Speaker could not even order the laying of papers due to the vociferous protests. Noticing the aggressive mood, Kumar adjourned the House almost immediately after she came in.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee and Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj were present.
When the House was not in session, Yadav and Prasad were seen urging Swaraj to take up the issue of using marshals to remove the seven suspended members from Rajya Sabha yesterday and BJP member Yashwant Sinha was heard asking them to go the President and withdraw their support to the UPA.
7 Members Of Rajya Sabha MP Were Suspended Today
March 9, 2010
7 Members Of Rajya Sabha MP Were Suspended Today:NEW DELHI: Debate began in the Rajya Sabha on the Women’s Reservation Bill after the disruptive members were evicted from the House.
Earlier in the day, seven members of the Rajya Sabha belonging to SP, RJD, LJP and an unattached MP were suspended today for the remaining part of the Budget session for their unruly behaviour in the House yesterday over the Women’s Reservation Bill.
The suspended members are Subhash Yadav (RJD), Sabir Ali (LJP), Veerpal Singh Yadav, Nand Kishore Yadav, Amir Alam Khan and Kamal Akhtar (all SP) and Ejaz Ali(unattached).
The motion for their suspension was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prithviraj Chavan and was passed by a voice vote.
The action was taken under Rule 256 of the House for showing total “disregard for dignity of Council and authority of the Chair” by obstructing the business of the House.
Yesterday, these members had indulged in unprecedented unruly scenes and even tried to attack Chairman Hamid Ansari when the Women’s Reservation Bill was moved by the government.
Updated at 12:30 hrs: The government today said it would hold discussions on the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha, and not bulldoze the passage of the evolutionary measure involving amendment of the Constitution.
“A Constitution amendment bill of this dimension is evolutionary in nature and (the government) does not want to just bulldoze it. It is not just to by-pass a discussion,” Law Minister M Veerappa Moily told reporters here.
“Tomorrow, after 50 years, someone will question that such an important bill was passed without a discussion, without a dialogue. We never wanted to be intolerant about it. There are people who opposed it…that was a national shame,” the minister said.
“I don’t think it will augur well for the persons or the parties which demonstrated ….the ugliest ever done,” the minister added.
Both Houses Adjourned,Women’s Reservation Bill
March 8, 2010
Both Houses Adjourned,Women’s Reservation:NEW DELHI: The landmark Women’s Reservation Bill was moved for consideration in the Rajya Sabha on Monday amidst unprecedented scenes of pandemonium with members of the SP, BSP and the RJD trying to attack Chairman Hamid Ansari.
While some members, including RJD’s Rajniti Prasad, tore the copy of the Bill, Kamal Akhtar and Nand Kishore Yadav of the SP and some others tried to reach the Chair raising slogans against the bill.
The SP and RJD members tried to uproot the mike on the table of the Chairman and threw the stationery placed on it. The security attendants immediately swung into action and shielded the Chairman to prevent the agitated members from climbing on the table.
The unprecedented pandemonium was witnessed as soon as law minister M Veerappa Moily moved for consideration of the Bill which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
Meanwhile, when the Lok Sabha, which was earlier adjourned twice on the same issue, reassembled at 2pm, members of these parties led by RJD chief Lalu Prasad, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, stormed the well shouting slogans.
As the slogan-shouting continued, Trinamool Congress members including its chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee, were seen singing the famous song — “We shall overcome some day”.
Other Trinamool members, including minister of state for health Dinesh Trivedi, chief whip Sudip Bandopadhyay and cine-star turned MP Shatabdi Roy, were heard singing the song in the House.
As the din continued, Deputy Speaker Karia Munda adjourned the House till 1500 hours.
Earlier in the day, SP, BSP and RJD members on Monday strongly opposed the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, with one of them even trying to climb the Speaker’s podium, leading to adjournment of the House for the second time till 2pm. The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned after huge protests.
The bill, created storm in the Lok Sabha soon after Speaker Meira Kumar welcomed a Croatian delegation and read out a reference on International Women’s Day.
The moment Kumar called for Question Hour, SP, BSP and RJD members trooped into the Well demanding quotas for OBC, Dalit and Muslim women within the proposed law to reserve 33 per cent seats in Parliament and State assemblies for the fair sex.
The Speaker refused to adjourn the House and carried on with the Question Hour. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav gestured his party members to move forward and himself marched to the Well from the side of the treasury benches. Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP) and Lalu Prasad and Umashanker Singh (both RJD) followed Yadav.
Mithilesh Kumar (SP) tried to climb the table placed in front of the Speaker prompting Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee to request Yadav to control his members.
On the SP chief’s directive, the members retreated a bit but stayed put in the Well and continued to raise slogans.
The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned after Samajwadi Party members demanded that question hour be suspended to discuss the Women’s Reservation Bill. When the house assembled at 11am, Chairman Hamid Ansari read out a message on the international Women’s Day saying that among others “women have to be included in the decision making process”.
As soon as he finished, Kamal Akhtar and other SP members were on their feet demanding that the report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities headed by Justice (retd) Ranganath Misra be discussed.
Ansari ruled it out on the ground that no notice had been served for this. As a handful of SP members advanced to towards the chairman’s podium, Ansari adjourned the House.
Air India Select Four Directors
March 6, 2010
Air India Select Four Directors:The government on Friday appointed four new directors to the board of ailing National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) — the company that runs Air India.
The new part-time directors — Mahindra and Mahindra vice chairman Anand Mahindra, secretary general of industry body Ficci Amit Mitra, Air Chief Marshal Fali H.Major (Retd.) and Ambuja Realty Group chairman Harsh Neotia — have been appointed for three years.
“We will give it (turning the company around) a sincere shot,” Mitra said. “I am looking forward to working with the new independent directors,” said Arvind Jadhav, CMD, NACIL.
Dunmow England The Top Box Digital Video Recorders
March 3, 2010
TiVo has long been in the shop and one of the DVRs, so had set ,top box digital video recorders has took the market. Being popular for some time now, the company, appellations of origin, TiVo plans to launch Premier, the next step for the TiVo HD, was leaked in the booklet and received by customers. TiVo was taken off from the company, and appellations of origin site recently, which led to the anticipation of a new product.
There is nothing inevitable leakage of TiVo Premier legacy will include all the features of TiVo such as clipping diai follow-up. However, it would add Premiere in a multi-stream CableCARD slot that allows users to record and at least one show in the background while watching another.
TiVo launch Premier had the support of the company, and appellations of origin of a sell-out TiVo HDs in store sector. And disposal of obsolete stockpiles in warehouses clearly points to the coming of Premiere. So what to watch for in new TiVo DVR?
TiVo: Features and price
It will launch two products TiVo TiVo Premier and Prime Minister atheist century. Let us, appellations of origin to go into the features
Will have the design and user interface software Adobe Flash. President of the State Council will be set final between the top box, with the ability to search for video and access both broadcast and broadband.
Provide content from YouTube, Netflix], and Amazon Video On Demand, and the demand for the bom
To deal with the video through a cable card cable
The menu options to allow TiVo subscribers to find out all the video options in one catalog.
The ability to track certain destinations, and receive recommendations based on their habits and the allocation of home screen
Rate TiVo Prime Minister, according to speculation, can be hovering around $ 299.99 and TiVo Prime Minister atheist century, for $ 499.99
TiVo Prime Minister will be able to record 45 hours of high-definition content will be Forty-room for 150 hours of high definition video.
As Jim Denney, TiVo, appellations of origin, vice president of product marketing, describes the
What we have, Äôve create a truly advanced TV,
High Fuel Prices Shut Down In Kerala
March 2, 2010
High Fuel Prices Shut Down In Kerala:Thiruvananthapuram, March 2 (IANS) Normal life was hit Tuesday in Kerala as the state woke up to a shutdown called by the workers of the Motor Vehicle Coordination Committee of the Left parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party to protest the hike in petrol and diesel prices.
The shutdown was supported by the trade associations as businessmen pulled the shutters of their shops down.
Only private vehicles were plying on the roads and people were seen stranded at railway stations. Attendance in government offices was low as there was no public transport.
The buses were operating only in convoys in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, bringing the IT professionals to their workplaces.
The state education department and the state public service commission postponed all the examinations for the day.
Kerala saw 54 shutdowns last year, according to a website dedicated to the subject. In 2010 so far, there have been six local shutdowns and one statewide strike.
