1400 HRS

7th January , 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Empowered Group of Ministers decides to auction four telecom circles in 1800 MHz band that failed to attract bidders earlier; Also decides to lower reserve price by 30 per cent.
• Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to lay foundation stone for Integrated Expansion Project of the BPCL-Kochi Refinery at Ambalamugal this evening.
• Five accused in Delhi Gang rape case produced before Metropolitan Magistrate's Court.
• Severe cold wave continues to sweep several parts of the country; Muzaffarnagar in UP records a minimum of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius.
• Sensex trades flat in afternoon deals; Rupee loses 13 paise to 55.03 against the Dollar.
• Indian team for upcoming one- day international series againstEngland announced; Cheteshwar Pujara replaces Virender Sehwag.

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The government has decided to auction four telecom circles in the 1800 MHz band, which had not received bidders in November last year. The Empowered Group of Ministers, EGoM, on telecom has also decided to lower the reserve price by 30 per cent fixed in November. This was disclosed by Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal in New Delhi today after the EGoM meeting.

"In the 1800 MHz band, the quantum of spectrum put up for auction will be 15 MHz in Delhi and Mumbai, for Karnataka and Rajasthan, it will be 10 MHz with a topping up provision of 3.75 MHz as in November 2012. The EGoM has decided to continue with the service of the same auctioneer for the 900 MHz band and the auction will be held in March 2013."

Mr Sibal said, it has also been decided to hold auction for the 800 MHz band in all circles where slow bidders participated. He said the recommendations on fixing the reserve price for this band will be taken to the Cabinet for approval.

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In Kerala, the three day annual meet of the Indian Diaspora, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas began in Kochi today. More than 2000 delegates from different parts of the world are taking part in the meet. A seminar on NRIs in the Gulf organised as a part of the event, was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi this morning. Speaking on the occasion, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said granting voting right to the NRIs has instilled a sense of belonging amongst Overseas Indians. The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh tomorrow.

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Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation for the Integrated Expansion Project of the BPCL-Kochi Refinery at Ambalamugal in Kochi this evening. More from our Kochi Correspondent:

"The Integrated Expansion project, which will be carried out at a total cost of 20,000 crore rupees is the single largest investment in Kerala in recent years. The project is aimed to meet the country's growing energy needs and make auto fuels more environment friendly. It involves increasing the refining capacity of the BPCL-Kochi Refinery from the current 9.5 million metric tonnes to 15.5 million metric tonnes per annum. The company will be mordernised to produce auto fuels complying with Euro IV and Euro V specifications. The BPCL Kochi Refinery will also be diversifying into propylene based Petro- -Chemical industry by investing nearly 6000 crore rupees. Raj Mohan, AIR News, Kochi."

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An indefinite strike launched by private bus workers since midnight demanding a wage hike has hit the mobility of people across Kerala. Reports from various districts said the impact of the strike was severe in northern and central districts, where people depend heavily on private buses for their movement.

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In Chhattisgarh, three policemen, including an officer, were injured in a landmine blast triggered by Naxals in Gariyaband district of Chhattisgarh in the wee hours of today. SP Ramgopal Garg said in Raipur that on getting information that Maoist insurgents had blocked the road near Dagnai Nala, located over 100 km from Raipur, by felling trees, a police party was sent to clear the route. When the troopers were removing the trees from the road, naxals triggered the blast and fled into the jungle. The injured were first admitted to a district hospital and subsequently air-lifted to Raipur for treatment. A search is on to trace the naxals who triggered the blast.

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The five accused in the brutal gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student in the national capital have been produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate's court in Saket, Delhi. The Juvenile Justice Board will take up the matter of verifying the age of the sixth accused who claims to be a minor. The Metropolitan Magistrate will order that a copy of the chargesheet be given to each of the five accused after which the trial will begin in a fast-track court. As the Saket court lawyers have decided not to defend the accused, the court is likely to direct that lawyers from the legal aid cell be provided to the five accused. A court had taken cognizance of the chargesheet against five of the accused yesterday.

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The death toll of the violent incident that occurred in Dhule city of Maharashtrayesterday has risen to four. 206 people have been injured. 7 people received fatal injuries in the police firing and One of the injured has been shifted to Mumbai for further treatment. 88 others are being treated at various hospitals in the city.

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The Minister of State for Defence Mr.Jitender Singh has said that steps have been taken by the Government to fill vacancies in the officer level posts in the armed forces. Speaking to news persons after visiting the Officers Training Academy at Chennai, Mr. Singh said that more training centres would be started to equip the officers who are recruited in defence forces. To another query, he said that deployment of forces in naxal affected regions, J& K and in North East Region would continue.

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The transmission services of the FM Rainbow channel of All India Radio at 102.6 MHz have been restored since late last night. The Deputy Director, Engineering, AIR, A K Goel, said, the terrestrial transmission services for Delhi and NCR were disrupted following a minor fire that broke out at the 200-metre high TV tower in Pitampura area of North West Delhi on Saturday night. Our correspondent reports, the service of All India Radio channel of FM Gold at 106.4 Mghtz were restored earlier.

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Road safety week was observed across the country to create awareness about evils of drunken driving. The theme for the week was ‘Stay Alive, Don’t Drink and Drive’. The objective of the annual event which is observed in the first week of January is to give everyone an opportunity to promote road safety in their community, school, work place and on the roads in general. Road and Highways ministry has appealed to all stakeholders to join hands with the government in its effort to make roads safer and to develop a sustainable road transport system across the country.

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The renowned agricultural scientist Dr M S Swaminathan has called for adequate recognition to the 'community bio-diversity conservation'. Underlining the role of community conservation efforts, he said such 'in-situ on-land conservation' know -how of the tribal and rural communities of the country should be promoted like the prevalent ex-situ conservation efforts for the preservation of the genetic variability in the field of agriculture, forestry and fishery. This he said would meet the need of what he termed as 'bio-happiness', which is a combination of sustainability, conservation and equitable use of bio-diversity and the blending of traditional knowledge with frontier technology.

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Severe cold wave continued to sweep several parts of the country. In Uttar Pradesh, Muzaffarnagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.6 degree Celsius this morning. In the state capital Lucknow, it was 1.4 degrees Celsius. More from our correspondent:

"It is freezing cold in some districts of western UP which has paralyzed the normal life there. The situation is no better in eastern region where the day’s temperature is hovering between 4 to 8 degrees Celsius. Schools and Colleges up to intermediate classes have been closed till Wednesday. In offices and public places the people and employees are getting relief from bonfire due to long hours’ electricity cut-off. There is no sunshine in most of the places. Salman Haider,AIR news,Gorakhpur."

In the national capital, the minimum temperature dipped to 2.4 degrees Celsius which is 5 degrees below normal. Icy-winds sweeping Delhi added to woes of the people. Although visibility remained normal, the early morning fog disrupted rail and air traffic. At least 16 trains have been cancelled, 11 have been rescheduled and around 70 trains are running late. Dense fog this morning disrupted the schedule of over 30 domestic and international flights at the Indira Gandhi International Airportin New Delhi. 10 flights were cancelled. However, the Met Department has announced that people will get some respite from cold winds which are expected to weaken soon and the temperature set to rise in Delhi and surrounding areas. The cold wave, however, is likely to continue in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh andBihar. Normal life has been affected in Jammu region due to intense cold and fog. More from our correspondent:

"Dense fog coupled with cold continued to play havoc with the normal life inJammu region and also disrupting smooth movement of air, train and vehicular traffic. State Government has ordered that all Government and Private Schools in Jammu Division shall remain closed from today to January 13 due to inclement weather. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand has reviewed the pace of winter stocking of the essential commodities and arrangements and preparedness for snow clearance during the snow fall on National Highway and other vital road links in Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts of Jammu region at a high level meeting of seniors officers. With R. K. RAINA, Chander Kant Sharma,AIR NEWS,Jammu."

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Erasing all its initial gains, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange stood a marginal 11 points in negative territory, at 19,773 in afternoon deals, a short while ago. But earlier in the morning, the Sensex had opened with a gain of 69 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 19,853, on sustained buying by funds and retail investors, amid firm Asian markets. The 30-share Sensex had climbed nearly 360 points in the previous four trading sessions.

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Failing to maintain its initial upward momentum, the rupee today slid by 13 paise to 55.03 against the dollar in late morning trade due to bouts of demand for the US currency from banks and oil importers amid firm cues overseas. The rupee had gained 17 paise in early morning trade and was trading at 54.90. In New York, the US dollar was trading higher, paring some of its Friday losses as investors considered the outlook over the Federal Reserve policy.

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A cousin of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud was among the nearly 10 to 17 militants killed during a coordinated strike by US drones in South Waziristan tribal region, media reports said today. Wali Mohammad alias Toofan was killed when drones targeted three compounds in the mountainous Babar area inSouth Waziristan, security officials were quoted as saying by the media. Toofan, 26, was head of the wing responsible for suicide attacks.

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The Indian squad for the upcoming one day international cricket series againstEngland, has been announced. Batsman Virender Sehwag has been dropped, with in-form Cheteshwar Pujara coming in. The squad has been selected for the first three matches and all the other members of the squad who played againstPakistan, have been retained. The 15-member team includes Skipper MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Shami Ahmed and Ishant Sharma. India andEngland will play 5 ODI matches. The first match will be played at Rajkot on January 11th.