0815 HRS
7th February, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Government extends compulsory registration of all food business operators in the country till 4th February 2014.
• Agriculture Minister says, there is enough stock of onions in the country and prices will come down in the next few days with the arrival of new crop.
• NTPC 9.5 per cent stake sale today; Floor price fixed at 145 rupees per share.
• Government invites information from general public on lobbying activities of global retail giant Wal-Mart.
• Pakistan Supreme court bans transfer and development of land around the shrines of minority communities in the country.
• ICC Women's Cricket World Cup at Cuttack, India to clash with Pakistan in the seventh place play-off match today.

<><><>

The Government has extended by a year the compulsory registration of all Food Business Operators, FBOs in the country. A statutory advisory issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the FSSAI, working under the Health Ministry, said that all food business operators carrying on food business in the country are to get themselves compulsorily registered with the FSSAI as per provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011. The Government had earlier allowed the operators to get themselves registered with the FSSAI till February the 4th this year, but has now extended the time-line after representations from operators till the 4th of February 2014.

The extension has been welcomed by small traders who have been vehemently opposing the provisions of the Food Safety Act.

<><><>

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said that onion prices will come down in the next few days on improved supply from Gujarat, Rajasthan and some parts of Maharashtra. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi yesterday, Mr. Pawar said, the arrival of the new crop will start after the 15th of this month.

The Minister said there is enough stock of onion in the country and that there should be no problem about availability. Onion prices have increased significantly in the last few days fearing a fall in production.

<><><>

Government has fixed the base price at 145 rupees per share for 9.5 per cent stake sale in the National Thermal Power Corporation. The government proposes to sell 78.32 crore shares or 9.5 per cent stake in the country's largest power producer through the offer for sale or OFS route. The auction will take place today. Earlier, the Empowered Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, had decided on the floor price and date of the share sale.

<><><>

In its probe into the global retail giant Wal-Mart's lobbying activities in the US for entry into India, the government has asked the general public to provide it with all the important information available with them on the matter. The government has appointed a one-man Inquiry Committee, headed by former Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, Justice Mukul Mudgal, to inquire into reports on the US lobbying activities of Wal-Mart for access to the Indian markets. The Committee has to submit its report within three months and is being provided administrative and functional support by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in its probe.

The Government is inviting all members of the public to furnish information having a bearing on the Terms of Reference including documents, if any, within a fortnight to the Convener, Wal-Mart Inquiry Committee at Room No. 208, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe, Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi- 110 011. Information can also be sent through e-mail on wmcommitte-mca@nic.in.

<><><>

The Finance Minister Mr P.Chidambaram has said that the key to greater public welfare and greater security is more growth, which increases the capacity of the government to fund essential services. Delivering the K. Subrahmanyam Memorial Lecture in New Delhi yesterday, he said, growth is necessary to promote social welfare, provide education and health services and to create more jobs. Mr Chidambaram said, borrowing is not an option for the country and that the government can borrow within limits which should not be more than 3 per cent of the GDP. The Minister also pointed out that a cut in defence expenditure or on the police forces will severely compromise the defence and security preparedness of the country and diminish the capacity to meet with challenges.

<><><>

The Budget Session of Parliament will commence from the 21st of this month and is likely to conclude on the 10th of May, 2013. An official release said, the President will address both Houses of Parliament together in the Central Hall. In order to enable Standing Committees consider the Demands for Grants of Ministries and Departments and to prepare their reports, the two Houses will adjourn for a recess on the 22nd of March to meet again on the 22nd of April.

<><><>

The President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has urged all the state governments and central ministries to have a greater delivery mechanism for differently-abled people. Speaking after giving away national awards for the empowerment of persons with disabilities-2012 yesterday, Mr Mukherjee said, there is urgent need to provide education to children with disabilities.

Persons with disabilities must be enabled through education, to get adequate opportunities for gainful employment and their rightful status in the society. There is, therefore an urgent need to train teachers in adequate numbers to provide education to children with disabilities.

[]><><><[]

For news updates, follow us on Twitter @ airnewsalerts. You can also visit our facebook page All India Radio News for more news and events.

In Odisha, the land acquisition for South Korean steel giant Posco's mega project in Jagatsinghpur district has been stopped temporarily. The police force has also been withdrawn following demands from anti-project protestors including school children and women. The protestors also demanded action against the government land acquisition officer who was caught on camera beating up people and chasing away children. District Collector of Jagatsinghpur, SK Mallick, told AIR that he would consult senior government officials before taking any decision on resumption of land acquisition work from today.

<><><>

In Mumbai, three persons have been killed and several others injured after a portion of an under-construction bridge collapsed near the Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport last night. Officials said, the victims are mostly labourers. Our correspondent reports that the reason behind the collapse is being probed.

The injured were admitted to nearby hospitals. Rescue efforts were co-ordinated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the fire brigade and the project contractor, Larsen & Tourbo. The work of clearing debris is on. Mayor Sunil Prabhu visited the site of the mishap around midnight and promised that an enquiry would be initiated. The bridge, expected to be completed by the year-end, leads to the International Terminal of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Sweety Kothari, AIR News, Mumbai.

<><><>

In Himachal Pradesh, snowfall and wide-spread rain in the last three days have thrown normal life out of gear. The entire state is in the grip of a severe cold wave condition. A report :

The Kinnaur district of the state is the worst affected area due to heavy snowfall. The State government has declared the district as the Natural Disaster Affected Area where the heavy snowfall has caused extensive damage to the lives and property. Meanwhile in most parts of the snowbound area, normal life is paralysed as the snow has blocked highways and link roads and snapped electricity supply. Intermittent snowfall continued in the state capital till last night. The movement of vehicular traffic on the national highway 22 beyond Shimla remained disrupted for the third day today due to snowfall at Kufri and Narkanda. Neeraj Rana, AIR News, Shimla.

<><><>

In Uttar Pradesh, the capital city Lucknow experienced an all time high record of 64.5mm rainfall in the last 24 hours, in a single day of February. In the last three days, Lucknow has had up to the brim rainfall of 124.6 mm, whereas in 1987 the highest so far rainfall in the entire February was 68.1 mm.

<><><>

Pakistan's Supreme Court has imposed a complete ban on the transfer and development of land around the shrines of minority communities. There were allegations about the illegal sale of a Gurdwara's property by a state-run body.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary, which was hearing a case regarding illegal sale of the Gurdwara's land by the Evacuee Trust Property Board, ruled that there would be a complete ban on transfer of such land as well as development of roads or any developmental work.

<><><>

India will clash with Pakistan in the seventh place play-off match of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup at Cuttack today. The match will begin at 9 AM. Both, India and Pakistan had crashed out of the tournament, after losing their third and final Group-match and finishing last in their respective Pools. While India lost to Sri Lanka by a massive 138 runs in Group-A, South Africa beat Pakistan by 126 runs in Group-B. Defending Champions England topped Group-A, while Australia were the table toppers of Group-B.

<><><> 

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES 

The Statesman reports that Congress President Sonia Gandhi yesterday launched a new initiative of Universal Health Screening for birth defects and deficiencies that will cover an estimated 27 crore children. She also said that the Food Security Act that the UPA Government proposes to bring soon will help tackle the problem of malnutrition in children.

Narendra Modi's visit to the Sri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi is also covered by the Press. The Indian Express writes, "Modi's Visit Rocks Delhi University: Jeers outside and cheers inside, with Left Wing organisations students shouting anti Modi slogans and the police resorting to a lathi charge.

"Stalking is now a crime, will invite three years in jail, headlines Hindustan Times." The paper writes stalking, physical or electronic via phone calls, text messages or emails- is now a criminal offence, punishable with one to three years in jail.

The Asian Age writes, "adding to the misery of the Sahara Group, the Supreme Court yesterday said that SEBI is free to freeze accounts and seize properties of its two companies for defying court orders by not refunding 24,000 crore rupees to investors