0815 HRS

30^th October, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Prime Minister rebuffs Modi's bid to claim Sardar Patel's Legacy.
• Supreme Court dismisses a petition to make the Prime Minister a party in the coalgate scam.
• Over 35 feared dead as a luxury bus catches fire in Andhra Pradesh.
• Election Commission to hold review meeting today in New Delhi with Chief Secretaries of five poll bound states.
• World’s first underwater rail-link between Asia and Europe opens in Turkey.
• India to take on Australia in the sixth one dayer in Nagpur today.

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The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has rebuffed Narendra Modi's claim on Sardar Patel's legacy, saying that the late leader was secular and liberal, having respect for those with a different ideologies. While sharing the dais with the Gujarat Chief Minister in Ahmedabad, Dr. Singh underlined that Patel Dr. Singh said Patel was a Congressman. Inaugurating a museum of Sardar Patel, was the instrumental in building in India.
 
"The vision of the Sardar Patel was completely secular. He had a deep faith in the Unity of India. I am extremely happy that I am a member of the same political party, Sardar Patel was associated with."
Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had said that Sardar Patel would have been a better first Prime Minister. He also said, terrorism and Maoism are the big issues before the country. He appealed to the youth, who have taken the wrong path, to come back to the mainstream.

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The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition to make Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh a party in the Coalgate scam case. A Bench comprising Justices R M Lodha, Madan B Lokur and Kurien Joseph also ruled that the Prime Minister shall not be interrogated in the case. An affidavit had been filed by M L Sharma, an advocate seeking direction to the CBI to quiz Dr. Singh. The Prime Minister has himself offered that CBI can interrogate him as he has nothing to hide.

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In another significant ruling, Supreme Court said Municipal Councillors come under the category of public servants and they can be prosecuted for their corrupt activities under the Prevention of Corruption, PC Act. The court said, the PC Act, 1988 envisages widening the scope of the definition of the expression "public servant" and it was brought into force to purify public administration.

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In Andhra Pradesh, over 35 passengers are feared dead when a luxury bus, coming from Bangalore to Hyderabad, caught fire in Kottakota Palam of Mehboobnagar district in the wee hours of today. District Collector Girja Shankar said that the incident occurred when the bus rammed into a stationary oil tanker. Rescue operations are on. Five persons have been admitted to a nearby hospital. Further details are awaited.

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Meanwhile the state Government has sought liberal assistance from the central government, as huge losses have been incurred affecting 16 districts due to the week-long heavy rain. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy directed officials at a high level meeting in Hyderabad yesterday to prepare detailed reports on the damages in a week. Preliminary estimations put the damages at over 3,700 crore rupees. The state government has announced an exgratia of one lakh fifty thousand rupees each to the kin of those who died due to the heavy rain.

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Three more live bombs were found yesterday during searches at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna, where multiple blasts before a BJP rally killed six persons and injured 82 others on Sunday. Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Tiwari said, a bomb each was found near the Police Information Room, in a children's park and a place opposite the Magadh Mahila College, all on Gandhi Maidan. The seizure was made ahead of CPI(M-L) Liberation's rally today. Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has urged the Centre to hand over the Patna blast probe to the National Investigation Agency. The Centre has assured all possible help to the Bihar government in its fight against terrorism. Jharkhand police claim that they have got valuable leads into Sunday's blasts. Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar told reporters in Hazaribagh that six persons have been detained.

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The Joint Parliamentary Committee, JPC on 2G spectrum has recommended a comprehensive audit of spectrum to ensure greater transparency in its allocations. In its report presented to the Lok Sabha Speaker Mrs Meira Kumar in New Delhi yesterday, the Committee also underlined the need for amending the TRAI Act for harmonious balance between the Regulator and the Licensor. Talking to reporters, JPC Chairman P C Chacko said, the Committee recommended a review of the policy and the formation of stringent guidelines on allocation of additional spectrum.

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In Assam, a poacher was gunned down at the Manas National park last evening. Field Director of the park said that, a group of 4 to 5 poachers killed a rhino at Bhuyapara range and chopped off its horn. Hearing gunshots, forest guards retaliated and one poacher was killed. The rest managed to escape.

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The Election Commission will hold a meeting in New Delhi today to review the security and other poll arrangements in the five states. The meeting will be attended by Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police and Chief Electoral Officers of poll-bound states as well as their neighboring states. The meeting will also work out the modalities for checking infiltration from neighbouring states. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Delhi are going to polls from the 11th of November to the 4th of December.
 

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The RBI has asked banks to charge customers for transaction SMS alerts on the basis of usage, instead of imposing a fixed fee. In its Second Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2013-14, RBI said, banks have been advised to leverage the technology available with them and the telecom service providers to ensure that such SMS charges are levied on all customers on actual usage basis.

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India has developed a new tactical surface-to-surface missile, 'Pragati', with a range between 60 and 170 km. An official of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO said, the new missile is based on the Prahaar missile developed by the DRDO for the Army and can be termed as its export variant with minor differences. He also said that the government has approved that it may be offered to friendly countries if anyone shows interest in it.

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Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari has reached the Cuban capital Havana this morning, after a successful 3-day visit to Peru. The Vice President was received at the Jose Marti International Airport by the Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Rogelio Sierra Diaz. During his two day visit to Cuba, Mr. Ansari will inagurate the Festival of India 2013, cultural extravaganza in Havana today.

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Turkey has opened the world’s first underwater rail-link, connecting Asia and Europe. The engineering feat spans 13 kilometers and is around 60 meters below the Bosphorus Strait. Called Marmaray, it will carry subway commuters in Europe’s biggest city and eventually serve high-speed and freight trains.
The opening of the rail-link yesterday, coincided with the 90th anniversary of the founding of the modern Turkish Republic.

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Israel released the second batch of 26 Palestinian prisoners late last night, in exchange for the resumption of peace talks. Our correspondent reports that 21 prisoners will return to their homes in the West Bank and the remaining five will go to Gaza.

"The second batch of 26 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails include those who had committed offences before 1993 Oslo peace accord and have served 19 to 28 years in Israeli jails. Of the 26, all but two prisoners were serving life sentences. The release is a part of the US brokered deal in August this year under which Israel would release 104 prisoners in four phases. The first lot of 26 prisoners have already been freed on 13th August this year. Atul K Tiwary, AIR News, Dubai."

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The United States has announced a grant of 2 lakh 50,000 dollars for an ongoing programme to make Delhi a safe city for women. The programme, 'Delhi Safe City - Free of Violence against Women and Girls', is being implemented in partnership with the Indian civil society organisations. A statement said in New Delhi that the grant has been announced to the organisation 'UN Women', which is a part of the United Nations' Women's Global Safe Cities Initiative.

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America's top intelligence Chief has defended the activities of the National Security Agency in the wake of allegations that it has been spying allies and unlawfully monitoring American citizens. The Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper told a Congressional hearing that the recent leaks from the fugitive analyst, Edward Snowden threatened America's safety.

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The sixth one dayer of the 7-match cricket series between India and Australia will be played in Nagpur today. Visitors Australia are sitting pretty with a 2-1 lead in the series. The last two games in Cuttack and Ranchi were abandoned due to rain. We have a report:

“Withered by a disappointing show by their bowlers, the Men in Blue will step into the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium under immense pressure, when they meet the upbeat Aussies, this time in a do-or-die situation. In the first ODI at Pune and the third at Mohali, the below-par bowling helped the Aussies chase down those uncatchable targets, which the Indian batters had set with the sweat of their brows. In the second one dayer, the craftsmanship of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli eclipsed the poor show by bowlers, when they made the 359-run chase look like a piece of cake. With Jaydev Unadkat, Amit Mishra and Mohammed Shammi waiting in the wings, it is time for MS Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher to reset the bowling line-up with some new strategies. The Kangaroos will go for the kill today, and the only way to keep them from sealing the series will be an act together. SAVVY HASAN KHAN, FOR AIR NEWS.”
 All India Radio will broadcast a live commentary on the match, alternately in Hindi and English. This can be heard on Rajdhani and FM Gold channels from 1 PM onwards.

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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES 

• The verbal duel Over Sardar Patel, the Iron Man of India, between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Prime Ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi is the headlines in all dailies today. "PM, Modi share dais; spar over Patel legacy" notes the Statesman. "Sardar Patel would have made a better PM, says Modi" notes The Hindu. TheIndian Express quotes the Bihar Chief Minister : "Nitiesh draws Hitler parallel. Tells Modi: Your's is a language of fascism: why this unnessecary excitement and hurry?"
• The RBI's steps to control inflation by raising the repo rate has found mention on all front pages. "No Diwali Cheer, RBI ups rates" says The Hindustan Times; "Home and auto loans to become dearer" reports the Statesman. While the Pioneer opines "Loans may not get costlier. RBI policy gets pro-poor touch" including the launching of inflation Indexed National  Saving Certificates.
• The ASI stopping its excavations at Unnao has also been noticed by several newspapers. "ASI quits as Unnao's gold  rush fails to thrill" says the Pioneer. "ASI plans a fresh dig near Unnao, but no gold hunt" reports the Asian Age.
• "Infosys to pay 35 million to settle visa fraud" case in US" reports The Times of India adding that the IT major has been "Accused of using B-1 visas instead of the harder-to-get H1-B work visas to bring an unknown number of staff for long-term stays."
• The spectre of the abuse of a minor domestic help reared its head once again the capital city New Delhi. "Locked in for 2 days, 13 year-old maid seeks help" reports the Times of India. "Another abused maid rescued from illegal confiment" says The Hindu, "from the residence of an AIR India  empoloyee".
• And finally, "Data on SC and STs from 2011 census, released on Monday, showed the child sex ratio among tribals in India was 957, ahead of the 933 among dalits and 910 in the rest of the propulation". reports the Times of India. "The trend suggests that 'backwardness' may actually work in favour of gender justice."

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World Bank will provided financial assistance of 294 crore rupees to enhance better service qualities of Panchayat bodies in West Bengal. Giving this information in Kolkata yesterday, the State Panchayat Minister, Mr. Subrata Mukherjee said that, 960 Gram Panchayats have been identified for this scheme. He said that, another 1 thousand 121 Gram Panchayats will be included soon.