0815 HRS
28th  February, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Finance Minister P Chidambaram to present Union Budget for 2013-14 in Parliament today.
• Counting of votes for Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly elections begins.
• A thirty member Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe VVIP helicopter deal.
• India asks International Olympic Committee to retain wrestling in Olympic Games.
• Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, with their respective partners, storm into the Men's Doubles quarterfinals of Dubai Open Tennis Championships.

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Finance Minister P Chidambaram will present the Union Budget for 2013-14 in Parliament today. It will be his eighth budget. This budget is significant as it will be the last one before the country faces General Elections, due in April-May next year. Economic experts have forecast some sops in the budgetary announcements. They also feel that today's budgetary proposals will try to strike a balance between the compulsions of growth and fiscal prudence.

The News Services Division of All India Radio will bring you a special live bilingual pre-budget discussion from 10.30 AM to 10.55 AM, which will be followed by the live relay of the Budget speech of the Finance Minister. The live discussion will continue after the presentation of the Budget and special budget bulletins. There will also be a Radio Bridge Programme from 9.30 PM to 10.30 PM today. All the programmes on the General Budget can be heard on Rajdhani and FM Gold Channels and additional frequencies.

English bulletin at 2 PM will be extended upto 2.30 PM and Hindi bulletin will also be aired for half an hour from 2.30 PM to 3 PM.

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The counting of votes for Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly elections has begun. Most of the results in the three states are expected by this afternoon. Elaborate security arrangements have also been made to ensure peaceful counting of votes. While Tripura went to polls on the 14th of this month, elections were held in Meghalaya and Nagaland on 23rd February. There are 60 members in each Assembly in all the three states. Postal ballots will be counted first and later the counting from the electronic voting machines will be taken up.

In Tripura, the CPIM is contesting 55 seats and has left 5 seats for its alliance partner CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc. The Congress has put up candidates in 48 seats and has left the remaining seats for its alliance partner, Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura, INPT and one seat for National Conference of Tripura, NCT. The BJP is contesting 46 seats. There are 249 candidates in all for 60-member assembly. More from our correspondent,

"All the counting officials have reached the counting centres amidst tight security. 60 Observers are keeping a close watch on the counting process. ECI has deployed observer each for the 60 seats. Adequate security has been put in place for peaceful counting process. The voting turnout for the poll, held on 14th of this month, had created a new record in India. With Manas Pratim Sarma, Sudipta Kar, AIR News, Agartala."

In Nagaland, the Naga People's Front is contesting all the 60 seats. The Congress is contesting 57, while the NCP has put its candidates in 15 seats. The BJP is contesting 11 seats. The counting has begun simultaneously in all the 12 district headquarters in the state. Our correspondent reports that most of the results will be out by 2 pm.

"Heavy security has been put in place in and around the counting centres. The district administrations have made elaborate arrangements in all the counting centres to provide poll results without any interruption and delay. For the first time in the electoral history of Nagaland, updates of poll results will be displayed on screens at the State Civil secretariat at Kohima and will be made available on public domain on the website www.eci.nic.in. With Ibomcha Sharma, this is Anenla Jamir, AIR News, Kohima."

In Meghalaya, the Congress is contesting in all the 60 seats while the United Democratic Party has put up its candidates in 50 seats. The National People's Party is contesting 32 seats, NCP-21 and BJP-13. In all there are 345 candidates, rest belonging to regional parties and Independents. More from our correspondent:

"Central paramilitary troops and other security forces have been deployed in all counting centres to ensure peaceful counting. The International border and inter state boundaries have been sealed completely with the deployment of Border Security Force. Vinod SHANKAR Bairwa, AIR News, SHILLONG."

In West Bengal, counting of votes for Assembly bye-elections in Nalhati, English bazar and Rejinagar seats has also begun at 8 this morning. Counting of votes has also been taken up for Moga assembly constituency in Punjab. Polling in these constituencies was held last Saturday.

The News Services Division of All India Radio will bring you a special live bilingual discussion on the counting of votes in these states. This can be heard from 8.35 AM to 12 noon on the Indraprastha and FM Rainbow channels.

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The government has announced the constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee, JPC to probe the alleged kickbacks in the VVIP helicopter deal. The proposed JPC will also look into the role of middlemen in the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Agusta Westland. Moving a motion in the Rajya Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said that the JPC will include 10 members from the Upper House and 20 from the Lok Sabha and will submit its report within three months. The Motion was adopted by voice vote, amidst a walkout by the main opposition BJP and other parties including TDP, CPI, TMC and AIADMK.

Earlier, replying to the short duration discussion on the subject, Defence Minister AK Antony asserted that no guilty person will be spared and stringent action will be taken as per Indian laws and the integrity pact.

The CBI has instituted a preliminary enquiry against 11 individuals, including six Indians and four companies.

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National Science Day is being observed today. The day is observed on the 28th of February every year to popularise science and its applications among school and college students. National Science Day is observed in honour of Nobel laureate and physicist CV Raman’s discovery of the Raman Effect, which he announced on this day in 1928. Various activities like debates, quiz competitions, exhibitions and lectures have been organised to mark the occasion.

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As many as 254 lives have been lost in the country due to swine flu during the current year till the 24th of this month. According to the Union Health Ministry, a total of 2,267 persons have tested positive for the Influenza A (H1N1) virus across the country, with the maximum of 759 reported from Delhi alone. Rajasthan reported a maximum of 105 deaths followed by Gujarat with 49. Despite the highest number of cases, Delhi has reported only 11 deaths, while Maharashtra has reported 13 deaths.

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The Sports Ministry has asked the International Olympic Committee to reconsider its decision to drop wrestling from core sports for 2020 Summer Olympic Games and retain Wrestling in the Olympic Games. Sports Minister Jitendra Singh has written to the IOC President Jacques Rogge to re-consider the decision of the Executive Board of the IOC in this regard. Mr Singh said, Wrestling has been a core sports from the first Olympics onwards and it was a part of ancient Olympics also and that the decision of the Executive Board of IOC to exclude wrestling from Olympics is against tradition.

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For more Sports news, it's over to our Sports Desk.

"The Indo-French pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Michael Llodra and the Indo-American duo of Rohan Bopanna and Rajeev Ram have stormed into the Men's Doubles quarterfinals of the ATP Dubai Open Tennis Championships. In their opening round match last night, Bhupathi and Llodra defeated the Serbian pair of Janko Tipseravic and Viktor Troicki, 6-3, 6-3, while Bopanna and Ram beat the second seeded Pak-Dutch combination of Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer, 6-4, 6-4. Both pairs will play for a semi-final berth later today. In Badminton, Ajay Jayaram and Anand Pawar in the Men's Singles and Ashwini Ponnappa with Pradnya Gadre in the Women's Doubles and with Tarun Kona in the Mixed Doubles yesterday waltzed into the pre-quarterfinals of the German Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton tournament. They will play their pre-quarterfinal matches today. And in Football, hosts Kerala will lock horns with Maharashtra in the first semi-final of the 67th Santosh Trophy at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi today. The second semi-final between Punjab and Services will be played tomorrow. The final is slated to take place on Sunday. SAVVY HASAN KHAN, SPORTS DESK."

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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
Most papers, this morning, speculate on the Union Budget presentation in Parliament. 'Pre poll budget may put more cash in your hand', writes the Times of India. 'Survey for subsidy cut, wider tax base', says the Asian Age. 'Survey claims downturn is over, economy is looking up', writes the Hindu. 'Another feel good survey will it be for real this time?', is the Economic Times headline.

The Times of India in a detailed report writes about a blow to the 2G probe main accused A. Raja. According to the paper, the Attorney General GE Vahanvati challenged in a special CBI Court, the former Telecom Minister A. Raja's claim that the implementation of the first come first serve policy was approved by the law officer as well as the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The Pioneer in an exclusive story writes about the Managing Director of the Indian Farmers fertilizer Co-operative society transferring prime property that belonged to IFFCO, located in the posh Hauz Khaz enclave to his name. According to the headline, the Managing Director disregarded all rules and abused his power as MD to become the absolute owner of the property worth over 100 crore rupees.

Varun Gandhi was acquitted by the local Court in Pilibhit district in a hate speech case lodged against him during the Lok Sabha elections in 2009. The Hindu, the Indian Express and most other papers have reported this story.

And finally, the Times of India, Mail Today, the Asian Age and most other papers write about the Australian mining entrepreneur and Tycoon, Clive palmer, unveiling a blueprint for Titanic II, a modern replica of the doomed Ocean liner, with modifications keeping in line the current safety rules and ship building practices. Mr. Palmer hoped that construction would begin later in 2013, and the recreation of the legendary trans-atlantic voyage will begin in 2016