1400 HRS

12th February, 2013

THE HEADLINES

• Eight miscreants protesting against ongoing Panchayat elections killed in police firing in Goalpara district of Assam.
• New bidding norms for upcoming power plants ready and awaiting clearance, says Power Minister.
• Industrial output down to 0.6 per cent in December due to poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors; Retail inflation rises for the fourth consecutive month to 10.79 per cent in January.
• Seventeen Indian youth who were awarded death penalty by a UAE court, return home today.
• K.K. Goel appointed CBI prosecutor in 2G telecom scam case.
• UN strongly condemns North Korea's underground nuclear test as a grave violation of Security Council's resolutions.
• Sensex gains 66 points to 19526 in afternoon trade; Rupee weak by 12 paise at 53.97 against dollar in early trade.

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In Assam, eight miscreants, including two women, have been killed in police firing in Goalpara district, following protests against Panchayat elections that are being held across the state. All of those killed belong to a particular community in the district, which has been opposed to the government's decision to conduct Panchayat elections in the area. Police say that they had to open fire after a CRPF jawan posted on election duty, was stabbed, and arms were snatched from the local police by a group of protestors. The situation in the area continues to remain tense with reports of vehicles being torched along the highway that passes through the district.

State Home Secretary G G Tripathi said that security force retaliated when miscreants attacked the police station and security personnel at Palsar, Kahibari, Kachubal and Silapathar in Goalpara district. Curfew has been imposed in parts of Krishnai area in the district.

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Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia today said the new bidding norm for the upcoming power projects are ready and awaiting clearance. Addressing a CII conference in New Delhi today, Scindia said that the Empowered Group of Ministers have to give the final nod to the Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs).

These SBDs would speed up the process of awarding 4,000 MW ultra mega power projects (UMPP) each in Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Chhatisgarh. In Case-II

type of bidding, a captive coal block is packaged along with the thermal station for sourcing fuel. The Minister said he is hopeful that the fuel supply agreements will be signed soon. The power minister said, the efforts also are on to implement the process of price pooling on imported coal.

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Industrial output contracted to 0.6 per cent in December due to poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors and decline in production of capital as well as consumer goods. The industrial output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production, IIP had grown by 2.7 per cent in December, 2011. According to official data released in New Delhi today, industrial production growth stood at 0.7 per cent during April-December period of this fiscal, down from 3.7 per cent in the same period of 2011-12. The manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, registered a contraction of 0.7 per cent in December in 2012, as against a growth of 2.8 per cent in 2011.

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Rising for the fourth consecutive month, retail inflation remained in double digit at 10.79 per cent in January, driven by higher prices of vegetables, edible oil, cereals and protein-based items. The retail inflation had stood at 10.56 per cent in December, 9.90 per cent in November and 9.75 per cent in October, 2012. The vegetables basket in January recorded the highest inflation of 26.11 per cent, followed by the oil and fats segment at 14.98 per cent.

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Seventeen Indian youth who were convicted and awarded death penalty the 28th on March , 2010 by a UAE court, have returned home today, after the settlement of the case. They were on death row for the murder of a Pakistani national Misri Khan in a bootlegging case in 2009. They were released after paying around six crore rupees as blood money. They all landed at Delhi Airport this morning. The youth, 16 from Punjab and one from Haryana, are reaching Amritsar by this afternoon. We have a report:

Released after more than three years of flip-flops, these jubilant youths were almost in tears when touched down at New Delhi. They are reachingAmritsar to pay obeisance at Sri Harmandir Sahib where they would also be joined by their families. Unable to control their emotions and at the same time speechless to say anything, they were thanking God and the Indian govt. for helping them in coming back home. Most of them said that now they do not want to go abroad and rather would find work here to earn their livelihood.

Rajesh Bali/Jalandhar/AIR NEWS.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said that whosoever is found guilty for Sunday's stampede at Allahabad railway station will be punished after the inquiry report. Talking to media persons at Allahabad, he said senior most officials of the state have been assigned to probe the incident. The Chief Minister met injured pilgrims admitted at Swarup Rani hospital and T B Sapru hospital. He handed over five thousand rupees in cash and cheque of one lakh rupees to each victim of the stampede. Earlier, Governor B L Joshi also visited the hospital.

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Curfew continues for the fourth day today in all the major towns of Kashmir valley. The curfew was imposed after Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's execution inDelhi on Saturday. The situation is tense but under control. No untoward incident has been reported so far. Additional CRPF and state police personnel have been deployed throughout the valley. The civil and police administration is reviewing the situation from time to time. Meanwhile, Karwan-e-Aman, the bus service between the divided Kashmir plied normally yesterday and fifteen passengers from Muzaffarabad came to Srinagar. Similarly, three persons left back to Pak-occupiedKashmir from Srinagar.

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

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Mr K K Goyal has been appointed as CBI's prosecutor in the 2G case. Yesterday, public prosecutor A K Singh had been removed after allegations surfaced that he was allegedly in touch with Unitech managing director Sanjay Chandra, who is an accused in a 2G spectrum allocation scam. Our Correspondent reports, that earlier in the day, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha appeared before the Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the scam.

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In Tripura, with the election just two days away, security has been beefed up all across the state. Our Correspondent reports that the International Border withBangladesh has also been sealed since yesterday.

Meanwhile, with just few more hours to go for the end of the campaigning, the state is seeing massive campaigning by all the political parties. A report:

Adequate Security arrangement has been put in place for the upcoming assembly election. Out of the 3041 polling stations 32 has been identified as Extreme Sensitive the Polling stations have been divided into Four Categories. Tripura goes to poll on Thursday with 249 candidates in fray. Campaigning has reached its Zenith in Tripura with just few hours left for the campaigning. The Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the ruling left front government in the state and he alleged that corruption is growing under the present state Government. While the BJP Spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra said that Congress and CPI (M) are in allies and have a secret understanding with each other. While Left Front is organizing rallies in all the 60 constituencies in the state. The front is today concentrating more on the Constituency based campaigning. SUDIPTA KAR/AGARTALA/AIR NEWS."

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In Meghalaya, the campaigning for the 60 member Assembly election is at its peak. Our correspondent has filed this report.

All regional parties have released their manifestoes focusing on youth empowerment and economic development. Congress in its manifesto said that the party has been working for effective governance and development, particularly for the poor and unprivileged section of the society. The Regional political party belonging to United Democratic Party, in its manifesto vowing to fight against corruption with introduction of a strong and effective Lokayukta. Altogether 345 candidates are in the fray for assembly election. Amongst these, there are 25 female candidates in the fray. With Manoj Kumar Jali, Vinod Shankar Bairwa /Shillong/AIR NEWS.

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Kerala Police have set up a special team to trace and arrest the absconding convict in the Suryanelli gangrape case, who appeared on a Malayalam TV channel alleging that Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien was involved in the case, as claimed by the victim. The four-member team has left for Karnataka from where Dharmarajan purportedly gave the interview to the channel yesterday and made the startling claim. The task entrusted to the team, would be coordinated by Superintendent of Police, Kottayam, police sources said.

Meanwhile, the special court in Kottayam, has issued an arrest warrant against Dharmarajan. Mr. Kurien has rubbished Dharmarajan's charge, holding that the statement of a convict has no legal validity. Kurien was acquitted in the case but the victim had recently named him as one of those who assaulted her in 1996. She sent a letter to the Supreme Court last week, seeking a review of the apex court's order quashing all charges against Kurien.

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The Chennai acid attack victim, J.Vinodhini today succumbed to her injuries after three months of struggle at a private hospital. Twenty three year old Vinodhini was a B.Tech graduate, and was employed at a private firm in Chennai. She was attacked when she went to visit her parents at Karaikal for Deepavali last year. The incident damaged both her corneas and upper eyelids. The culprit, Suresh alias Appu, 32, who was allegedly spurned by the girl, was arrested by the police, the next day. Reacting to the incident, Union Minister in Prime Minister's office, V.Narayanasamy said that these types of crimes should be severely condemned and the culprit should be severely punished.

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Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today called for promoting the benefits of traditional medicines in the treatment of ailments. Azad said, despite the advancement of allopathic medicine, poor people still depend on traditional medicines due to remoteness and lack of regular access to essential drugs. Addressing an international conference on traditional medicines for South-East Asian countries in New Delhi this morning, he said, the accessibility, affordability and the availability of these medicines is essential. Describing traditional medicines as the main source of healthcare, the Health minister pitched for enhancing cooperation among South-Asian countries.

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The Visa on Arrival (VOA) scheme of the government registered a growth of 24.4 per cent in January 2013 as compared to January 2012. A total number of 1,690 Visas on arrival were issued last month as compared to 1,359 VoAs issued in January 2012.

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The national Capital continues to be in the grip of swine flu with the highest number of 27 cases recorded yesterday. 121 people testing positive for the influenza virus have been reported till date. Three people have died due to the disease in Delhi so far. The Delhi government has designated 22 hospitals, including five private ones for treatment of swine flu.

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The UN today strongly condemned North Korea's underground nuclear test as deplorable, saying it was a clear and grave violation of the Security Council resolutions. A UN statement issued by the Spokesperson for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the action has defied the unequivocal call from the world community to refrain from provocative measures. The UN Secretary-General said, he is gravely concerned about the negative impact of this deeply destabilising act on regional stability as well as the global efforts for nuclear non-proliferation. Ban urged North Korea to reverse course and work towards de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

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The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 50 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 19,511 in early trade, today, on fresh buying by funds and retail investors, ahead of domestic industrial output data. Later, the Sensex gained some more ground, and stood 81 points, or 0.4 percent in the green, at 19,541 in afternoon trade, a short while ago. The Sensex has lost nearly 545 points in the past eight trading sessions.

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The rupee today fell by 12 paise to 53.97 against the dollar in early trade, extending losses for the fifth straight session at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market due to sustained demand for the US currency from importers