0815 HRS
1st March, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Union Budget hikes outlays for health, education, social sector, defence and agriculture; Special attention to the welfare of women, children, SC, ST and disabled.

• Prime Minister says, a multi pronged strategy needed to deal with challenges of fiscal deficit, inflation and current account deficit.

• Congress leader and Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma to stake claim to form a new government.

• 10th and 12th class examinations of CBSE begin today.

• Violent protests in Bangladesh claim at least 33 lives.

• India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, with their respective partners, enter the Men's Doubles semi-finals of Dubai Tennis Championship.

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The Union Budget for 2013-14 has hiked outlays for health, education, social sector, defence and agriculture. Presenting his 8th budget in Parliament yesterday, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram paid special attention to the welfare of women, children, SCs & STs and disabled persons.

Rich to pay more, 10 per cent surcharge on Income over one crore rupees, no change in Tax in Income Tax slab and 2,000 rupees tax benefit to income upto five lakh rupees, are some of the highlights of the Budget. Higher allocation for social sector, with a 46 per cent hike for rural development and 17 per cent in education, 15 per cent allowance to new investments by companies, also find place in the budget. Mr Chidambaram also announced 10,000 crore rupees more for the ambitious National Food Security.

He said, cheaper loans to farmers will continue and announced a 22 per cent hike in the out lay for the agriculture sector. The Finance Minister said, 1,000 crore rupees fund, to be named as NIRBHAYA fund to boost safety of women and a separate women bank, will be set up and duty concession will be extended to Aircraft maintenance industry.

Mr. Chidambaram proposed excise exemption to hand made carpets, textile flooring of coir and jute and cheap loan for the handloom sector. He said, there will be no change in excise and peak customs duty.

Health and Education for all remain the main priorities, the health sector will get an increased allocation of 24.3 per cent and education 17 per cent.

"Health for all and education for all remain our priorities. I propose to allocate 37,330 crore to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Of this, the new National Health Mission that combines a rural mission and the proposed urban mission will get Rs. 21,239 crore, an increase of 24.3 per cent over the RE."

The allocation for the welfare programmes for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes children, the budget proposes 41 thousand 561 crore rupees. The allocation for the programmes for the welfare of minorities has been increased by 12 per cent.

"Thousands of scholarships will be given to students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other Backward Classes and Minorities and girl children in 2013-14. I propose to allocate Rs. 5,284 crore to the various ministries for the purpose."

The budget proposes to increase allocation for defence to over two lakh three thousand crore rupees.

Addressing his post budget press conference in New Delhi, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said, the main thrust of budget is to signal fiscal prudence.

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The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said, if India succeeds in achieving 8 per cent growth, the winner will be the people of India. In an exclusive interview to Prasar Bharti, Dr Singh said, the Finance Minister has done a commendable job. Dr Singh said, a multi pronged strategy is needed to deal with the challenges of fiscal deficit, inflation and current account deficit.

"The Finance Minister has taken important steps to reverse the pessimistic mood with regard to investment climate, with regard to the growth potential and possibilities of our economy. It is up to collective wisdom of my Council of Ministers to convert these challenges into opportunities, to accelerate the tempo of growth, to make it more inclusive, to make it more sustainable."

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The Oil companies have hiked the prices of Jet fuel by 3.8 per cent. Indian Oil Corporation said, the revised prices came into effect midnight last night. Following the revision, the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel, or ATF has gone up by 2,519.83 rupees per kilolitre in Delhi. This is the second increase in rates in as many months.

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Congress leader and Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma will stake claim to form a new government in the state today. The Congress has emerged the single largest party in Meghalaya bagging 29 seats, falling short of a majority by two, in the 60 member Assembly. Party sources said, last night, that all newly elected MLAs have been asked to reach the state capital by noon. AICC leader in-charge of Meghalaya Mukul Wasnik and AICC leader Sanjay Bhavna have already reached Shillong.

United Democratic Party, UDP, which was the key ally of Congress for the past three years in the Meghalaya United Alliance coalition government, has won 8 seats.

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In Tripura, the Left Front has retained power for the fifth consecutive time, since 1993. The coalition secured a three-fourths majority by winning 50 of the 60 seats in the state assembly. While CPI(M), which contested 55 seats, won 49 seats, it's coalition partner CPI won one seat of the two it had contested. The Congress managed to win 10 seats of the 48 in which it had contested.

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The Newly elected MLAs of Nagaland Peoples Front, NPF will meet in Kohima today to elect Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio as its leader. NPF and its alliance partners BJP and JD(U) will approach Governor Nikhil Kumar to form a new government in the state. Mr. Rio will be the Chief Minister for the third consecutive term. NPF stormed back to power, winning 37 seats in the 60-member assembly.

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The Class 10th and 12th examinations of the Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE start today. More than 12 lakh students will be sitting for Class 10th and nearly ten lakh will appear in Class 12th examinations. The Class 10th examination will come to an end on the 15th of this month, while the class 12th examination will conclude on the 17th of next month. This year, the CBSE has provided facilities to schools to generate online roll number wise list of candidates appearing in the examinations. School can also generate online admit card for their regular students appearing in this year's board tests.

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In Bangladesh, at least 33 people are reported to have been killed and more than 200 injured in violent protests by the Jamaat-e-Islami in several districts, following yesterday’s verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 against the party’s senior leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

"The verdict against Delwar Hossain Sayedee was the first verdict to be delivered by the tribunal, after an earlier verdict sentencing another Jamaat-E-Islami leader Quader Mollah to life, had sparked demonstrations and a nationwide campaign demanding death penalty for all war criminals and a ban on the Jamaat-E-Islami. The verdict against Sayedee was welcomed by pro liberation forces led by the Awami league and was marked by celebrations at Shahbagh square. The Jamaat-E-Islami, on the other hand, is resorting to violent protests on the streets demanding scrapping of the trial. Its ally, the main opposition party the BNP is likely to outline its stand today. The government has ordered the deployment of Border Guards Bangladesh in Dhaka city and other sensitive areas of the country to assist the police in maintaining law and order. This is Senthil Rajan, AIR News,Dhaka."

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Pope Benedict XVI has officially resigned. Benedict, who stepped down after nearly eight years in office last night, has become the first pontiff to resign in 600 years. The college of cardinals, headed by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, is now in charge of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, until a new Pope is elected. The conclave of 115 cardinals is expected to meet at the Vatican on Monday, to start planning the election of the next pope.

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News from the World of Sports.

"The Indo-French pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Michael Lloldra and the Indo-American duo of Rohan Bopanna and Rajeev Ram have waltzed into the Men's Doubles semi-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships. In the quarterfinals last night, Bhupathi and Llodra defeated the fourth seeded Polish pair of Marcin Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8, while Bopanna and Ram beat Czech Republic's Lukas Rosol and his partner from Romania, Viktor Hanescu, 4-6, 7-5, 10-4. Both pairs will play each other today, for a place in the Men's Doubles finals.

In Badminton, India's Anand Pawar has cruised into the Men's Singles quarterfinals of the German Open Grand Prix Gold. In his pre-quarterfinal match yesterday, Pawar defeated Hsuan Yi Hsueh of Chinese Taipei, in straight games, 21-15, 21-13.

And in Football, hosts Kerala have stormed into the title clash of the 67th Santosh Trophy. In the first semi-final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochiyesterday, Kerala defeated Maharashtra 2-1. In the second semi-final today,Punjab will take on reigning champions Services at Kochi. The final is slated to take place on Sunday. SAVVY HASAN KHAN, AIR NEWS."

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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES

• The front pages of all newspapers are replete with the stories of Union Budget 2013. Under the headline, 'PC nets big fish', the Times of India says, the budget has soaked the rich, made a splash for women, and sought to shore up investments. The Pioneer writes that in the honour of the Delhi gangrape victim, the government will set up the Nirbhaya fund, which will support initiatives to keep women safe and secure. The Financial Express says that despite an expenditure spurt, the Finance Minister has kept fiscal deficit in check and cut welfare schemes while mopping up extra from disinvestment, corporations and super-rich. The Indian Express says that the budget offers the biggest sop to first-home buyers proposing a one-time benefit of 30,000 rupees by way of an additional deduction of one lakh rupees towards interest on a home loan.
• Paving the way for his trial, the Juvenile Justice Board has charged the 17-year-old minor accused in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case with murder, gang rape, kidnapping, unnatural offences, attempt to murder, destruction of evidence and conspiracy reports the Times of India.
• The Asian Age reports that automatic spending cuts in the United States could impact the visa processing time taken by US missions in countries like India and China.
• To ensure safety of passengers, no cab driver without a biometric enrollment will be allowed to operate from the T3 terminal of IGI Airport says the Pioneer.
• Now you can attach a GPS pet-tracking device to your pet's collar and get an immediate alarm on your smartphone the moment it leaves an area you have defined while flipping a switch will turn on an integrated light to help find your pet in the dark, writes Hindustan Times