0815 HRS

25th April, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• India says, process on to solve the standoff arising out of Chinese troop incursions into Ladakh.
• West Bengal Government to set up a corpus of 500 crore rupees, to help the investors duped by the Saradha chit fund.
• In Bihar, a local court grants transit remand to rape accused of four year old girl at Seoni to Madhya Pradesh police.
• India and UAE sign an MoU on air services, enhancing the weekly seat capacity to 50,000.
• Death toll in multi-storey building collapse on the outskirt of Dhaka in Bangladesh rises to 140.
• Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu advance to the second round of the Women's Singles in the India Open Super Series.

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India has said that the process is on, to solve the standoff arising out of Chinese troop incursions into Ladakh and hoped a solution would emerge. Talking to reporters in New Delhi , External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said that the perception over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) varies between the two countries and when perceptions vary, sometimes disagreements on the ground can take place. He said the two countries are in the process of working towards demarcating the LAC.

We would like this to be contained and restricted to an incident at the border which is being handled and which hopeful will be handled satisfactory. We don't want this in any way to reflect upon our broader larger relationship or the visit at the high level that are expected very soon.

Chinese troops who entered Indian territory in Daulat Beg Oldie on April 15th, have established a small camp in the Indian area and have refused to go back to their side of the LAC. Two Flag meetings held so far between the two sides have failed to yield any result on ground.

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The West Bengal Government has decided to set up a corpus of 500 crore rupees to help the investors duped by the Saradha chit fund. Announcing this in Kolkata yesterday the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that a high level enquiry commission has been formed to investigate the scam. The commission will recommend to the government the modalities of the pay back. Our correspondent has filed this report:

The State government will impose additional 10 percent tax on tobacco products to raise funds to help the cheated investors. The Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee said that the government will soon release advertisements in the media on hearing of the enquiry commission at different districts on the chit fund scam. A special session of the state Assembly will also be convened soon to pass a fresh legislation to deal with chit fund companies and to protect the interest of investors. The state also witnessed a series of protests by the depositors and agents of the Saradha Group at different areas. Arijit Chakraborty, AIR News, Kolkata.

Meanwhile, the prime accused in the Chit Fund scam, Sudipto Sen and his two associates will be produced before the SDJM court at Salt Lake today. The trio were brought to Kolkata last night after police arrested them in Kashmir last monday.

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Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said that the Government is seriously contemplating to move the CBI against some companies for swindling public money. Gogoi said, cases are being examined and the Government is considering handing over some cases having inter State ramifications to the CBI. More from our correspondent:

Protest continues in several parts of the state against Saradha for cheating thousands of investors. Angry mob ransacked group offices in many places. Additional DGP-CID Mukesh Sahai said that five new cases have been registered against Saradha. Special Investigation Team is investigating all cases and arrested 3 persons. Assam police is likely to interrogate head of the company in this regard. Manas Pratim Sarma, AIR News, Guwahati.

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The Income Tax department is to probe investments and finances of the Kolkata-based Saradha group, which allegedly defrauded thousands of depositors. The department will probe the group even as it is investigating five other similar cases of this kind in West Bengal since last year. Sources in the department said, showcause notices for production of documents and recording of statements of promoters, investors and prominent agents in this case could be issued soon.

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In Bihar, a Chief Judicial Magistrate court of Bhagalpur has given a 72 hour transit remand to the Madhya Pradesh police, of the rape accused of a four year old girl at Seoni. After a five-day search, Feroz Khan, of Amarpur in Bihar’s Banka district was arrested in Bhagalpur district on Tuesday by the police The Police said that Feroz has confessed to the crime.

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In Uttar Pradesh, the government has revoked the case against an accused in the serial blast at Gorakhpur in which six people were injured. The blast occurred seven years ago on the 22nd of May 2007.

Our Allahabad correspondent reports that the prime accused in the blast case Tariq Qasmi a resident of Azamgarh was arrested from Barabanki by the Special Task Force of the state police. He is currently lodged in the Lucknow jail. He is also accused for conspiracy in the serial blasts at Faizabad, Varanasi and Lucknow district court premises on the 23rd of November 2007.

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The Chief justice of India Mr Altmas Kabir has suggested that the investigative wing of the police should be separated from other administrative jobs to expedite trial. Addressing a lecture organized by the Calcutta High Court last evening Mr. Kabir said that a separate directorate in Police force is required for investigation of cases. He said that police personnel engaged for law and order duty do not get much time to investigate the cases.

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In Karnataka, campaigning for the Assembly Elections slated to be held on the 5th of May has reached its peak. Our correspondent reports that front line leaders of major political parties are addressing rallies in different parts of the state.

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The Joint Parliamentary Committee, JPC will meet in New Delhi today to adopt the draft report on 2G spectrum allocation issue. It is expected to be stormy affair with some Opposition members having reservation over clean chit given to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

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The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is organizing a six day Centenary Film Festival in the national capital to commemorate 100 years of Indian Cinema. The festival begins today. The Festival includes screenings of some classics and contemporary Indian films by master directors such as Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Shyam Benegal and Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The screening of the silent film "Throw of Dice' with a LIVE musical orchestra by maestro Nishat Khan will be the main focus of the inaugural function of the festival.

To bring the festival to the doorstep of film lovers in Delhi, it is being celebrated at the Siri Fort auditorium, Jamia Milia University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India Habitat Center and other venues . The festival will be inaugurated by the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Manish Tewari. Our correspondent reports that a play on the life and times of Dadasaheb Phalke by Aamir Raza Hussain will mark the end of the festival on the 30th of this month.

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India and the UAE have signed a bilateral agreement to increase four times the number of weekly airline seats available between India and Abu Dhabi. The number of seats available per week between India and Abu Dhabi has almost been increased from the existing capacity of 13,300 to 50,000. An agreement to this effect was signed between the Civil Aviation Ministries of India and UAE in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Our correspondent reports that the new arrangement will be phased over a period of three years, until December 31st, 2015.

The bilateral agreement between the Civil Aviation Ministries of India and UAE will almost quadruple the number of seats available on India-Abu Dhabi sector. A new arrangement on availability of seats or the bilateral was due since the existing capacity of 13,300 seats had been exhausted. Many Indian air carriers like Air India, Jet Airways, Indigo and Spice Jet had sought an increase in the number of seats available in India-UAE Sector. Analysts say that the move coupled with Jet-Eitehad deal may pitch in Abu Dhabi as the new hub of airline operations in the gulf region other than Dubai, Atul Tiwari for AIR News, Dubai.

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The death toll in Bangladesh’s multi-storey building collapse incident at Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka has gone up to 140. According to local officials who are engaged in the rescue operation more than 800 people have been injured. Our correspondent reports that Bangladesh is observing a day of National mourning today in memory of the victims who lost their lives in the tragic incident:

The multi-storey building collapse incident in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka is turning out to be the worst such accident in Bangladesh with the death toll crossing more than a hundred . Rescue teams from the Fire service, army , Border Guards Bangladesh and the elite Rapid Action Battalion continued their operations in the night looking for survivors. As the clock keeps ticking, time is running out for those who are still feared trapped in the building which collapsed like a pack of cards on Wednesday morning. According to reports, the building had developed a crack on Tuesday but this was ignored as a minor problem leading to Bangladesh’s worst tragedy. Senthil Rajan, AIR News, Dhaka.

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Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in the IPL match in Kolkata yesterday. Chasing a target of 160 runs, Mumbai made 162 for five in 19.5 overs to record the victory. Earlier, electing to bat after winning the toss, Kolkata Knight Riders made 159 for six in their twenty overs.

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London Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and rising shuttler P.V. Sindhu have advanced to the second round of the Women's Singles in the India Open Super Series badminton tournament. In the first round matches at the Sri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi yesterday, while World Number Two Saina beat Belaetrix Manupati of Indonesia 21-12, 21-15, Sindhu beat Xue Yao of China in three games 17-21, 21-18, 21-14.

In the Men's Singles, Parupalli Kashyap went down fighting against former World No. 1 Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in the first round. However, K Srikanth posted an upset victory over World No. 6 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark in three games in 45 minutes.

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES

The standoff on Chinese incursions into Indian Territory continues to take up headline space in the major dailies. "India sends out doves, China sends in chopper", writes the Hindustan Times while the Indian Express says, "China sticks to line, third flag meet likely".

Reporting on the Chit fund scam in West Bengal, the Pioneer, under the headline, "Cheat fund Boss' explosive note to CBI", writes, the note alleges that a Union Cabinet Ministers' advocate wife and 2 TMC MPs are among the fund beneficiaries.

The Asian Age writes, facing severe criticism, particularly after the recent spate of rape cases, that suspension of erring officers was just a cover up, the govt. is planning sweeping changes in the suspension norms of such policemen.

The major Business News in papers today is Jet Airways, becoming the first Indian airline to sell a stake to a foreign carrier, since last years' relaxation in FDI rules. Jet has sold 24 per cent equity to Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways for around 2,060 crore rupees.

The passing away of singer extraordinaire Shamshad Begum at the age of 94 in Mumbai, late Tuesday night, is also reported by papers. Her golden voice immortalized songs like Mere piya rangoon and Kajra Mohabbat wala.

In what is being seen as one of the most important cases for students in India in recent times, with implications for educational instructions across the country, The Times of India writes that the Delhi High Court today will hear a suit, filed by big publishers against a photocopy shop in Delhi University. The court verdict could change the way students study in India.

And finally, in good news related to the centers ambitious rural Job scheme MNREGA, The Statesman says writes that as per a CAG survey, distress, migration form rural areas, has gone down due to the implementation of this scheme