2100 HRS

09th April, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• PMO asks all concerned Ministries and Departments to gear up for the roll out of the second phase of the Direct Benefits Transfer scheme. 

• Five Indian peacekeepers killed in an ambush by rebels in South Sudan.

• All-party meeting to iron out differences on issues relating to the Land Acquisition Bill remains inconclusive.

• CBI registers three cases in poaching of rhinos in Kaziranga. 

• Pakistan Supreme Court rejects plea seeking the arrest of former President Pervez Musharraf in treason case.

• Sensex sheds 211 points to close at a seven-month low of 18,226.

• Jamjang Deru wins a silver in 50 kg boys category in the  World Youth Weightlifting championships in Uzbekistan.

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The Prime Minister's Office has asked the Secretaries of the concerned Ministries and Departments to gear up for the roll out of the second phase of the Direct Benefits Transfer, DBT, scheme. In a letter written to the Secretaries, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Pulok Chatterji apprised them of the decisions taken in the review meeting held on 5th of this month. He urged that the digitization of databases should begin in all districts in the country irrespective of the roll out of the scheme. Mr Chatterji stated that as decided in the meeting, three pension schemes managed by Ministry of Rural Development will also be brought under the DBT in all 121 districts under Phase I and II.

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Five Indian peacekeepers have been killed in an ambush by the rebels in South Sudan, Talking to AIR News, the spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin said that the incident took place while Indian Peacekeeping force were escorting a United Nations Convoy at Gurmukh in Jonglei.   Akbaruddin said that four Indian soldiers were also injured in the attack and the Ministry is arranging for the bodies of the slain peacekeepers to be returned home.

Our Ambassador is in touch with the UN authority in South Sudan.  It is expected that we will coordinate with the United nation with respect to bringing back the bodies of the deceased to India.  Our Ambassador will meet special representative of the UN today and will follow up on the matter.   The Defence Minister Mr  A K Antony has expressed his condolences at the unfortunate loss of lives of Indian soldiers in the incident. Mr Antony has also conveyed his grief to the families of the fallen soldiers and lauded their bravery in the highest traditions of the Indian Army and in contribution to the peace and security in the world.The bodies of the deceased soldiers are being brought to India for their final rites with full military honours.

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The Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti  today called  up the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and discussed , the issue of Italian marines in India. During the telephonic conversation, the Prime Minister Dr Singh appreciated  the Italian government’s decision to return the marines to India in line with the commitments that had been made before the Supreme Court  and in order to enable the judicial process to move forward. The Italian Prime Minister also conveyed his condolences to the Prime Minister on the sad incident in South Sudan which led to the death of 5 Indian Peacekeepers and injuries to 4 others.

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An all-party meeting to iron out differences on issues relating to the Land Acquisition Bill remained inconclusive in New Delhi today. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath told reporters that another meeting will be held on 18th of this month to sort out the remaining issues. Mr Nath said that all political parties have been asked to give their suggestions.  Our aim is that this bill should be introduced at the earliest.  Some points have been discussed and it has been decided that the parties should send their suggestions within four days.  Whatever suggestion they give, will be conveyed to other parties as well.   BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on the other hand told reporters that her party has reservations on certain amendments in the proposed bill and has given suggestions to the government.  The government should bring this bill in a new form with amendments according to all those suggestions given by us that carry consensus.  This suggestion of ours has been accepted by the government. The Bill provides for a fair compensation to land owners in both rural and urban areas with the stipulation that consent of 80 per cent of the people for acquiring land for private industry is necessary. The long-awaited land Bill  seeks to address problems of the industry regarding acquisition of land for setting up green field projects.    

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In Odisha, expelled Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra today formed a new political party, Odisha Jana Morcha .This was formally announced by Mr Mohapatra at a press conference held atBhubaneswar.  Mohapatra's announcement comes months after he was expelled from the ruling party for allegedly plotting a coup to unseat Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik.

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West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra was heckled in New Delhi by activists of Students' Federation of India. They were protesting the alleged murder of student leader Sudipto Gupta. Mr Mitra was accompanying Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a meeting with Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission for allocation of annual plan for the state. Condemning the incident, Minister of State for Planning Rajiv Shukla said strong police action will be taken against the protestors.

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The Election Commission has agreed to advance the  timing of Karnataka Assembly election by an hour owing to a demand from the political parties. Speaking to the media persons in Bangalore today, the Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath informed that the election will begin at 7.00 am instead of 8.00 am as was announced earlier. The CEC informed that the Commission has also agreed to set up a single window clearance cell in the office of all the returning officers to give clearances to the candidates for election campaign within 24 hours.

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In Karnataka, six persons, including a woman and child, were charred to death and four injured in a fire that broke out following leakage of gas from a tanker at  a place about 60 km from Mangalore today. Police said, the bodies of the six were charred beyond recognition. The driver of the tanker was among the deceased. Apart from the driver, the rest of the victims included residents of the houses and bystanders at shops.

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President  Pranab Mukherjee today said that engineering colleges and technical institutes should proactively pursue the scaling up of research of cutting edge technologies such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, embedded system design and technologies for sustainable development like renewable energy. The President said that in a world of depleting natural resources, future growth will have to be secured by innovation and constant technology upgradation. The President was addressing the 10th Convocation of National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra in Haryana. Mr. Mukherjee said that topics of national relevance require in-depth analysis.  Topics of national relevance such as water, environment, health, education and urbanisation require in-depth analysis and research. Our institutes of higher learning must provide an academic framework that will facilitate a better understanding of these issues for our policy-makers.           

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The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered three cases related to poaching of Rhinos.  The incidents  took place during July & September, 2012 in the districts Karbi Anglong & Nagaon of Assam. It was alleged that in all three cases, Rhinos were killed by using the fire arms and their body parts were taken away.  A CBI statement said these cases were initially registered by Assam Police against unknown persons in districts of Karbi Anglong & Nagaon of Assam, for various offences of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 & the Arms Act,1959. The agency  took up the investigation on the request of Assam Govt. and further Notification from Govt. of India.

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In Tamil Nadu the fishermen of Rameswaram and Karaikkal are continuing their indefinite strike for the second day today urging the release of Tamil fishermen lodged in Sri Lankan jail.  At present 49 Tamil fishermen from Rameswaram and 26 fishermen from Karaikal are lodged in Sri Lankan jails for fishing in Lankan waters. Moreover the moment the Tamil fishermen enter international maritime border for fishing they are attacked by Lankan Navy. In Rameswaram more than 800 boats are lying idle in the fishing harbour. The strike has economically hit more than 10,000 fisherman families and has caused crores of export loss. K Devi Padmanabhan AIR News Tiruchirapalli.

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Delhi Police has arrested two more people in connection with the murder of businessman and BSP leader Deepak Bhardwaj who was shot dead at his farm house in Sout Delhi  last month. Briefing reporters after the development, Deputy Commissioner of Police Chhaya Sharma said that one of the arrested person is Nitesh , the yonger son of Bhardwaj and the other  is Nitesh aide  Baljeet Singh Shehrawat who works as a lawyer and property dealer.

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THE BUSINESS WORLD
Extending its losses for the fifth straight session, the Sensex at the BombayStock Exchange plunged 211 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at a seven-month low of 18,226, on all-round selling pressure, today. The Nifty lost 48 points, to 5,495. The rupee depreciated 2 paise, to close at 54.58 against the dollar. Gold dropped 190 rupees, to 29,800 rupees per ten grams in Delhi. But silver closed unchanged, at 52,200 rupees per kilo. Pradeep Kumar, AIR News

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India and Germany are set to have collaboration in setting up power grids for renewable energy in India. An agreement to this effect will be signed during bilateral visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Germany beginning from tomorrow.   In an exclusive interview to All India Radio, Indian Ambassador in Germany Mrs Sujatha Singh said that the agreement will help to enhance solar and wind energy production in the country and in turn fulfills to meet the country’s energy requirements.   One of the most important agreement will be in renewable energy.  Where we will be collaborating with Germany in setting up grid to evacuate renewable energy from the areas that are not yet connected to the grid.  Sujatha Singh also said the Prime minister will hold bilateral talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel on a whole range of issues with an aim to reinforce the strategic relationship between the two countries.

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The Supreme Court of Pakistan has rejected the plea seeking the arrest of former President Pervez Musharraf over the treason case. A two-judge bench of the apex court today heard the case against the retired general seeking his trial under the Constitution for imposing the state of emergency in Pakistan in 2007. Musharraf did not appear personally before the Court to answer summons over alleged treason dating back to his time in office and was represented by his advocate .The bench  granted six days’ time to submit his response, adjourning the hearing until April 15.

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In the Indian Premier League, the match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils is currently going on at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Mumbai Indian were 133 for 3 in 14.4 overs a short while ago, after electing to bat first. In the other match played today, Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Banglore.

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Manipur is at the top of medal tally on the second day of the biggest sporting extravaganza of the North Eastern India - the North-East Games, 2013 today with 42 medals. The 27th edition of the Games is hosted by Manipur Youth Affairs and Sports Department under the aegis of the Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) scheme at Imphal.
         Assam is at the second place with 30 medals. Mizoram is at the third place with 19 medals. In women's 10,000 metre race today, S. Premila Devi of Manipur bagged gold medal while Mangli Tamang of Sikkim won silver and Suchitra Devi of Tripura won bronze medal. In men’s sotput, Pratin Deka of Assam won gold medal while H. Noren of Manipur and S. S. Meezi of Mizoram won silver and bronze medals respectively.Ibomcha Sharma, AIR NEWS,Imphal

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Jamjang Deru gave India the first medal in the World Youth Weightlifting Championships last night as he won a silver in the 50kg boys category on the opening day at Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Deru won the silver in clean and jerk with an effort of 110 kg and finished fourth in the total lift with 195 kg.  In the same category, Deepak Lather finished 12th in total lift with an effort of 174 kg